Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe to Pucker Up For

lemon meringue pie

Lemon meringue pie is the latest citrus dessert for me to try. Citrus desserts are some of my favorites. Lemon tarts, lemon bars, blood orange bars, the stronger/sharper the citrus flavor the more I love it. I had grand plans to make a dessert using grapefruit but unfortunately, grapefruit doesn’t play nice with the meds I’m on so those plans are on hold. At any rate, I’ve wanted to make lemon meringue pie ever since the episode of The Great Bakeoff where the technical challenge is to make a lemon meringue pie with no recipe. I wanted at the very least to be able to know how to make meringue. So when I found a batch of pie dough in my freezer last week I decided to make this pie.

Lemon Meringue Pie Notes

First thing first, my skills in making a pie crust leave something to be desired. But practice makes perfect and we can either approach success or avoid failure. Plus it still tastes delicious, so eating your mistakes isn’t the worst thing in the world. When laying the pie dough into the pie tin, be sure and leave a little extra on the crust since it will shrink during baking. I knew this going in but still cut it too close so be careful and take your time since it takes a while for the dough to chill.

For details on making the dough, I’m going to crib the description from the chocolate bourbon pecan recipe since I haven’t created a separate recipe post for pie dough all on its own. But anyway, here we go.

Pie Crust Notes

To make pie dough, add the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt to a bowl and toss in the freezer for a few minutes to chill. This is to help keep the butter cold which will result in a better crust. Next, chop the butter into half-inch cubes and place in the freezer to chill. Combine the milk and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and stir to combine. Place in the fridge to chill until ready to use.

Using the metal blade for your food processor, add the dry ingredients and pulse once to combine. Add the butter to the food processor and put the lid back on.

pie dough ingredients
Pie Dough Ingredients

Take the milk mixture out of the fridge. Turn on the food processor. After a second or so, pour the milk in through the food chute at the top of the food processor. Once the milk has been added, turn off the food processor and turn out onto a piece of cling film. You can also transfer the mixture to a bowl to make shaping easier. You can see in the photo below that I did not take this approach and my dough split. I also used GF flour, which I do not recommend for pie dough. I did not use GF flour for the lemon meringue pie. Anyway, press the mixture together into a rough disc shape and wrap it tightly in cling film.

pie dough
Wrapped Pie Dough

Place in the fridge to chill for at least one hour. Pie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. It will last for several months in the freezer. The dough recipe is enough for two pies, FYI.

More Pie Crust Notes & Baking Instructions

Take half of the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pie dough out to roughly a quarter-inch thick. Roll the pie dough into a 9″ pie tin and press into place. Transfer the prepared pie tin to the fridge until ready to use. If using GF flour, you likely won’t be able to roll it out so you need to press it into the pie dish.

pie crust

Once the dough has been placed in the pie dish, set it in the fridge and chill for two hours. Once the dough has been chilled, cut any excess off of the top, leaving a bit extra to allow for shrinkage.

Prick the bottom of the pie crust all over with the tines of a fork. Next, crumple a piece of parchment paper and lay it on top of the pie dough. Place pie weights or uncooked beans on top of the parchment and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes. After ten minutes remove the parchment paper and the pie weights and bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center of the pie crust is a light golden color. Let the pie crust cool to room temperature.

Lemon Curd

The only obnoxious part about making lemon curd is having to separate eggs. Tempering the egg yolks can be a bit intimidating but just add a bit of liquid at a time and you won’t need to worry about scrambling the eggs. Start by combining the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Add the lemon juice and water to the mixture and put the pan on medium heat.

lemon curd
It’s not going to look super appetizing here, that’s okay.

Whisk constantly until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved and the mixture is bubbling and very thick. Remove the pan from the heat. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and then slowly pour about half of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks don’t get cooked by the hot liquid. If doing this by yourself, place a towel underneath the bowl so that you can pour and whisk at the same time with the bowl staying in place.

Once half of the sugar mixture has been added, pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return to low-medium heat. Stir constantly with a spatula until the mixture comes to a simmer, cook for one minute longer, and then remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon zest and butter and mix until fully combined. Pour the lemon curd into the baked pie crust and place a piece of cling film directly on the lemon curd. Place in the fridge to chill. The cling film is to prevent a skin from forming on the lemon curd which will mess with the texture of the pie when done.

lemon pie

Meringue Notes

I was a bit intimidated making meringue for the first time but like most of my other experiences in baking, read the instructions, take your time, and things will turn out okay. Plus meringue is delicious, even without the vanilla extract, which I forgot at the time and it was still amazing. Combine the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine the ingredients.

meringue ingredients
Meringue ingredients pre-heat

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. It’s important that the bowl does not touch the water. This will bring the temperature up too high and risk splitting the meringue. Whisk the mixture constantly over the simmering water until the meringue is hot to the touch.

heated meringue
Heated Meringue

Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer and add the vanilla extract. Whisk on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form, around 5 to 6 minutes.

stiff peak meringue
Meringue with stiff peaks.

