Lemon Meringue Pie has to be one of our all time favourite desserts - and we think the fresh zingy flavour profile is a PERFECT fit for the Spring season 🍋
This dessert, while not complicated to make, has a few more elements involved than our typical recipe shares. There’s the flaky butter pie crust, the tart lemon curd, and of course - the pillowy meringue topping!
So let’s get into it!
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
Use your favourite butter pie crust recipe - ours is by Epicurious! This you will need to prepare ahead of time - or ‘blind bake’ as some like to call it. It needs to be pre cooked + cooled before we get to filling it.
Lemon Curd Filling:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 tblsp cornstarch
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tblsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs yolks
3 tblsp unsalted butter
Meringue:
4 large egg whites
6 tblsp white granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
How-To
Blind bake your pie crust well in advance giving enough time for it to cool fulling by the time you’re ready to add filling.
The lemon curd: Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Whisk the water, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once thickened (5-6 mins), give it a whisk and reduce heat to low.
Still working on the lemon curd, very slowly scoop a few large spoonfuls of warm lemon mixture into the beaten egg yolks (set aside in step 2). Then, very slowly, whisk the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook until the mixture is thick and big bubbles begin bursting at the surface. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter. Spread filling into the warm partially baked crust. Set aside as you prepare the meringue. *Pro Tip: Don’t let the filling cool down too much as you want a warm filling when you top with the meringue . The heat from the filling helps bond the two layers together.
The meringue: using a stand or hand mixer, add egg whites and vanilla to mixing bowl. Whisk on med-high until egg whites become foamy, gradually begin added sugar and cream of tartar while still whisking. Continue whisking until meringue is light, fluffy, and easily holds stiff peaks.
Spread meringue on top of filling (now in pie crust), Making sure to cover entire filling.
Bake at 375 F just until the tops of the meringue are light golden brown — don’t overbake! If you have a kitchen blow torch, you can add a bit more drama to the toasted affect (the fun part!).
And voila! One of the most beautiful desserts ever invented - not as hard as it looks huh! :)
