Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe, How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie, Family Recipes

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In baking you need to always have the ingredients measured precisely. Use a knife to level the flour, salt or baking powder since baking is relying on the chemistry. When you have an ingredient 'heaping' you have changed the chemistry!

Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie makes an extra special dessert. Pie Crusts Recipe

1½ cups sugar
½ cup cornstarch
Dash of salt
2 cups cold water
4 large eggs, separated
4 tbls butter
1 tsp lemon extract
3 tbls lemon juice
9-10 inch baked pie shell
Meringue Topping
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar cornstarch and salt. Add water and stir well over medium high heat, stir constantly till it becomes thick and bubbles. Turn heat down and cook for another 2 minutes and remove from stove.

Separate egg yolks from the whites and set the whites aside for the meringue.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks a bit and add in about a 1/3 cup of the hot filling and whisk in well, repeat this again two times so that you have added about a cup of the hot filling to the eggs.This is called tempering; it warms the yolks up before they are added to the hot filling. If the yolks are not tempered and just added to the hot filling all at once, they can curdle.

Now add the warmed yolks to the filling and bring to a boil for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. This will cook the egg yolks.

Remove the pan from heat again and add cut up butter and let it melt. Whisk in the lemon juice and extract. Smooth the filling into baked pie shell with a spatula and begin to make meringue.

Meringue Topping

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the whites at medium speed with mixer for a minute till soft peaks begin to form. Add in the cream of tartar and extract and beat at high speed. I like to use lemon extract for the lemon pie but some deserts will be better with a vanilla flavor. Begin to add the sugar, just 1 tablespoon at a time and continue beating till stiff peaks form and the sugar dissolves. This usually takes about 4 or 5 minutes.

Using a spatula, begin to spread the meringue around the edges first and spread toward the center. Gently seal by connecting the meringue to the crust all the way around the pie so it does not shrink during baking. When meringue is smoothed over the top of the pie, then use the flat of the spatula to pull up some meringue into small peaks and continue across the top. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes or till meringue is golden. Cool the pie on a wire rack so air circulates under the pie, preventing it from becoming soggy.

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Lemon Meringue Pie