The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie

Name: The Ultimate Lemon Meringue Pie
Cook time: 5 h 30 min
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon, table salt; 1 tablespoon, granulated sugar; 6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces; 4 tablespoons, vegetable shortening, chilled; 3–4 tablespoons, cold water; 1/2 cup, graham cracker crumbs; 1 cup, granulated sugar; 1/4 cup, cornstarch; 1/8 teaspoon, table salt; 1 1/2 cups, cold water; 6 , large egg yolks; 1 tablespoon, lemon zest from 1 lemon; 1/2 cup, lemon juice from 2 to 3 lemons; 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon, cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon, cream of tartar; 1/2 cup, granulated sugar; 4 , large egg whites; 1/2 teaspoon, vanilla extract

Instructions

Cook:5h 30min

This is the ultimate lemon meringue pie: a crisp crust, a firm, lush filling, and a no-weep meringue. We wanted to develop a lemon meringue pie recipe that gave us a meringue that didn’t break down and puddle on the bottom or “tear” on top. We realized that the puddling underneath the meringue was from undercooking. The beading on top of the pie was from overcooking. We discovered that if the filling was piping hot when the meringue was applied, the underside of the meringue would not undercook; if the oven temperature was relatively low, the top of the meringue wouldn’t overcook. Baking the pie in a relatively cool oven also produced the best-looking, most evenly baked meringue.

Updated at: Tue, 17 Jun 2025 02:29:05 GMT