Lemon meringue pie

by Andrea Gámez


This lemon meringue pie is a worldwide classic. It is a pie or tart with a crunchy crust, a creamy and soft lemon filling and a thick layer of meringue on top, that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

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How to make a lemon meringue pie

In Mexico when we say lemon pie we always think of the typical layered cookies and lemon cream pie. Which is a pie that doesn’t need baking, plus is super yummy. This is a pie that only needs to be refrigerated.

I recently discovered that there are a lot of lemon pie types, and that they change names depending on the country. For example, in the USA the “key lemon pie” is really famous, we will share this recipe later on, and then in South America the “lemon pie” is widely well known. This recipe is similar to what is called lemon pie.

Lemon meringue pie recipe

So this is the lemon pie recipe, also called lemon meringue pie, which was first made in the XIX century by a swiss baker. So that we can identify which recipe this is, is the lemon pie that originated in South america. The latin way. Our way. 

For this recipe, as with any other recipe that calls for lemon or orange zest, you have to be careful not to shred the white part of the peel, only the colorful part. Otherwise this will make it all turn sour.

Now, personally, I love meringue on its own. I could eat a lot of meringue. But if you don’t like it as much, or would rather just make less, simply do half of the meringue, so the meringue layer isn’t as thick.

If you like this recipe, you have to go see our lemon pie with cookies.

Lemon meringue pie

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

For the crust:

  • 1 3/4 C all purpouse flour
  • 1/4 C + 1 tbsp white sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • (125 gr) unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

  • 1 1/2 C whole milk
  • 3/4 C white sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 C + 1 tps corn starch
  • 1/2 C lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2.5 oz (70 gr) unsalted butter

For the meringue:

  • 1/2 C white sugar
  • 1/4 C water
  • 2 eggs whites at room temperature
  • 1 pinch cream of tartar
  • The juice of half a lemon

Instructions
 

For the crust:

  • Preheat the oven at 350° F (175ºC).
  • Sift the flour and place it in a big bowl. Sitr in the sugar and salt. 
  • Add in the cold butter and make a sand-like mix using a fork. It is important not to overdo this step, it has to be quick so that the butter stays cold.  
  • Then add in the egg yolks and vanilla. Incorporate well until you get a soft dough (you can also do all this using a food processor following the same steps).
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for 30 min. 
  • Once the 30 min. have passed, roll out the dough in a previously floured surface to be 3 mm thick. 
  • Place the dough in a pie mold, cut the excess and pinch a little with a fork. 
  • Cover the dough with parchment paper or aluminium foil and put on top something to make some weight. You can use uncooked rice, beans, etc.
  • Bake at 350°F for 20 min. or until fully cooked.
  • Let it cool completely before filling. 

For the filling:

  • On a pot to medium heat, heat the milk with half the sugar.
  • In a different bowl, mix the rest of the sugar and corn starch together. Incorporate the egg yolks, lemon juice and zest and salt. Once mixed, add in some warm milk to temper the mixture. 
  • Cook it in the pot with the rest of the milk, always stiring. 
  • Cook until it boils for a minute and then turn off the heat. 
  • Add in the butter, mix and then cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the mixture so that it doesn´t form a custard on the surface.
  • Once this mmixture has cooled down, fill with it the pie crust. 
  • Take the pie to the fridge for 1 hour until the filling is thick in consistency. 

For the meringue:

  • In a small pot to low heat, heat the water and sugar together, until the mixture gets to 239° F (you can test this by dropping a little of this mixture in a glass with cold water, if a soft ball forms while touching it with your fingers, it´s ready). Once it´s ready turn off the heat.  
  • In the meantime, in a standing mixer, beat the egg whites along with the cream of tartar and the lemon juice to medium speed for 2 min. 
  • While still beating (now to high speed), slowly pour the hot sugar syrup and keep beating until stif peaks form. 
  • Once the meringue is firm and shinny, it´s done! now you can spread it on top of the pie. 
  • Finaly, you can use your oven grill or a kitchen torch to golden the meringue.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Lemon meringue pie

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[…] type of desserts over any chocolate cake of sorts any day. I would rather eat an apple pie or a lemon pie than a chocolate cake. And to me, this berries meringue cake or mostachon is […]

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