Lemon meringue pie is a deliciously tart lemon custard cooked on top of the stove and then poured into a baked flaky pie crust and topped with a fluffy, pillowy meringue that is lightly browned under the broiler. It is pretty to look at, not to mention tasty and perfect for summer!
Meringue dates back to the 1600’s, but adding a fluffy, sweetened meringue atop a pie did not begin until the 1800’s and became appearing in cookbooks in 1869, often referred to lemon cream pie.
“Any very nice baked pudding will be improved by covering the surface with a meringue.”
Eliza Leslie, The Lady’s Receipt-Book: A Useful Companion for Large or Small Families, 1847.
And I completely agree! So many pies just taste simply wonderful with a delicious fluffy meringue toasted on top!
Let’s get started!
Prepare pie crust for single pie. Bake and set aside until cool. You can check out my delicious pie crust recipe here: https://www.ourcityhomestead.com/never-fail-pie-crust/
Prepare lemon filling. To a saucepan, add sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir. Add hot water, lemon juice and butter. Cook until slightly thickened.
Add some lemon mixture to egg yolks to temper egg yolks before adding to the saucepan. Add lemon extract if using. Stir. Mixture will thicken. My mixture is darker because of the farm fresh chicken eggs — the yolks are so dark during the summer months!! Once thick, let cool slightly, until just warm.
Pour into crust once cooled until just warm. We do not want to add the filling hot to the crust because the bottom of the crust will become too wet and not taste good. We do not want the filling cold either because we will be broiling the meringue, so just warm will work excellent.
Next is to prepare the meringue. In a stand mixer, add egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt. Mix until sift peaks form and then add vanilla and gradually add sugar. I always stop the mixer to add sugar, otherwise sugar flies everywhere!! Beat until stiff peaks form.
Top pie with meringue. Spread it to the crust otherwise the meringue will shrink while broiling. I always use the back of the spoon and lift to form peaks as my gramma always did. She taught me when I was a child that you want to swirl the meringue and lift to form peaks so the meringue looks pretty.
Place under broiler but watch very carefully! It can burn quite quickly.
Once browned, remove from oven carefully and let cool. What a beautiful pie!
Slice and serve. Store leftovers in fridge. Lemon meringue pie is always best fresh! The next day, the meringue often shrinks and the pie can get a little runny in between the meringue and lemon filling but it still tastes amazingly delicious! It is so yummy, you’ll be lucky to have any leftovers!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Prepare pie crust for a single pie. Blind bake it, set aside to let cool. Prepare filling. Once filling has cooled a bit (just warm but not hot), pour into crust. Prepare meringue and top pie with it. Broil for just a few minutes, watching so as to not burn it. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Store leftover pie in fridge. Lemon meringue is always best the same day.
Lemon Filling:
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
1 cup hot water
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon extract – optional
Combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt together. Stir to combine. Add hot water, lemon juice and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add a bit of lemon mixture to egg yolks and stir to temper before adding eggs to lemon mixture. Cook a few minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add lemon extract if using. You can also add lemon rind if you like. Let cool slightly. Pour into prepared crust.
Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt
6 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Use a stand mixer or hand held mixer. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt to soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Pile onto warm pie filling. Spread to edge so that it joins the crust all the way around to prevent shrinking. Meringue will shrink slightly. Broil until lightly browned.
If meringue pie is hard to slice, dip knife in water and shake of excess. Repeat between cuts.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours