Today’s spotlight is on Lemon Meringue Pie.

Lemon meringue pie is a dessert pie consisting of a shortened pastry base filled with lemon curd and topped with meringue. Lemon meringue pie has a buttery, flaky, and crispy pie crust. The filling is jelly-like, translucent, and smooth, and is yellow due to the lemon juice, lemon rind, butter, and egg yolk. The pastry is thin and flat due to being rolled out using a rolling pin. During baking, the edges turn golden brown.

The filling of a lemon meringue pie should be firm enough to hold its shape when sliced, but not thick and gelatinous. It should be firmer than pudding, but not as firm as Jell-O. The filling should be silky smooth and full of bright, zesty lemon flavor. The meringue topping should be cloud-like and fluffy, and toasted to perfection.

The pastry should be thin and flat, and the edges should turn golden brown when baked.

Lemon meringue pie can be enjoyed either warm or cold, although if you’re serving it warm, let it cool slightly first so as not to burn your guests’ mouths.

History

Lemon-based pies, puddings, and custards have been around since the Middle Ages. The French were the first to discuss meringue-covered pastries. The Swiss pastry chef Gasparini invented meringue in 1720. The Quakers generally receive credit for inventing lemon custard in the late 1700s.

However, lemon meringue pie was invented in Philadelphia during the Victorian era. Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow, a pastry chef, businesswoman, and the founder of America’s first cooking school expanded on lemon custard and invented lemon meringue pie in 1806. The name “Lemon Meringue Pie” appeared in 1869, but it was often called “lemon cream pie.”

Lemon meringue pie became more popular in the 1800s. One of the first references to lemon meringue pie can be found in the book “Memoir and Letters of Jenny C. White Del Bal” by Rhoda E. White, published in 1868.

 

Here is a Lemon Meringue Recipe for you to Try:

Ingredients:

• Homemade Pie Crust
• 5 large egg yolks (use the whites in the meringue below)
• 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) water
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (38g) cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.

 

Meringue Ingredients:

• 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Instructions:

1. Pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin making lemon meringue pie. I always make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
2. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and adjust your oven rack to the lowest position. Partially blind bake pie crust in a 9-inch pie dish. (Follow blind baking instructions through step 9.) Tip: You can get started on the lemon meringue pie filling steps while your crust is blind baking. But making the filling is time sensitive because you will temper the egg yolks, so if multi-tasking isn’t your thing, just wait until your crust is done blind baking before beginning the filling.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
4. Make the filling: 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. The mixture will be thin and cloudy, then eventually begin thickening and bubbling after about 6 minutes. Once thickened, give it a whisk and reduce heat to low.
5. Temper the egg yolks: Very slowly stream a few large spoonfuls of warm lemon mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Then, also in a very slow stream, 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 it aside as you prepare the meringue. (Don’t let the filling cool down too much as you want a warm filling when you top with the meringue in step 7. The warm filling helps seal the two layers together, preventing separation.)
6. Make the meringue: With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed for 1 minute, then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 more minutes. Add the sugar and salt, then continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about 2 more minutes. Spread meringue on top of the filling. Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to the edges so that it touches the crust. This helps prevent the meringue from weeping.
7. Bake pie on the lowest oven rack for 20-25 minutes. When pie is done, remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour before placing in the refrigerator to chill. Chill for 4 hours before slicing and serving.
8. Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator. Lemon meringue pie tastes best on day 1 because it doesn’t keep very well. No matter how hard you try to prevent it, the meringue will wilt and separate over time. Best to enjoy right away.

 

Storage

Lemon meringue pie should be refrigerated because it contains dairy, eggs, and other perishable ingredients that need to be kept cold to avoid bacterial growth. Because it’s typically served cold, it’s best to keep it in the refrigerator until ready to be served.

To prevent foodborne illness, you should never let it sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Refrigeration can cause the pie to weep due to the humidity of the refrigerator, so it’s best not to refrigerate more than a few hours before serving.

To store lemon meringue pie without messing up the meringue, you can place two toothpicks in the pie, loosely cover it with storage wrap, and store it in the refrigerator for up to two days.

 

August 15th is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day. This holiday is dedicated to a pie that some feel doesn’t get enough attention from pie lovers. Let us know in the comments your best Lemon Meringue Pie story.