Lemon Meringue Pie #2

Hey, it looks like a pie! Yeah!

I am putting this one in the Success column for me for sure! It was not perfect (note the droplets on the top and the cracked crust) but it was leaps and bounds better than my first one. We could actually eat it with a fork, haha.

So, fellow foodies and far-more-experienced-bakers, help me out with this one, pretty please. Why do I get the droplets on the meringue? I used a stainless steel bowl this time which I thought would be an improvement over the plastic one I used last time. But, I still got the dreaded droplets. Any suggestions and recommendations would be appreciated.

My second problem with this pie was a lot of liquid. After we enjoyed the first slices, I stored it in the fridge. The next day I pulled it out to have some for dessert and there was a lot of liquid in my pie plate. Is that the water from the filling? Why would it do that? My aunt suggested I did not boil it long enough the second time. Would you agree?

Well, here is the recipe, altered from the Better Homes and Gardens recipe.

Lemon Meringue Pie Filling

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 eggs

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 to 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel

1/3 cup lemon juice

Baked Pastry Shell (I used a store-bought pie shell - I'm not that advanced yet)

Meringue for Pie

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 tablespoons sugar

Bake your pastry shell/pie crust per the instructions.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling: combine the 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/3 cup cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Slowly stir in 1 1/2 cups water, while heating over a medium-high heat. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat and cook and continue to stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Separate the egg yolks and whites, setting the whites aside for the meringue. Beat the egg yolks slightly to combine them, then, gradually stir 1 cup of the hot filling mix into the egg yolks (called tempering, right?). Then, return everything back to the saucepan and bring it to a gentle boil. Once it is gently boiling, cook and continue to stir for 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the margarine or butter and lemon peel. Stir to combine. Add lemon juice gradually, stirring to mix well. Pour the hot filling into the baked pastry shell/pie crust and top with the meringue, sealing the meringue to the edge of the crust. Bake for 15 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

For the meringue: Bring egg whites to room temperature. Beat the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (when the tips curl). Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture is glossy and forms stiff peaks (tips don't curl). Immediately spread the meringue over pie, sealing to the edge of the pie crust, and bake as directed in the filling portion.

Again, any advice, suggestions, recommendations would be fabulous! This is my father's and my husband's favorite pie, and I'd really like to know how to make it well. Thanks so much!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie #1

Looks can be deceiving.


While it may look pretty, this first attempt at Lemon Meringue Pie (LMP) ended up not really pie. The filling was runny. It wasn't even thick like pudding or eggnog - not even close.

But, we ate it anyway! And, it tasted great!

LMP is not difficult as far as the steps and ingredients go, although I did think it was a great recipe for two people to work together. My mom and I made this while she was here over Thanksgiving and it worked out great as far as timing and helping each other. While my mom was working the filling on the stove, I was working the meringue on the counter. We were ready to come together at the same time, just like the recipe says. I do not know how my grandmother-in-law made these pies all by herself. She must have had secrets! (Love you, Grandma Suzie!)

Our pie was not a success in the traditional sense of pie, in that you cut a piece of pie, put it on a plate, and eat it with a fork. The crust (store-bought) was good and the meringue was light and fluffy and sweet, although it did have the sugar droplets on top after we put it in the fridge overnight. (Why does THAT happen?) The filling was very lemony and tart, but not too tart. The only problem was the filling just never set. But, it was easy to eat with a spoon! And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what we did.

With all my vast experience in baking (tongue is firmly in cheek), I am going to hypothesize that we did not have enough cornstarch to thicken the filling. I looked at a ton of LMP recipes online trying to figure out what went wrong, and most of them called for 1/3 cup or more of cornstarch, and no flour. Our recipe called for 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and flour each. Since we all liked the flavor of the filling, I am going to keep the recipe the same, except for the cornstarch - I'll up that to 1/3 cup, and I will omit the flour. We'll see how it turns out then.

My mom-in-law and I are going to try LMP while she is here for Christmas. We have enough lemons from our lemon tree, we could try it at least a dozen times. Eventually, we'll get it right. And I am sure we will enjoy every single attempt, solid or not!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, etc. Enjoy your time with family and friends!