Say hello to our classic lemon meringue pie recipe! The buttery pastry dough in this recipe is the perfect vehicle for the bright contrasts between the smooth lemon curd and the fluffy meringue.
Sticky and sweet with just a whisper of tartness, a good old-fashioned lemon meringue pie is always greeted with murmurs of appreciation. This one is no different. Mix up the classic lemon meringue pie by creating cute lemon meringue cupcakes that are perfect as party food or a gift.
Now, all that’s left to do is pop the kettle on and cut yourself a big slice!
Looking for more sweet pies and tarts or lemon dessert recipes?
Ingredients
Method
To make pastry, process flour, icing sugar and butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk and cold water; process until ingredients come together. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Wrap pastry in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Grease a 24cm round loose-based fluted flan pan. Roll pastry between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line pan. Ease pastry into pan, press into base and side; trim edge. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Place pan on oven tray. Line pastry case with baking paper and fill with dried beans or rice. Bake 15 minutes. Remove paper and beans carefully from pastry case. Bake another 10 minutes; cool pastry case, turn oven off.
Meanwhile, combine cornflour and 1 cup caster sugar in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in juice and the water until smooth. Cook, stirring, over high heat, until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in rind, butter and egg yolks. Cool 10 minutes.
Spoon the lemon filling into the cooked, cooled pastry case; spread the filling out evenly, covering the base completely and taking it to the edge of the pastry case. Use a fork to roughen the surface of the filling. Cover; refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 220°C.
Beat egg whites in a small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining sugar, beating until sugar dissolves.
Spread meringue mixture onto roughened surface of filling. Bake about 2 minutes or until meringue is browned lightly.
When it is time to stir the yolks into the filling, work quickly to avoid any lumps.
Test Kitchen tip
How do you keep meringue pie from going soggy?
Blind baking is the key to preventing a soggy bottomed pie crust. Blind baking is the term for partially baking pastry before a baked filling is added. This process causes the pastry to crisp up and act as a barrier against liquids that might make the base soggy before it can be baked. For this lemon meringue pie, we blind bake the pastry in step four.
What makes lemon meringue pie filling watery?
The watery layer between the meringue and your pie’s curd filling can be caused by under baking your meringue. Under baking the meringue causes the meringue to weep, which results in the water-like weeping. Under beating your meringue can also cause a water-like weeping to occur. To combat this, we recommend following the recipe carefully to avoid a watery topping for your lemon meringue pie.
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