Lemon Meringue Pie

evelyn/athens's Note:

I love tart and sweet - lemon meringue is a classic.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 10-inch pie shells or 9 inch pie shell, refrigerated

Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemons, zest of

For meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Line refrigerated pie crust with wax paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes; remove paper and weights and bake shell until golden, about 12 minutes longer; cool.
3. Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
4. For filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt and gradually whisk in water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved; in a bowl whisk together egg yolks; cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil; gradually whisk about 1 cup milk mixture into yolks and whisk yolk mixture back into milk mixture remaining in saucepan; simmer, whisking, 3 minutes; remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice and zest until butter is melted; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard.
5. For meringue: Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks; beat in sugar in a slow stream, beating, until meringue just holds stiff peaks.
6. Pour lemon custard into shell and spread meringue on top, covering filling completely and sealing it to pastry; draw meringue up into peaks and bake pie in middle of oven until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes; cool completely before serving.

Reviews

[Polly1116]

Excellent pie...just enough tartness and the meringue was perfect. I used skim milk and it came out perfect. Thanks for sharing!!

[KK - Chef #426156]

This is a delicious pie. I made a graham cracker crust instead of a regular pie crust, and was out of milk, so I upped the water to 1 1/4 cups and used 1/4 cup of heavy cream. This was a birthday pie for my 78 year old mother, and she was wow'd by the perfect lemon taste. It was also beautiful. Thanks for a great recipe.

[Chef #337862]

I've made this several times and the compliments always flow. I like to drizzle a simple raspberry sauce over each serving. I thought I'd try a white chocolate drizzle around the plate next time.