How To Make Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pie is a delicate infusion of sweet and citrus; an ingenious manifestation of the ever so popular combination of lemon and sugar. A more intense version of Pierre Herme's Ligurian Lemon Cake, lemon meringue pie strikes a balance between the sweet sharpness that comes the lemon curd and the fluffy airiness that comes from the velvety meringue that is slathered on top.

Most of the baking I do involves only a few major steps - blend, soak, chop or sift the individual ingredients then dump them all into the mixer and pop it into the oven. A lemon meringue pie on the other hand, is a three part process - crust, curd and meringue. Nonetheless, when you have a friend's birthday coming up and diner en blanc to prepare for, coupled with the fact that it's one of your dad's favourite desserts, it's about time to make the pie. 

After sieving the lemon curd hot off the stove, pour it onto the freshly baked tart base

After getting my friends to separate the egg yolks from the whites (my least favourite bit), all it took was a pinch of salt and sugar to whip the pale yellow goo into a temptingly silky, cottony soft cloud of white. 

Unfortunately, the texture only lasted long enough to perfect the first meringue pie before I used a blow torch to caramelize the top the next morning in time for the birthday surprise. Having left the rest of the fluffy meringue overnight in the fridge, it was too flimsy to hold much of a pattern by the time I slathered it onto the second pie the next evening. 

Tips for bakers: 

For internet recipes, I usually go to Joy of Baking - they're reliably simple, don't call for exotic ingredients (like fleur de sel and orange flower water) and almost always turn out well. If I were to make this again, I'd probably use about a quarter or even half less sugar than this recipe calls for.

Tips for eaters:

Too lazy to bake? I suggest you visit Prive Bakery Cafe at Keppel Bay to satiate any lemon meringue pie cravings. 

First pie: pre-torched/caramelized. 

Second pie: post-torched/caramelized

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Sweet Pastry Crust:

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Lemon Curd:

3 large eggs

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice(2-3 lemons) 

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar (you might want to halve this) 

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon (4 grams) lemon zest

Meringue:

4 large egg whites

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (130 grams) white granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt 

Sweet Pastry Crust

1. Sift together flour and salt. Place butter in mixer and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating until just incorporated. Don't over mix or the butter will separate and lighten in color.  Add flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball.  Don't overwork or pastry will be hard when baked.  

2. Flatten dough into disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Have ready an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11 - 12 inch (28 - 30 cm) circle that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.  To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry.  The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan.

3. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll.  Unroll onto top of tart pan.  Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan).  Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan.  Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes).  Freeze for about 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten in the flour.

4. Preheat oven to 205 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. Bake the crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is dry and lightly golden brown.  

Lemon Curd 

1. While the crust is baking make the Lemon Curd. In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.  Cook, whisking constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes pale in color and quite thick (like a hollandaise sauce or sour cream) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C on a thermometer).  This will take about 10 minutes.  

2. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.  

3. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted.  

4. Add the lemon zest.  Immediately pour the lemon curd into the baked crust and smooth the top.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).  Bake the tart for about 10 minutes or until the lemon curd is firm but still a little wobbly in the center.  Do not let it brown or burn. 

Meringue

1. In a clean bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the salt and continue beating until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

2. Using a spoon, place dollops of the meringue over the entire surface of the hot lemon curd, starting at the outside edge of the tart.  (Make sure the meringue comes right up to the crust and there are no gaps between the crust and the lemon curd.) Then, with the back of your spoon, gently press down on the meringue to get rid of any air pockets and to make sure all the lemon curd is covered with the meringue.  If desired, swirl the meringue making a few decorative peaks.  Return the tart to the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the meringue has nicely browned.

3. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool, away from any drafts.  When cool, serve or else cover and refrigerate.

Serves 6 - 8