Lemon Meringue Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
• To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Steps:

• Make pie shell: Mix flour, sugar and salt in a food processor, by pulsing a few times.
• Scatter the frozen butter pieces over flour mixture.
• Pulse in 1-second pulses about 5 times to mix in butter.
• Add frozen shortening; pulsing in 1-second pulses until mixture resembles cornmeal with pieces about the size of peas.
• Slowly add ice water through the processor feed tube, with motor running, one tbsp at a time.
• When dough forms a ball, stop processing.
• It should take about 2 or 3 tbsp of ice water to reach this stage.
• Shape dough into a ball in your flour coated hands, and then flatten into a 4 inch wide disk.
• Flour disk and wrap in plastic.
• Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Generously coat your work surface or pastry sheet with a little flour and about 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs.
• Place dough on floured surface, coat with some flour and graham cracker crumbs, and roll into a 9-inch disk.
• Lift, coat surface with more graham and flour, turn dough, add more graham and flour on top, and roll out to a 13 inch disk.
• Place into a 9 inch pie pan, and finish edges.
• Refrigerate crust until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Prick dough with a fork to prevent bubbling up in the oven.
• While the oven is pre-heating to 375, put pie crust in freezer.
• Bake at 375 for 20- 25 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure it's browning evenly and not bubbling up.
• Lemon Filling: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large, nonreactive saucepan.
• Add egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups water.
• Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking regularly, 8- 10 minutes, until thickened.
• Remove from heat, whisk in zest, then juice, and finally butter.
• Keep warm until meringue is made.
• Meringue topping: Mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened.
• Remove from heat when translucent and thickened.
• Preheat oven to 325.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix cream of tartar and sugar together.
• Beat egg whites with whip attachment of mixer until frothy. Add vanilla.
• Beat in sugar mixture, 1 tbsp at a time.
• Then drop in cornstarch mixture, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form.
• Pour warm lemon filling into pie crust.
• Distribute meringue evenly over the top, starting with the edges, and then the middle.
• Make sure it attaches to the crust.
• Lifting with the back of the spoon, create peaks in the meringue.
• Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Cool completely before serving.

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:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the lemon extract.
• Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 1-inch meringues on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour. Turn off the oven but leave the meringues inside with the door cracked open until they are completely cool and dry, about 2 hours. The meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• First make the pastry. Either by hand or using a food mixer with a beater attachment, cream the butter, icing sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest together. Add the milk and combine well. Tip in the flour and a pinch of salt, then rub or beat to form a dough. Shape into a thick disc and chill for at least 30 mins or overnight.
• Meanwhile, make the lemon filling. Beat the eggs and sugar together then add the zest and juice and stir in the double cream. Cover and put to one side.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll pastry out to a little thicker than a £1 coin and line a 23cm tart tin. Leave the excess pastry around the edges as this can be cut off when the tart has been cooked. Line the tart case with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 20 mins. Remove the baking beans and reduce the heat to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and cook for another 20 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Trim off the excess pastry from the edge of the tart using a serrated knife.
• Pour the lemon mix into the tart case. This may be easier with the tart case sitting in an open oven as so not to have to move it when full of mixture. Turn the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and cook for 30-35 mins until set with a slight wobble in the centre. Remove and cool to room temperature.
• For the meringue, put the sugar, 65ml of water and the glucose in a heavy bottomed pan on a medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once it is dissolved, bring to the boil and use a sugar thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
• Using a pastry brush dipped into cold water, brush down the inside of the pan just above the level of the sugar syrup, this will stop the sugar crystallising. Place the egg whites into a food mixer with a whisk attachment and when the syrup temp reaches 110C, turn on the mixer and whisk the whites
• When the temperature reaches 118C (soft ball - this will be marked on the sugar thermometer), steadily pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into the now stiff egg whites and continue whisking for 20 mins until completely cold. Transfer into a piping bag with a medium-size star nozzle. As it is cooked, this meringue can be made in advance. You can even make it the day before.
