pies

Lemon meringue pie

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Lemon meringue pie slice

My mom used to make lemon meringue pie (or simply Lemon Pie, as we call it back home) all the time. My sister Mailen absolutely loves this pie, so it would always be her treat. I confess I wasn’t a fan of this dessert, I used to think it was too sour for my taste.

As I got older, I started to appreciate this delicacy more and more. Nowadays, I could kill for a slice of lemon meringue pie.

I tried many, many recipes and not all attempts were successful. I tried different ways to make the filling, and in one of these attempts I came across condensed milk, and oh my. How have I lived so long without trying condensed milk?

But my biggest problem always was the meringue. I tried French meringue first, because that’s how my mom does it, but it always ended up too fluffy for me and it lost its consistency if you didn’t eat it right away. I then moved on to Italian meringue and let me tell you: I hate this technique. I always messed it up – I either burnt the caramel (or it didn’t turn out syrup-y), or I burnt the egg whites. When it did come out right, the meringue over the pie would start to sweat after a day in the fridge. Not good.

That is, until I tried making a Swiss meringue. The technique detailed here is not the textbook recipe, but it’s much simpler and most importantly, it works! The only gotcha is that it doesn’t last soft and creamy for too long, so the pie needs to be consumed in the first 1-3 days. Like that’s a problem…

This recipe comes from a TV show from Argentina, called Cocineros Argentinos. I watched it on YouTube. It’s long but really good. I couldn’t find the textual recipe in their website, though.

Ingredients

Pie dough

  • 100g powdered sugar
  • 200g room-temperature butter
  • 300g all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 lemon zest

Filling

  • 500ml milk
  • 200g sugar
  • 60g cornstarch
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 200ml lemon juice
  • 1/2 lemon zest

Meringue

  • 4 egg whites
  • 240g sugar

Directions

  1. Mix the butter with a spatula until soft. Add the powdered sugar slowly. Once incorporated, start mixing with an electric mixer.
  2. When the consistency becomes creamy and the colour lightens, add the egg and keep mixing.
  3. Add the flour and salt, and mix with a spatula until a firm dough forms. Do not overmix.
  4. Form a circle with the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Take to the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Once chilled, roll the dough in a floured surface until circle covers pie dish, or an approximate height of 1 cm.
  6. Cover the pie dish and press against the side. Cut the excess dough. Tap base with a fork.
  7. Cover the dish and dough with aluminium foil and press. Add baking weights.
  8. Take to a pre-heated 350°F oven for about 15 minutes. After that time, remove the weights and foil, and cook for 5 more minutes.
  9. While the dough bakes, start the filling. In a bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch. Add the lemon juice and the zest.
  10. Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add about 1/4 of the milk into the yolks and sugar mixture. Mix to bring the temperature down.
  11. Put the sauce pan back in the heat until it boils again. Once it does, slowly add the other mixture into the saucepan, mixing constantly. Keep beating until consistency thickens. Once it starts to boil, keep mixing for 1 more minute and then remove from the heat.
  12. Transfer the filling into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Ensure the wrap touches the filling to avoid it from developing a hard film on the top. Chill it in the fridge.
  13. Once chilled, fill the cooked pie dough and leave it to rest.
  14. To make the meringue, add the egg whites and sugar into a microwave-safe bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer is it’s glass). Mix to incorporate.
  15. Cook it on the microwave for 30 seconds. Take it out and mix it again with a whisk to prevent the egg whites from cooking. Do this process 5 times (1 time more than the amount of egg whites).
  16. Once the last round is done, transfer to the bowl of a standing mixer (if you didn’t do it in there) and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes.
  17. Decorate the pie with the meringue. You can use a piping bag or just put a layer of meringue on top.
  18. Turn the oven on, using the lowest broil setting. Place the pie in the oven and keep an eye on it. Broil only until the top darkens, about 1-2 minutes.