I love lemon meringue pie! It’s a fine balance between the tart lemony filling and the slightly sweetened meringue. And lemon meringue pie with shortbread crust is even better! I like to use a shortbread crust that has a sprinkling of lemon zest and / or culinary lavender. Just make sure the crust has completely cooled before putting in the filling.
You’ll notice in the picture that the meringue isn’t a foot high. Both the Hubby and I prefer an even layer of meringue and not too much of it. Probably about even depth as the filling.
Some other tricks in making a lemon meringue pie are:
- MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have everything for the filling and meringue laid out before beginning the process! Timing is everything!
- Cover the filling with saran wrap as soon as it’s poured into the crust. This will prevent a film from forming on the filling.
- Put the meringue on the pie while the filling is hot and make sure to cover the entire surface, including the crust! This prevents a moisture layer from forming and keeps the meringue from shrinking. You can either bake it or use a hand held torch to brown the meringue.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup cold water
- 6 large egg yolks in bowl
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Saran wrap
Meringue
- 4 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Put together in small bowl
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar sifted
Instructions
- HAVE EVERYTHING FOR FILLING AND MERINGUE LAID OUT BEFORE BEGINNING THE FOLLOWING!
Filling
- In a medium saucepot, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add cold water. Bring mix to full simmer over medium high heat, whisking as it cooks. Whisk until its thick and glossy
- Slowly pour approximately 1 cup of the sugar mix into the egg yolks while whisking.
- Add this mix back into pot, whisking about 1 minute more.
- Whisk in lemon joice and bring back to a simmer
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter
- Pour into COOLED pie shell
- Immediately cover with saran wrap so the saran touches the filling
- Start the meringue
Meringue
- Whip egg whites with cream of tartar medium speed until foamy, then increase the speed to high and gradually pour in the granulated sugar and icing sugar and continue whipping just until the whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the hot lemon filling, then GENTLY dollop meringue directly onto the filling
- Be sure to spread the meringue so that it completely covers the lemon filling and connects with the outside crust.
- Dollop the remaining meringue onto the pie and use the back of your spoon or spatula to lift up the meringue and creates the spikes.
- Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes, until the meringue is nicely browned OR use a torch to brown the top.
- Cool the meringue completely to room temperature before chilling for at least 4 hours.
LEMON MERINGUE PIE WITH SHORTBREAD CRUST