Do you bake recipes as a way to remember a loved one? My Nanny passed away just a few days shy of her 90th birthday. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve baking and cooking in my grandmother's big red kitchen. Every year, to honor her birthday, I bake a lemon meringue pie. Her favorite classic lemon meringue pie recipe.
When my grandparents built their dream home in the early 70s, my grandmother installed a kitchen with red countertops and red appliances. It was fabulous...I know it sounds strange, but it was really fabulous. Those kitchen countertops saw the creation of many family meals and lots of cookies and pies. I fell in love with my grandmother's lemon meringue pie as a child, and it is still my absolute favourite pie.
Now, I do not have her exact recipe...I'm not really sure why I didn't ask her for it. However, since my grandmother was a "from scratch" kind of lady, I knew that this pie was going to be a labour of love. If you have never made a lemon meringue pie before, let me advise you, it takes some time. There's a lot of resting, baking, cooling, whisking, and melting; it is a true science experiment pie. What you end up with is a little slice of lemony heaven - it is so worth the effort.
Classic Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe
1 pie crust - my grandmother always used the recipe on the Tenderflake box of lard.
For the Lemon Curd Filling
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 3 lightly beaten egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon, about 1-2 tbsp
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites - at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
My grandmother always used Tenderflake lard for her crust. So, for this pie, I used Tenderflake crust. However, over time, I have come to use Crisco, a vegetable-based shortening, when I bake. You can use whatever pie recipe you like. You just need a single pie crust for this recipe. Before you place your raw pie crust into the bottom of the pie plate, toss a small amount of flour into the pie plate.
Blind bake the pie crust in a 375F oven for 8-10 minutes. Until the crust is lightly golden. Because the pie will be baked with the filling inside of it, you don't need to fully pre-bake the crust. Set the pie crust aside to cool. Turn the oven down to 350F.
For the Filling
First up, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the water.
Bring the liquid to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low - stirring the mixture constantly for about 2 minutes - the sauce will simmer and thicken.
When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and whisk a small amount of the hot liquid into the egg yolks - then whisk the egg yolks into the pot of hot liquid (this is called tempering).
When the eggs are incorporated, stir in the butter, the lemon juice and the lemon zest.
Let the lemon curd filling cool for about 10-15 minutes - then pour filling into pie crust and set aside.
For the Meringue
It's time to make the meringue. Start by beating the egg whites with the cream of tartar until it holds soft peaks. This will take a few minutes in a stand mixer or with an electric hand whisk.
When you have soft peaks, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the egg whites and continue to beat until stiff and shiny peaks form.
Now, scoop and spread the egg whites over the lemon filling - be sure to spread the meringue all the way to the edges of the pie crust - this way it will not shrink away from the crust while cooking.
Use your spatula to make small peaks all over the meringue - these will make the pie look beautiful when it browns.
Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes - until the peaks have lightly browned. If your peaks haven't browned, you have a couple of options. First, you could use a small kitchen torch. Or, turn on your broiler and slide your pie under the broiler...don't look away. Pull it out as soon as it starts to brown.
Let the pie cool completely before serving - let sit for at least 2 hours or overnight - do not refrigerate.
Enjoy your delicious lemon meringue pie, just like Nanny would have baked. Sweet and tart and delicious!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- Follow your favourite single crust pie recipe - I used the one on the Tenderflake box - just like Nanny
For the Filling
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 3 lightly beaten egg yolks
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon about 1-2 tbsp
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites - at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Bake your pie crust, according to your chosen recipe. Set the pie crust aside to completely cool. You need a single pie crust.
- When pie crust is baked, turn the oven down to 350F
For the Filling
- Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium sized saucepan. Whisk in water.
- Bring liquid to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium - stirring constantly for about 2 minutes - the sauce will simmer and thicken.
- Remove from the heat and whisk a small amount of the hot liquid to the egg yolks - then whisk the egg yolks into the pot of hot liquid (this is called tempering)
- Stir in the butter, the lemon juice and zest.
- Let the filling cool for about 5-10 minutes - then pour filling into pie crust and set aside.
For the Meringue
- Beat the egg whites, with the cream of tartar, until it holds soft peaks.
- Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the egg whites and continue to beat until stiff and shiny peaks form.
- Scoop and spread the egg whites over the lemon filling - be sure to spread the meringue all the way to the edges of the pie crust - this way it will not shrink away from the crust while cooking.
- Use a spatula to make small peaks all over the meringue - these will make the pie look beautiful when it browns.
- Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes - until the peaks have lightly browned.
- Let the pie cool completely before serving - let sit for at least 2 hours or overnight - do not refrigerate.
- Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
While I will never be certain what my Nanny's actual recipe was, this one comes pretty darn close. The pastry is light and flaky - the filling is tart and sweet - and the meringue is beautifully fluffy and golden. In fact, it is so good I will be enjoying a slice for breakfast with a cup of tea in the morning...cheers, Nanny!
Check out our collection of special occasion cakes.
Make sure you are following along...
FOLLOW KITCHEN COUNTER CHRONICLES ON
SUBSCRIBE TO KITCHEN COUNTER CHRONICLES TO HAVE OUR DELICIOUS RECIPES, FUN CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX.
FACEBOOK:: PINTEREST::INSTAGRAM
Leave a Reply