4 Layer Sky High Lemon Meringue Cake Pie Recipes

Steps:

• For the pie crust: Pulse the flour, shortening, sugar, salt and vinegar in a food processor until the mixture looks like damp sand, about 10 pulses. Add the butter and pulse until you can still see large pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough begins to come together. Pinch the dough; if it doesn't hold together, add up to 3 more tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and dump the dough onto the plastic. Using the edges of the plastic, press the dough into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and preferably overnight. (Freeze up to 2 months.)
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 13-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie dish, gently pressing the dough into the edges and letting the excess dough drape over the sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Trim any excess dough with a paring knife and crimp the edges decoratively or press them down with the tines of a fork. Prick the dough on the bottom all over with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the dough and fill with pie weights or uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake until the crust is deep golden brown on the edges and lightly golden in the center, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let the crust cool to room temperature.
• For the filling: Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups water and whisk to combine. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate medium bowl. Place the sugar mixture over medium heat and cook, continuing to gently whisk, until the mixture begins to bubble and is extremely thick. Temper the eggs yolks by slowly adding half of the hot sugar mixture to the yolks while constantly whisking. Add the tempered yolks to the saucepan and return to the heat. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon zest until completely melted and incorporated. Pour the filling directly into the pie crust and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the filling (see Cook's Note). Refrigerate while you make the meringue.
• For the meringue: Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment along with the sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk together to combine. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl to the mixer and add the vanilla. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and gently mound the meringue on top of the filling. Use an offset spatula to make sure the meringue completely covers the filling and meets the crust all around the edges. (This will seal in the filling and help prevent weeping.) Use the offset spatula to create swirls and peaks in the meringue. Toast the meringue using a kitchen torch or broil in the oven until golden brown, keeping an eye on the meringue if broiling, 1 to 2 minutes. Refrigerate the pie until the filling is completely cool and set, about 4 hours.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mush two prepared pie crusts together to line a 9-inch super deep dish pie plate. Crimp the edges decoratively. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream to make a glaze. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork, brush the top edges with the glaze, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Weight the shell with pie weights or dried beans, and bake until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights; continue baking until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes more. Let cool.
• You will need at least 4 9-inch spring-form pans to prepare each layer of the pie separately.
• To make the first layer of pie filling, disolve a packet of gelatin in water and bring to a boil over the stove, turn down the heat and then combine 1/3 cup each of cornstarch & cake flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cups cold water, and bring to a boil again, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat. Temper 5 egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. You do not want them to scramble/curdle. You just want to heat the beaten yolks but keep them in a creamy, liquid form. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
• Once cooled, pour the filling into a 9 inch spring form pan, covered with aluminum foil, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Repeat the above steps again, for the second layer of pie, and once completed, pour into another 9-inch springform pan and let chill.
• In two additional 9-inch spring form pans, bake two lemon cakes using one half of a box of cake mix (Williams-Sonoma Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Mix) for one pan, and 1/2 the mix for the other pan. Let the cakes cool.
• You should now have 4 layers---- 2 springform pans of chilled pie filling, and 2 spring form pans of thin lemon cake. To assemble the pie, start with the pre-cooked crust and sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar across the bottom of the crust with either a fork or a brush. Then open the spring form pan of pie filling and place on top of the powdered sugar crust. A layer of lemon cake goes on top of that. Then place the second pie filling layer on top of that. You want to end up with a layer of cake on the very top, and the meringue topping will sit on that top layer of cake.
• To make the meringue, pour the egg whites and creme of tartar into a very clean and dry copper or stainless steal mixing bowl. Beat on a low speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add in the salt and extra-fine sugar, but very very slowly, and gradually turn up the speed of the mixer. You want the egg white to beat till they form soft shiny frothy peaks, but not so stiff that they aren't flexible enough to swirl. Add the Vanilla at the very last moment. With a rubber spatula, swirl the beaten meringue into a 9-inch spring form pan, covering the entire perimeter of the pan and bake for 6 minutes or until lightly brown.
• Let the Meringue topping cool for at least a half hour, then undo the spring form pan and place on top of the other cake/pie layers.

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
• In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in lemon juice, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
• As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick and fluffy, and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in lemon zest. Mix with care to not deflate meringue: A few strokes should do it. Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design, if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely and top with more lemon zest before serving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add 3 tablespoons cold water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. , Roll out dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer crust to pie plate. Trim to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned., Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. , Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in butter and lemon zest. Gradually stir in lemon juice just until combined. Pour into the crust., For meringue, in a saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in cold water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is clear. Transfer to a bowl; cool., Beat egg whites and vanilla until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat in cornstarch mixture on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing edge to crust., Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. , Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water and juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; gently stir in butter and lemon zest. Cool completely., For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on an ovenproof serving plate; spread with a third of the filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. , Spread meringue over top and sides. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Put rack on lowest position in oven.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar.
• Stir in flour, salt, lemon peel and lemon juice.
• In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with milk until well blended, stir into lemon mixture.
• In another medium sized bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold distinct but moist peaks. Gently fold egg whites into lemon mixture. (Don't mix it too much.).
• Pour filling into pie crust.
• I always end up with more filling than will fit in the pie crust so I put it in a couple ceramic rammekins and cook it along with the pie.
• Bake on the lowest rack of the oven until the top is browned and the center jiggles only slightly when pan is gently shaken (45-55 minutes). If the crust begins to brown excessively, drape it with foil.
• Let cool before serving. But it's good warm too!

Steps:

• Beat eggs yolks; add lemon juice and rind.
• Mix sugar, flour and salt; add milk beat well; add melted butter and beat again.
• Beat egg whites until stiff.
• Add to first mixture and fold in carefully. Pour into the pie crust.
• Bake 10 minutes at 400*, then reduce to 275* and continue to bake1 hr to 1 hr 15 minutes or until golden brown and only slightly jiggly in center.

Steps:

• POUR 2 cups milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and juice. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) SPREAD 1-1/2 cups of the pudding onto bottom of crust; set aside. Add half of the whipped topping to remaining pudding; stir gently until well blended. Spread over pudding layer in crust. Place 2 cups of the marshmallows in large microwaveable bowl. Add 2 Tbsp. milk; stir. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until marshmallows are completely melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until well blended. Refrigerate 15 min. or until cooled. Gently stir in whipped topping; spread over pudding mixture. REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until set. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup marshmallows just before serving. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.