Lemon Cream Meringue Pie
Serves: 3
Cody DuBuque
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
54
Spice
62
Sweetness
54
Sourness
37
mins
Prep time (avg)
6.6
Difficulty
Ingredients:
Directions:
1
Prepare and chill the dough
2
Filling: To make the filling, combine the milk and sugar in a nonreactive saucepan, preferably enameled iron
3
Strip the zest from the lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, making sure you remove the yellow zest but none of the white pith beneath
4
If you do remove some of the white pith, scrape it off the strips of zest with the point of a paring knife and discard it
5
Add the zest to the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer over low heat
6
Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes; remove the strips of zest with a slotted spoon or skimmer and discard them
7
Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup strained juice
8
Place the juice in a mixing bowl and whisk in the cornstarch, then yolks
9
Return the milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat and whisk about a third of the boiling milk into the lemon juice mixture
10
Return the remaining milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk the lemon juice and yolk mixture back into it, whisking constantly until the filling comes to a boil and thickens
11
Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about 30 seconds
12
Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter, and pour into a nonreactive bowl
13
Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until it is approximately 75 degrees
14
(If you prepare the filling in advance, let it come to room temperature before proceeding
15
) Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees
16
Roll out the dough to make a bottom crust and arrange in the pan and create a decorative edge
17
Chill the crust until firm, about 20 minutes
18
To bake the crust, pierce it all over with the tines of a fork at 1/2-inch intervals
19
Line it with a disk of parchment or wax paper and fill with cherry stones or dried beans
20
Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly colored
21
Remove the paper and beans and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown
22
Cool the crust on a rack
23
Spread the cooled filling evenly in the cooled crust
24
Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees
25
To make the meringue, bring a small pan of water to a boil
26
Lower the heat so that the water simmers
27
Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer or, if you are using a hand whisk, in another heatproof bowl
28
Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water and whisk the egg white mixture gently for about 2 minutes, until the egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and the sugar has dissolved
29
Whip the meringue on medium speed until it has cooled and is able to hold a shape, but it should not look dry
30
Distribute spoonfuls of the meringue all over the top of the pie, then use the back of a spoon or a small offset metal spatula to spread the meringue evenly
31
It should cover the top of the pie and touch the edges of the crust all around
32
Here and there, bring up the surface of the meringue so that it is swirled
33
Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is colored evenly
34
Cool on a rack