Kitchens Are Monkey Business: Lemon Meringue Pie

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Lemon Meringue Pie

I like to celebrate any and all occasions I possibly can and if that involves dessert, so much the better. With that said, I am anticipating National Pi Day on March 14 (3/14), and will observe the event with Lemon Meringue Pie. This pie has a cool, creamy, and tart lemon custard filling with a gently toasted, billowy, cloud-like meringue topping. It’s both light and decadent – the perfect dessert.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cups sugar

5 TB cornstarch

⅛ tsp salt

Whisk ingredients in a medium-size heavy sauce pan.

Lemon Custard ingredients:

4 egg yolks

1 ¾ cups milk (I never have whole milk on hand, but I always have skim and cream. Usually, I mix the skim and cream half and half, for a richer version of whole milk.)

½ cup lemon juice

3 TB butter

Zest of one lemon

Whisk yolks until light and lemon-colored, then whisk in milk and lemon juice until well-combined.

Whisk into dry mixture in sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Bring to a boil and whisk for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and zest until smooth. Pour custard into baked piecrust.

Some pie recipes, like this one, require pre-baking or “blind-baking” the crust, which means baking the crust first without any filling in it. When pre-baking a crust, I always crimp it to give it nice scalloped edges to avoid slumping and I fork-prick the bottom of the crust to avoid air pockets bubbling and the bottom puffing up. I use a glass pie dish and chill the dough before blind-baking. Heat oven to 325° and bake the crust about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Watch the crust since oven temperatures vary. Timing will also vary depending on whether you use a store-bought crust or homemade crust because of the differing fat contents. Just bake it and keep an eye on it.

For the meringue:

6 egg whites, room temperature

½ tsp cream of tartar

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Spread meringue over pie filling, sealing edges. I always like to make decorative swirls with the meringue.

Bake at 325° 20-25 minutes, or until peaks are lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack, then refrigerate.

Before you do the meringue, here are a few things you should know:

Rosie Tip #1: When beating egg whites, always have them at room temperature to allow for maximum volume.

Rosie Tip #2: Don’t let any egg yolk get into the bowl of whites – not even a drop. The fat in the yolks will coat the proteins in your whites and you won’t be able to properly whip the whites to make meringue.

Rosie Tip #3: Use a glass bowl to whip your whites, not plastic. Plastic bowls tend to develop a thin coat of oil over time. Again, the fat here will prevent the whites from properly forming bubbles.

Rosie Tip #4: Weather affects meringue, so avoid making meringue on a rainy or humid day. The excess moisture in the air is absorbed by the meringue, making it almost impossible to beat it enough to form stiff peaks, making it take a lot longer for the meringue to dry out in the oven, and making the meringue too soft even after baking.

Now, for the step-by-steps:

Beat yolks and add in lemon juice.

Add in milk (or milk/cream mixture).

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients in sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat , stirring, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Bring to boil and whisk for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon zest until smooth.