Lemon mergingue pie... the Daring Bakers are at it again!

When I joined the Daring Bakers in September I was slightly worried that the challenges put forward might be too tasking to fit into my crazy schedule, but so far, the hosts have been very benign. The good thing also is that so far, I haven't had to make anything I didn't enjoy, so of course I approached it with a bit more enthusiasm than I would, say, beetroot tartlets.

This month's challenge was lemon meringue pie - I have actually made one before, albeit with a completely different recipe. I also had the problem of the meringue sweating not even an hour into its short life, which didn't matter taste wise, but wasn't a pretty sight. Not this time. The pie held its shape for hours (well, until we couldn't hold back any more and had to polish it off) and I was thoroughly impressed as my daughter declared her love for it - anything involving lemon and peel is not necessarily something that ranks high up the list of children's favourite food, but maybe that's just a sign of her growing up.

Jen's (Canadian Baker) recipe was very different from what I used the first time round and I have to say I enjoyed it much more. My original version used tons of eggs and cream for the filling, whereas this pie here works entirely with water, cornstarch and lemon juice and, well, some sugar and some yolks. But it's such a lean version it's almost too healthy to eat... tastes much lighter and before you know it you've had three slices and you don't even worry about it ending up on your hips. Definitely a keeper!

PS: The below recipe is almost a straight copy from the challenge, with the cup measures converted into metric weights. Also, my meringue was brown after just 6 or 7 minutes, so I have adjusted the time accordingly.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:

180 g (¾ cup) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
340 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
60 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
80 ml (⅓ cup) ice water

For the Filling:

475 ml (2 cups) water
220 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
70 g (½ cup) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
60 g (¼ cup) butter
150 ml (¾ cup) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar

For the Crust: 
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (3 mm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling:
 Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Pie recipe courtesy of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver, 2002
Tartlet recipe courtesy of Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz, 2003

Comments

[Courtney]

I wouldnt say say it didnt go to my hips. :-) Its amazing all the varities of this pie.Well done.

[Bellini Valli]

My biggest mistake in making the pie was my timing. I had to eat the entire pie myself!

[Audrey]

This looks delicious. I love everything with lemon!
If I hadn´t too much cake last weekend I´d try it immediately. But now it´ll have to wait a couple of weeks.

[Ann]

Great looking pie!

[Katia]

Your pie looks very nice. This recipe was different from the one I use also, but I liked the taste a lot too.

[Meeta]

This one looks so elegant Johanna! Love the way it browned! Well done!

[Butta Buns]

Healthy, you say? Well, I need better foods in my diet so I might as well have another slice....:-)

I love the circular pattern on your tart, it's lovely!

[Ulrike aka ostwestwind]

Wow! Just wow!
For me the biggest challenge to to convert the recipe to metric units. I hate cup measuring...

[Deborah]

Your pie looks wonderful! Great job!

[foodie froggy]

beautiful pie, makes me crave for it even if I had one just a few days ago !

[Dianne]

Looks great!

[Katie]

Your meringue topping turned out lovely and evenly brown.

[Gretchen Noelle]

Hoe great that you have enjoyed all of the challenges so much, including this one. Your photo looks lovely!

[Big Boys Oven]

The meringue is beautifully done!

[marye]

you did a great job on it..

[Dagmar]

It looks great. I laughed when I read "beetroot tartlets" as I made a beetroot cake the other day :-)

[Pieds Des Anges (Kyla)]

Completely reminds me of my grandmother's lemon meringue. I have been meaning to join Daring Bakers for a while. Great post!

[DaviMack]

Looks beautiful! I don't know about the crust getting soggy ... did yours last that long? ;)

[desie the maybahay]

looks great. i am glad you enjoyed this version.

[Andrea]

You had me laughing over the "beetroot tartlets." Your meringue looks so elegant the way you swirled it. Very pretty!

[Simona Carini]

Your pie looks lovely.

[Eva]

Great-looking pie! Now I know why I didn't need any water for the crust, I'm so bad at converting that I only used 250g of flour. I also used more cornstarch and more lemon juice - did I already mention that I hate converting? But I'm really happy that despite all this it turned out so well..;-) Do you have a good online resource for converting?

[Ivonne]

But who wouldn't love a pie like this! Beautiful!

[Ashley]

Mmm looks great! And I have to say, beetroot tartlets actually sound quite good!

[peabody]

So glad you liked the pie....looks great.

[Stickygooeycreamychewy]

Beautiful pie! The meringue looks dreamy.

[Rosa]

Your pie looks wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

[Mary]

Your pie is beautiful! Well done!

[Lisa]

Your pie looks like a delicious pillow, Johanna! Not that I'd like to rest my head on it.. face first or anything.. *cough*

Well Done!

xoxo

[Kaykat]

Turned out great! Happy happy LMP :)

[Andreia Sousa]

Hi!
Your pie is wonderful. I must say that I visit your site often and the photos are very appealing and also the recipes. Well done!

Andreia

[Miri]

What a great looking pie! The meringue looks just perfect, like a delicious cloud.
Love your blog!

[Sathya]

Looks great! I'm glad everyone enjoyed.

[Gabi]

Beautiful meringue photo above the black tart pan! Nice job- I enjoyed your post!
xs

[Chris]

oooooh! Ahhhhhh! mmmmm! all smiles here...

[Annemarie]

But I hear beetroot tarlettes are lovely. ;) I also liked the lack of cream in the curd without compromising taste - made it ok to go back for seconds/thirds.

[Elle]

Awesome pie...it's great that your daughter enjoyed it, too...not all children like tangy lemon. Had not thought of it as healthy, but, by comparison, guess it is. I'll have another piece!

[Kristen]

What a beautiful pie! I'm impressed :)

[michelle]

i love the pillowy look of your meringue, like floating on clouds. the epitome of meringue.

i just joined the daring bakers and can't wait to get started in march!

[Jen Yu]

Mmm, what a lovely pie you have there! I'm not surprised you didn't have any trouble with the recipe since you are such an amazing baker - a Daring Baker, I might add :)

[Jenny]

Haaa.... never thought about thinking of it as "low fat," maybe I can use that to justify it to myself next time....

[Tartelette]

Beautiful job! We really enjoyed it too. That meringue looks as good as clouds! Bravo!

[Sheltie Girl]

You did a lovely job on the lemon meringue pie. I'm so glad your children enjoyed it. Mine only liked the crust.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

[Mer]

Your meringue looks beautiful. :0)

[Dolores]

Great job with this month's challenge. How neat that your daughter decided she liked it!

[Claire]

So funny to call a pie with a cup of butter and 5 eggs light! But I guess compared to the other option it is! Your pie is beautiful. Lovely!