• You can pipe the meringue onto the tart as a whole or in individual portions, then glaze with a blowtorch. It can be easier and neater to cut the slices before piping with meringue. They can still be served in tart formation on a serving dish, with an ice-cold glass of limoncello, if you like.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. 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; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in lemon juice. butter and zest. Pour into four 6-oz. custard cups; set aside. , In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Immediately spread meringue over lemon mixture, sealing edges to sides of cups. Bake at 375° for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• For the pastry, put the plain flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk (save the white for the meringue) and 1 tbsp cold water into a food processor. Pulse until the mix starts to bind - make sure the mix is not overworked.
• Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, gather together until smooth, then roll out and line a 23 x 2.5cm loose-bottom fluted flan tin. Trim and neaten the edges. Press pastry into the flutes. The pastry is quite rich, so don't worry if it cracks, just press it back together. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, shiny side down, and chill for 30 mins-1 hr (or overnight).
• Put a baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the pastry case 'blind' (filled with dry beans) for 15 mins, then remove the foil and bake a further 5-8 mins until the pastry is pale golden and cooked. Set aside. Can be done a day ahead. Lower the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• While the pastry bakes, prepare the filling. Mix the cornflour, golden caster sugar and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Strain and stir in the lemon juice gradually. Make the orange juice up to 200ml with water and strain into the pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth.
• Once the mixture bubbles, remove from the heat and beat in the butter until melted. Beat the egg yolks (save white for meringue) and the whole egg together, stir into the pan and return to a medium heat. Keep stirring vigorously for a few minutes, until the mixture thickens and plops from the spoon. (It will bubble, but doesn't curdle.) Take off the heat and set aside while you make the meringue.
• Put the egg whites in a large bowl. Whisk to soft peaks, then add 100g of the golden caster sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking between each addition without overbeating. Whisk in the cornflour, then add the remaining 100g of sugar as before until smooth and thick.
• Quickly reheat the filling and pour it into the pastry case. Immediately put spoonfuls of meringue around the edge of the filling (if you start in the middle, the meringue may sink), then spread so it just touches the pastry (this will anchor it and help stop it sliding). Pile the rest into the centre, spreading so it touches the surface of the hot filling (and starts to cook), then give it all a swirl.
• Return to the oven for 18-20 mins until the meringue is crisp and slightly coloured. Let the pie sit in the tin for 30 mins, then remove and leave for at least another 30 mins-1 hr before slicing. Eat the same day.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with parchment, letting ends extend up sides., In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack., For filling, in another large bowl, mix sugar, lemon juice, eggs, flour and zest until combined. Pour over crust. Bake until set and top is dry, 22-27 minutes., Meanwhile, for meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites with lemon zest and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Spread or pipe over hot filling., Bake until meringue is golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Lifting with parchment, remove from pan. Cut into bars.

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:

• Make shell:
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 13-inch round, (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate. Trim edge of dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, and crimp edge decoratively. Prick shell in several places with a fork and chill, covered, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Line shell with wax paper and fill with rice or pie weights. Bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove paper and rice carefully and bake shell until golden, about 12 minutes more. Cool shell in pie plate on a rack.
• Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
• Make filling:
• In a heavy saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt and gradually whisk in water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks. Cook milk mixture over moderate heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil. Gradually whisk about 1 cup milk mixture into yolks and whisk yolk mixture into milk mixture. Simmer mixture, whisking, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest until butter is melted. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap.
• Make meringue:
• In another bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks.
• Pour filling into shell and spread meringue on top, covering filling completely, sealing it to pastry. Draw meringue up into peaks and bake pie in middle of oven until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
• PIE CRUST:.
• Mix flour, vegetable shortening, and salt together in a bowl using a wired pastry cutter. The dough should form into small clumps that don't feel greasy.
• Using a tablespoon, put the ice cold water in one tablespoon at a time, mixing as you go. I usually start with about four - six tablespoons and work my way up from there. The dough will eventually form into a ball. The dough should not feel wet on the outside, just slightly moist and if you break it in 1/2, it should not feel soggy on the inside. If you put in a little too much water, you can always add a bit more flour.
