Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- The pastry recipes makes two 10-inch pie shells.
For the Pastry:
- 1 cup very cold butter, not margarine, cut into small cubes
- 2-½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup ice water, or a little more to make a dough form
For the Filling:
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- ⅓ cup cake flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1-½ cups granulated sugar
- 5 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- Zest of 2 lemons, very finely chopped
- ¼ cup juice of 2 lemons, be exact on this ingredient
- 2 cups water
- 3 tbsp. butter, not margarine
For the Meringue:
- 5 large egg whites
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. cream of tarter
- ⅙ tsp. salt
Instructions
To prepare the pastry:
- Using a food processor, or a pastry blender, cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal; small pieces of butter should still be visible.
- Pour cold water over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form; use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
- Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes; freeze the second round for another time.
- The dough can be made the previous day but make sure you take it out of the refrigerator 10 minutes, prior to using, to warm slightly before rolling out.
- Roll the dough into a 12-inch round and place in the bottom of a 10-inch pie plate.
- Trim and flute the edges as desired; poke a few holes in the bottom of the pastry shell, rest in the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes before baking.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Place shell in pre-heated oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- For best results, blind bake the crust: add a layer of parchment paper and baking weights to the unbaked pastry shell, like brown rice; place in pre-heated oven and bake pastry crust for 15 minutes; remove the baking weights and bake for about 5 minutes more.
- Cool completely before adding the filling.
To prepare the filling:
- Using a small bowl, slightly beat the egg yolks; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine corn starch, cake flour, sugar and salt.
- Pour in water and stir constantly, over medium low heat, until mixture comes to a slow boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat and reduce the heat to low.
- Pour about a cup of this mixture onto the slightly beaten egg yolks while whisking constantly.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the rest of the other mixture in the pot, whisking constantly.
- Return to the stove and cook for an additional 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and lemon rind.
- Finally whisk in butter, one tablespoon at a time.
- Pour the filling into the baked and cooled shell.
- Let stand for a few minutes while preparing the meringue.
To prepare the meringue:
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed for 1 minute; then increase to high speed until soft peaks form; about 4 more minutes.
- Add the sugar and salt; continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form; about 2 more minutes.
- Spread meringue on top of filling; I make decorative peaks with the back of a large spoon.
- Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to the edges so that it touches the crust; this helps prevent the meringue from weeping.
- Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the meringue is well browned.
- If the meringue is browning too quickly, tent a piece of foil over it as best you can without the foil touching the meringue.
- When pie is done, remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour before placing in the refrigerator to chill.
- Chill for 4 hours before slicing and serving.
- When ready to slice and serve, dip a sharp knife in cold water, to help with cutting the pie into slices, and clean the knife with a paper towel.
