Recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie

What does one do on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Bake a lemon meringue pie, of course (what else?). This one was Jorge’s request so I dug around for a recipe and stumbled upon this one by Taste of Home that looked easy enough for a first attempt. It turned out to be a tasty treat apart from the fact that the meringue but never really connected to the lemon bit. Worth the effort though!

Ingredients:

CRUST: 

• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening (found this in Partridges’ American section)
• 3 tablespoons cold water

FILLING:

• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (same as cornflour)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

MERINGUE:

• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Start with your crust. Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C

Mix together your flour and salt. Chop in the shortening until you have crumbs.

Slowly add in the water, using a fork to toss around the dough. Eventually it will form a ball at the center of your bowl.

Roll out your pastry until it’s the right size for your pie plate (9-inches is a good size for this).

Transfer to your pie plate and press to mould, fancying up the edges however you like.

Pop it in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Once you take it out, turn the oven down a bit to 350F / 175C for the next part.

Now it’s time to start on the lemon bit, so grate and juice your lemons first.

In a saucepan on medium high heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Add the water slowly and stir until it’s smooth. Keep stirring until it’s thickened and bubbling then turn down the heat and keep stirring for two more minutes.

Remove from the heat and add a small amount of the filling to the egg yolks then return it all to the pan, stirring continuously. Bring it to a gentle boil, stirring and cooking for two more minutes before removing from the heat again.

Add in the butter and lemon peel and then stir in the lemon juice until it’s combined. Pour it into your baked crust.

Looking good! Now for the fluffy white meringue. Grab another saucepan and turn on medium heat. Combine two tablespoons of sugar and the cornstarch, slowly adding in the cold water. Cook and stir until the mixture is clear and transfer to a bowl to cool.

If you have a mixer, you’ll want it for this next bit. I have no space in my kitchen so I made do with a handmixer which worked with a bit of effort. Beat the egg whites and vanilla together in a large bowl until you can form soft peaks. Then gradually add in the remaining sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Beat in the cornstarch mixture until you have stiff glossy peaks and the sugar is dissolved.

Spread this on to the top of the pie, sealing it around the edges. I spread mine on flat, but feel free to make those lovely peaks that are typical of a lemon meringue pie!

Pop it in your oven at 350F / 175C for about 25 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top.

Now, learn the art of patience: You’ll have to let it cool for an hour on a rack outside and then refrigerate for another three hours before digging in!

Enjoy!