Today is Mother’s day and day three of me planning to make Lemon Meringue pie… first I didn’t have lemons and the last 2 days I got sidetracked with other stuff, like my garden. Today, I finally made it!

For the crust, I used a basic pie crust recipe that is one of my personal favorites and nearly no fail as long as you use ice cold butter, ice water, and do not over knead. You also want to let the dough rest in the refrigerator before rolling it. Using two knives or a pastry cutter work best. Making pie crust is one of the easiest things there is.

The pie crust recipe I used is listed here, and i prebaked it for 15 minutes. I have used graham cracker crust or shortbread crust as a shortcut too and you can buy pre-bought frozen pie shells too.

For the filling I used

  • 6 egg yolks, room temperature (reserve whites for meringue!)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Fresh lemon juice from two lemons – about 1/2 cup
  • 1 Tsp lemon zest

When you split your eggs, make sure that the whites do not contain any yolk or your whites will not get stiff. One good idea is to use a small bowl and do whites over the small bowl before transferring to the larger mixing bowl in case you have a yolk accident.

1. Whisk egg yolks, set aside.

2. In a sauce pan, stir in all ingredients except for the yolks. Bring to a boil, the mixture will thicken to a gelatin like substance and when pudding thickness, you want to stir a tablespoon or two of the mix to the egg yolks to warm the yolk mixture up without solidifying the yolks, then gradually stir the yolk mixture into the lemon mixture. Keep stirring till fully blended because you don’t want solid egg chunks! You want a thick smooth pudding. Turn off flame, scoop filling into piecrust.

Now it is time to make your meringue topping.

  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature and absolutely no yellow yolks!
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • A pinch of salt as in pinch salt between your thumb and index finger.

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and with electric mixer whip eggwhites on high till super stiff and shiny. When done, the pie filling will still be warm and you can add the meringue right on top of the filling. Cover the entire pie all the way to the edges, and then make peaks with a knife or a spoon to create a pattern and tops. These tops and ridges will brown and give your meringue that silky look.

Bake Meringue pie in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F on the lower rack in the oven. If your pie is turning too tan too fast, just add some aluminum foil on a rack right above the pie, and make sure flossy side is pointing up. This will protect the meringue from burning.

Let pie cool before serving.