Lemon Meringue Pie!!

After being sick for so long, I really missed being able to bake!! Only yesterday was I able to gather enough energy to make something! And I chose… PIE!! Pie crust has always been a bit of a challenge for me, though they turn out pretty well, it always makes me worry a lot!! But, this time, I had the added advantage of using a pastry blender, from the amazing haul my parents recently got me! And I must say, it is probably the single best invention ever! It made making pie soo easy!! All of you that use a food processor, please go and try it this way, you’ll never look back!! Here's the one I'd LOVE to own, if only it were available here, and I recommend you get, if you're looking to buy one!

After deciding on making pie, I thought I'd challenge myself some more, and try and make a lemon meringue pie! I had tried making this some 7-8 years ago, when I was 11, and failed miserably!! Somehow, since then, lemon meringue pie has always been a kind of a benchmark, a goal! And I finally achieved it! I am so proud of myself!! It wasn't perfect, but I knew the reason for each mistake, and know now what to do to get it perfect :) :)

And it tasted sooo good! My favorite comment was from my mom, who said - it's like eating a cloud :) :) Yayy! The tartness of the lemon cream was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the meringue!! I'm going to make this again, without all the mistakes!!

I used a recipe from my favorite book, Leiths Baking Bible. The crust came out beautifully, this is going to be my go-to recipe from now on!

Lemon Meringue Pie
1 recipe rich shortcrust pastry [see below]
1 recipe lemon cream filling [see below]
1 recipe meringue [see below]
A little extra caster sugar [to finish]

Rich Shortcrust Pastry
Adapted from Leiths Baking Bible


1 cup less 1 tbsp [6 oz,/ 170 g] flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 stick [3 oz/85 g] butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp ice water


Instructions -

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the salt.
2. Cut butter into inch-sized cubes, then add to the flour.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Don't worry about it coming together yet.
4. Beat together the ice water and the yolk [I just added a few cubes of ice to the yolk]
5. Add this as needed to the butter mixture a tablespoon at a time, until it starts to come together.
6. Refrigerate for atleast 20 mins before rolling out..
7. Blind bake at 350 F [180 C] until brown.
   

Lemon Cream Filling -
Adapted from Leiths Baking Bible


4 tbsp [30 g] cornflour
1 cup [225 g] caster sugar
1 cup + 3 tbsp [190 ml] water
3 egg yolks
1 egg, beaten
Zest of 2 large, unwaxed lemons,
115 ml lemon juice [About 4 lemons] [Indian lemons are much more tart, and much smaller, but the juice of 4 lemons is just perfect, which is about 60 ml]

Instructions -

1. Place the cornflour, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat, until the mixture boils, and it turns thick and translucent [like a gel]
2. Whisk in the egg yolks and beaten egg into the hot mixture, whisking constantly to avoid cooking of the egg.
3. Pass the mixture through a sieve to get rid of all the egg threads.
4. Add the lemon juice and zest.
5. Add this hot mixture to the pre-baked crust, and bake for 10 minutes at 350 F [180 C].

Meringue topping -
Adapted from Leiths Baking Bible

3 tbsp water
2 tsp cornflour.
3 egg whites
1/3 cup [85 g] caster sugar

Instructions -

1. Place the water and cornflour in a clean saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and translucent [same as above]
2. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Whisk in the sugar, gradually.
3. Whisk in the cornflour gel until incorporated.
4. Add this meringue on top of the baked lemon cream filling, using a knife to make peaks.
5. Sprinkle a little extra caster sugar. [Do not use powdered sugar, trust me!!!!]
6. Put the pie back into the oven, and bake for about 15 minutes, until the topping is light brown.
7. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
8. You're done!!! :)

I was surprised at how easy making this pie was! It is a little involved, and you have to make sure the filling and topping are ready on time, to match with the bake times. But it is pretty easy! I did make a lot of mistakes, the major one being I couldn't find my pie plate, so I baked it in a cake pan, and that's why the crust pulled away a little. And I was out of caster sugar, so I thought adding powdered sugar on top would serve the same purpose! Surprise, surprise! It doesn't :P :P Those little beads of water on the meringue were caused by it!

Inspite of these little mistakes, it turned out pretty well, and tastes amazing!!! You must try this! If I can make it, anybody can!! I am seriously lacking in the pie crust aspect!




I also had some blueberry pie filling my parents got me, that I had to use! Since I didn't make it from scratch, I won't talk much about it, but it looked amazing!! It tasted pretty okay, nothing to write home about! As you can see, I was going for the lattice crust, but I gave up halfway, since I was out of patience!!