Last updated on September 27th, 2024
Table of Contents
This Classic Lemon Meringue Pie has a flaky crust topped with a creamy lemon filling nestled under a pillow of toasted meringue. The vintage inspiration for this pie comes from my 1965 “Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook.”
I modified the recipe to bake it modern by:
- Added more lemon flavor
- Used ClearJel
- Made stabilized never-fail meringue
How to make Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
How to make a single pre-baked crust:
For cream pies, your pie shell needs to be pre-baked. You can make the pie dough a day ahead.
Dice the butter into small cubes and put into the freezer prior to making the pie dough. Chill water with some ice cubes before using. After you roll out the crust, put in fridge for 15 minutes so it’s cold going into a hot oven. This step will help keep the crust from shrinking.
Dust your raw pie crust dough with a thickening agent (this can be cornstarch, tapioca starch or ClearJel) and then brush with egg wash (1 egg white + 1 T. water) prior to pouring in the filling. This step prevents a soggy pie crust.
After you dust the raw pie crust dough, prick the bottom and sides with a fork. This will help steam escape and keep the bottom of the pie flat. Another way to keep the bottom flat is to cover the crust with parchment paper and place ceramic pie weights or raw, whole beans over the parchment paper.
How to make the lemon filling
Be sure to put lemons on the counter the day you plan to make the pie. Room temp lemons will yield more lemon juice than lemons straight out of the fridge. The best tool for zesting lemons is a microplane. The best tool for juicing the lemons is a citrus juicer with a dish or a handheld citrus squeezer.
You can choose your favorite thickening agent (cornstarch or ClearJel). Vintage recipes typically call for flour or cornstarch. I really like to use ClearJel in pie filling as it works as 1:1 substitution for cornstarch and doesn’t make the filling cloudy like flour tends to do. Use regular ClearJel since you will be cooking the filling. Instant ClearJel is used for fillings that are not cooked.
How to make never-fail meringue:
Be sure to set out and separate your eggs as part of your prep. Room temp egg whites are best to achieve a light meringue. I add cornstarch to my meringue keep it stabilized. It is best to top lemon filling with the meringue while the filling is still hot. This will help prevent weaping, otherwise known as when liquid forms between the layer of filling and meringue. When you are spreading out the meringue over the lemon filling, start from the outer edge towards the center and cover the filling right up to the edge of the crust to prevent the meringue from shrinking.
When serving, dip knife into hot water before slicing pie to prevent meringue from sticking and deflating from being cut. Be sure to eat a cream pie the same day it is made as the meringue will shrink and separate from the filling.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 c. unbleached flour
- 1 tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 6 T. butter cold & diced into cubes
- 2 T. ice cold water
- 1 T. vodka lemon juice or white vinegar
PIE FILLING
- 1 ½ c. water
- 1 ⅓ c. sugar superfine
- 5 T. cornstarch OR ClearJel
- ⅓ c. lemon juice
- 2 T. lemon zest
- 4 egg yolks (save whites)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 3 T. butter
MERINGUE TOPPING
- ½ c. sugar superfine
- ¼ c. water
- 1 T. cornstarch or clearjel
- 4 egg whites
- ½ tsp. cream of tarter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
PREP
- Pre-heat oven to 400°. Zest and juice 2 lemons.
- Separate out egg yolks and whites into 2 bowls.
PIE CRUST
- Put dry ingredients in food processor or mixer, add cold butter and pulse until crumbly. Remove bowl from mixer and add lemon juice and water. Mix by hand with pastry blender until just combined.
- Pour out onto a piece of saran wrap and shape into (1) 8" round disk. Refrigerate 10 minutes or overnight.
- Place pie disk between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out into round disk 2" larger than your pie plate. Place dough in pie plate and crimp edges. Pierce pie shell with fork, lightly dust with thickening agent, and brush with egg white wash.
- Place a round circle of parchment over the pie and fill bottom with pie weights. Bake pie shell at 400° for 15 minutes.
FILLING
- Place water, sugar, clear jel and salt in heavy pan. Cook 5 minutes.
- Remove from burner and add in egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and unsalted butter and stir constantly until incorporated.
- Place back on burner and return mixture to a boil (about 1-2 minutes). Set aside until use.
MERINGUE TOPPING
- In heavy duty pan, cook together sugar, cornstarch, and water until all ingredients are dissolved (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from burner.
- In the bowl of stand mixer, place egg whites, cream of tarter, salt, and vanilla. Mix for 5-7 minutes until egg whites are glossy and stiff.
ASSEMBLE PIE
- Pour warm lemon filling into cooled pie crust.
- Top the lemon filling layer immediately with the meringue, covering all the lemon filling and up to the edge of the pie crust to prevent shrinkage. Bake pie at 375° for 10-12 minutes until meringue is golden brown.
- Allow pie to cool on counter for at least 1 hour. Serve either at room temperature or place in refrigerator and serve cold. When serving, dip knife into hot water before slicing pie to prevent sticking.
- Store leftover pie in the refrigerator.