• If you like, you can wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator for awhile at this stage. Using the ice water, though, removes the need to refrigerate if you don't want to.
• When you're ready to roll, dust your work surface (I use taped-down wax paper for this), your hands, your rolling pin, and your dough with flour. Roll out the dough on your work surface starting in the middle and working outward. Try to keep it in circle form, but it isn't a huge deal. Roll it until it is about 1/4" thick all over.
• Lift up the dough and place it in your pie dish.
• Poke the dough at the bottom of the pie dish with a fork all over. Take the teaspoon or so of sugar and sprinkle it all along the bottom, covering the fork holes. This prevents the bottom of the crust from getting soggy your filling to leaking.
• Around the top rim of your pie dish, pinch the dough so that it forms a small peak all around the rim. I do this by placing my index finger of my left hand on the top of the rim and the thumb from my left hand on the bottom. I then do the same with my right hand about one inch to the right. I slide my right hand (still gripping the dough) toward my left hand, allowing the dough on top of the rim to peak.
• Once this is done, dip two fingers in water, place around one of the peaks and pull your fingers back and down onto the rim of the pie dish to seal the "valleys" of your dough to the pie dish. This prevents them from coming up when baking.
• For the lemon meringue pie, you need to pre-bake your pie crust a bit. The fork wholes at the bottom should prevent it from bubbling up. If you want, you can line the crust with parchment paper and put in some dry beans while baking it to help keep the shape.
• Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until it starts turning brown. You'll be baking it for about another 10 minutes later, so you don't want it to get too brown.
• Allow the pie crust to cool while making the filling and meringue.
• Reduce the oven to 375 degrees.
• LEMON FILLING:.
• Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium (3 quart) saucepan.
• Blend water and egg yolks together.
• Turn heat on medium and gradually add water and egg yolks to the mixture.
• Continue to heat on medium, allowing the mixture to simmer, stirring constantly until thickened.
• Remove from heat, gently stir in juice and zest and then stir in butter until it melts.
• Put aside while preparing meringue, but don't allow mixture to cool.
• MERINGUE:.
• In a small saucepan, mix cornstarch, water, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened and clear. Remove from heat.
• In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
• Beat in vanilla extract.
• Beat in 1/2 cup of sugar, a little at a time.
• Finally beat in cornstarch mixture a little at a time and continue beating until all the sugar has dissolved and the meringue forms a soft peak.
• ASSEMBLING THE PIE:.
• Pour the warm lemon filling into the pie crust and smooth it until it is even.
• Top the pie with meringue, pushing the edges of the pie crust - ensuring that it makes a good seal with the crust. I like to use the back of a spoon to form little peaks in the meringue.
• Heat at 375 for 10-15 minutes until meringue turns a soft golden brown.
• Allow to cool completely before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325˚F (170˚C). Grease and line a 9-inch (23 cm) square baking dish with parchment paper and place on a baking sheet.
• Make the crust: combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a medium bowl, and use your hands to mix until a crumbly dough forms.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, and use your hands to press it against the bottom and about 1 inch (2 cm) up the sides. Poke the bottom all over with a fork.
• Bake for 20 minutes, until light golden brown.
• While the crust is baking, make the lemon filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk. Add the granulated sugar, lemon juice, zest, and a pinch of salt, and whisk to combine. Whisk in the flour until just combined.
• When the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven. Pour the lemon filling over the crust and carefully return it to the oven for 25 minutes, until the filling no longer jiggles and the center is mostly set.
• While the filling bakes, make the meringue: In a clean, dry medium bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Add about half of the sugar, whip for 30 seconds, then add the rest of the sugar and whip until combined. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip or zip-top bag with a corner snipped off.
• Pipe 9 evenly-spaced dollops of meringue on top of the lemon bars.
• Return to the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the meringues are lightly browned.
• Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Slice into 9 bars. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
• Enjoy!