The Best Lemon Meringue Pie
I’m sharing the best lemon meringue pie recipe that I’ve had since high school.
I love lemon desserts, not too sweet and a little tart. This lemon pie is just that, not too sweet and just the right amount of tart.
I also have the best pie pastry ever that you can find here. It has the first (and only) video I’ve ever done and it’s pretty awful so no judgment 😉
One of my favorite tips for making pastry is to barely mix it and put it in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for about an hour to chill.
For the recipe, you only need half a pie pastry recipe as you only need pastry for the base so you can double the pie filling to make two pies or make something else with the leftover pastry.
Make sure to roll out the pastry larger than your pie plate and place it inside the pie plate without stretching it.
Flute the edges of the pastry and prick the bottom and sides with a fork to let air escape (if you don’t, the pastry will puff up and stay that way). For extra weight, I added ceramic pie weights to the bottom of the pastry. You can also use dried beans.
Bake the pie crust at 450 deg F for 8-10 minutes and remove the weights. Add the filling and the meringue on top and bake a bit to darken the peaks of the meringue.
Sources:
- pie plates (set of 3)
- French rolling pin
- regular rolling pin (whichever one you feel most comfortable using)
- Microplane zester
- lemon juicer
- pie weights
- Cambria dinnerware set
- Maxfield flatware
The Best Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
FILLING:
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 egg yolks (use the whites for the meringue)
- 1 tsp grated lemon rind
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 baked pie shell
MERINGUE:
- 2-4 more egg whites (I used 4 egg whites along with the 2 egg whites from above for a total of 6 egg whites)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
FILLING:
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch.
- Add cold water, mix. Stir in hot water.
- Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture is thick and clear.
- Allow to bubble for 1 minute.
- Beat egg yolks. Stir a small amount of hot mixture in with the egg yolks, add more gradually and then return all of the warmed mixture to the remaining portion in the saucepan (this prevents eggs from being scrambled).
- Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat, add butter and lemon rind.
- Slowly stir in lemon juice. Cool to lukewarm before pouring into pastry shell.
- Top with meringue.
MERINGUE:
- Add salt to the egg whites and beat the eggs with the wire whip (Kitchenaid mixer) until fluffy.
- Sprinkle in cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks.
- Add sugar gradually and beat until stiff.
- Spread on pie filling. Use the back of a spoon to make the little peaks stand up.
- Bake at 350 deg F for 10-12 min.
Happy baking!
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This looks so yummy Jamie! I`m giving it a try very soon!
Have a great weekend!
Thanks Vesna!
Hugs, Jamie
What size pie pan should be used for this recipe – 9″ or 10″? Ir looks like a delicious recipe.
Hi Linda,
Great question – I use a 9″ plate for these types of pie recipes.
Hugs, Jamie
Thanks so much for the reply.
Which rolling pin do you like best? Yes more recipes please.
Hi Barbara,
I switch back and forth but I’ve always used the one with handles more 😉
Hugs, Jamie