Lemon Meringue

My Meyer lemon tree is blooming. The flowers fill the room with their sweet scent, as though a Gardena blossom was floating in vanilla extract. The tree spent the spring and summer on the deck soaking up the sun and rain and now that I have moved it indoors for the winter it is covered with white blossoms and buds. I can only hope that some of the blossoms will become plump, juicy, thin skinned lemons that I can juice and use in pie.

Lemon meringue pie has been a favorite in my family for as long as I can remember. It often shows up at Thanksgiving, Easter, and birthdays. My Dad and uncles, my maternal grandmother, my aunt, my cousin, and most recently, my husband all counted it as one of their favorite pies. The components of lemon meringue pie – pastry crust, lemon curd, and egg whites whipped with sugar—have all been around for centuries, but it was not until the 19th century that recipes for the pie as we know it today started appearing.

I found this note in my Grandmother Emma’s collection of recipes. I think those ingredients would make one very ‘lean’ lemon custard pie. One of my personal critiques of many lemon pies is that the filling tastes too much like cornstarch. My second problem is keeping the meringue from ‘weeping’ (little tears of syrup form on the surface after baking). After many years of research I have found a filling recipe with which I am happy but I still occasionally get a meringue that weeps. I blame it on our humidity and try to serve the pie as soon after baking as possible.


The Best Lemon Meringue Pie…so far

One 9 inch deep dish pie crust, baked


Filling:

4 large egg yolks

3 large eggs

¾ cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

A pinch of salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Combine the eggs and additional yolks in a small non-reactive sauce pan. Stir in the lemon juice. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl. Stir into the yolk and juice mixtures. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in butter a piece at a time until it is all incorporated. Pour mixture into the crust.


Italian Meringue:

½ cup sugar

2 Tablespoons water

4 large egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put a one cup heatproof liquid measuring cup near the stove.
In a small heavy saucepan combine the sugar and water. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is bubbling. Stop stirring and turn the heat down to very low.

Using a stand mixer and the whisk attachment beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

Increase the heat under the syrup and boil until large bubbles start to break all over the surface. A thermometer will read 236 degrees (soft ball stage). Immediately pour the syrup into the glass measuring cup to stop the cooking.

Pour a small amount of the syrup over the egg whites while the mixer is off. Immediately beat at high speed 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add more syrup. Beat 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining the syrup scraping out the last with a rubber scraper. Continue beating on high speed for about 2 to 3 minutes until the bowl is no longer hot.

Spread the meringue on top of the filling starting at the outside edge, pushing the meringue into the crust edge and making decorative swirls and peaks.

Bake the pie about 10 minutes until the meringue is golden. Cool to room temperature and serve as soon as possible. Refrigerate leftovers if there are any.