Once the meringue is ready, remove the pie from the fridge and remove the cling film. Transfer the meringue onto the top of the pie and use an offset spatula to create swirls and peaks.

lemon meringue pie
Lemon Meringue Pie Pre-toasting

Using a kitchen torch, toast the meringue until golden.

toasted meringue
Playing fire can be quite delicious

Place the pie in the fridge until the fillings are cool, around 4 hours. Slice and serve! Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, although it’s best eaten within 3 days of making.

lemon meringue pie
A delicious slice of lemon meringue pie.

Lemon Meringue Pie

A classic dessert of lemon curd and fluffy meringue make for an amazing combination
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, British
Keyword Lemon, Meringue, Pie
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Pie Dough Chilling Time 3 hours
Servings 1 Pie

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Food Processor (Optional but if you're making the pie dough, a food processor makes it so much easier. You can also just buy premade pie crust)
  • Kitchen Torch (Optional but so much more fun to toast the meringue this way)

Ingredients

Pie Crust

  • 226 grams Unsalted Butter (16 Tbsp)
  • 120 ml Whole milk (1/4 cup)
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar works too)
  • 340 grams AP flour chilled (3 cups)
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1-½ tsp Salt

Lemon Curd

  • 200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
  • 40 grams cornstarch (5 tbsp)
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 118 grams Lemon Juice (½ cup)
  • 355 grams water (1-½ cup)
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 42 grams Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces (3 tbsp)
  • 4 grams lemon zest (~2 tsp)

Meringue

  • 5 large egg whites
  • 150 grams granulated sugar (¾ cup)
  • ¼ tsp cream of tartar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 ml Vanilla Extract (½ tsp)

Instructions

Pie Crust Instructions

  • Measure out the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt and place in the freezer to cool for ten minutes.
  • Cut the butter into half-inch cubes and place in the freezer to cool.
  • Combine the milk and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and stir to combine. Place in the fridge until ready to use
  • Place the chilled dry ingredients in the bowl of your food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse once to combine.
  • Add the butter to the food processor.
  • Have the milk mixture ready and turn the food processor on. After a few seconds, slowly pour the milk mixture down the feed tube of the food processor. Once all of the milk has been added, turn off the food processor.
  • Turn the dough out onto a piece of cling film and shape into a flat disc. Wrap the dough tightly and place in the fridge to cool for at least one hour.
  • Take half of the dough and turn out onto a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out to a thickness of roughly 1/4" and a diameter of 13." Lay into a 9" pie tin and place in the fridge to chill for another 2 hours.
  • Trim the excess dough off with a paring knife and press down the edges with the tines of a fork. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork
  • Place a sheet of parchment paper on the dough and then fill with pie weights or uncooked beans over the top. Bake for ten minutes and then remove the pie weights. Bake for another 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is a light golden color. Let the pie crust cool to room temperature

Lemon Curd Instructions

  • Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium sauce pan. Add the lemon juice and water to the mixture. Place the sauce pan over medium heat and whisk constantly until mixture is bubbling and very thick. Remove from heat.
  • Whisk the egg yolks in a separate medium bowl. Temper the egg yolks by pouring roughly half of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
  • Once half of the sugar mixture has been added and the yolks are tempered, pour the yolk mixture back into the sauce pan and return to a low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula. After mixture has come to a simmer, cook for 1 minute and then remove from heat
  • Stir in the lemon zest and butter and mix until fully combined. Pour the lemon curd directly into the baked pie crust or into a storage container if making this recipe in steps over a few days. Cover the lemon curd with a piece of cling film, pressing thee cling film into the curd and place in the fridge to cool.

Meringue Instructions

  • Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk ingredients together to combine.
  • Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Ensure that the bowl is not touching the water. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and add the vanilla.
  • Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, around 5-6 minutes.
  • Remove the pie from the fridge and take the cling film off of the curd. Mound the meringue on top of the curd and shape using an offset spatula to create swirls and peaks. Using a kitchen torch, toast the meringue until golden.
  • Place pie in the fridge until fillings are cool, roughly 4 hours. Once fillings are cool, cut and serve.
lemon meringue pie