Lemon Meringue Pie for the Daring Bakers

We never made lemon meringue pie when I was in alimentary school. We made tarts with puckery sour lemon curd, and they were swell, but the whole Serious French Pastry Establishment really has very little kind to say about puddings and fillings made with cornstarch and water. How wrong they are. These sweet little pies are adorable, and great fun to make. I am so grateful to the Daring Bakers for challenging me once again to try something I have never done before. This week was also the first time I ever went ice skating or Norwegian folk dancing. All three of these new activities involve twirling exhilarating weightlessness—Just look at those swirly little peaks.

This is a recipe that benefits especially from being made in the smallest pans for which you have the patience. The filling is quite sweet, and still plenty puckery, so a high crust ratio is just the bee’s knees. I made two thirds of the recipe for the filling and still had lemon filling and meringue left over. I piped the leftover meringue into kisses and baked them in a very slow oven overnight to serve alongside glasses of lemon parfait. Here is the recipe. My comments are in square brackets.

Lemon Meringue Pie
[I made two 5-inch pies and seven tiny tartlettes]

Recipe from: Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver.

For the Crust:
3/4 cup (170 gram) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (50 gram) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (0.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling [I just prebaked the crusts without any lining. The smaller your tarts, the more you can get away with].

To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC) [a little higher I think—I baked these at 400]. Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes [in the top third of the oven], or until golden [ideally, you should have a contrast of dark tips and white valleys]. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust [you can even have them while they are still warm. Yummy!].