Monday, August 24, 2009

Lemon Meringue Pie!!

Want a slice of 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
Buy from flipkart.com

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.


Cutting the butter for pie crust


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!


Blueberry Pie

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!!

25 comments:

  1. i love lemon meringue pie, and yours looks fantastic!

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  2. Your pie is beautiful! I just made a lime version by Dorie Greenspan and it was a fun process. :) I'm always nervous about crusts too! But when they do come out, it makes it all the more rewarding!
    Great job. :)
    I'm glad you are feeling better.

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  3. the top of that pie does look yumsilicious :)

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  4. Awesome job! I'd love a slice of BOTH those pies. So does this mean you'll be making pies more often? ;-)

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  5. The twins - Thanks so much! It means a lot coming from a lover of this pie :)

    Valerina - Oh, is that what you girls are posting this Tuesday? What a co-incidence :P A well turned out crust pleases me to no end :) :)

    Nags - Lol thank you sooo much :) :)

    Parita - Thank you!

    Palidor - Haha I'd love to give you some! I think I will, it's a fun process!

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  6. Your pie looks awesome!!! Great job on conquering lemon meringue pie!

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  7. Wow what a fabulous lemon meringue pie! It truly looks amazing and so does the bluberry pie, whata treat!

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  8. I am sorry you were so sick and good to hear it has improved. The pie looks really good and I wouldn't mind giving it a taste test :)

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  9. Michelle - Thank you so much! :)

    Jeena - Thank you! They both tasted amazing!

    andaoana - Thanks for your concern :) Lol, I can't send you any, so why don't you try making it :P

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  10. That looks so luscious and beautiful! And great minds think alike-I just made a lemon meringue pie! ;)

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  11. That pie looks fabulous! A real temptation!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  12. I'm here on your blog for the first time and I love it! gr8 so now I know another Food blogger from Mumbai!

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  13. I'll take that slice! Looks good. I have a pastry blender but think using my food processor easier.
    ~ingrid

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  14. Lorraine - Lol, great minds indeed!! Cant wait to see your post!!

    Rosa - Thank you so much!!

    oneofagrind - Thank you! I love 'meeting' Mumbai food bloggers too :) :)

    Ingrid - Thanks! Somehow, I didn't find using the food processor too easy! Maybe it's just me! :$

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  15. Both pies look yummy but the lemon meringue pie is the one that stole my heart! It looks gorgeous. Great job for perfecting it now! I'm always scared when I make pie crusts too.

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  16. Oh my goodness..I thought you were sick and just recovered..take it easy baby:).Hope you are doing well now:)

    Meringue pie looks fantabulous..and did you try baking it at 11??I was still learning to boil water then I guess..:)

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  17. I love lemon meringue pie. This looks perfect!

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  18. the lemon meringue looks delicious! I agree with your mum it must taste like eating clouds :) Nice the decorations in your previous post I don t kn ow how to make them.

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  19. Great choice of pie with the lemon meringue! Looks delicious, and it one of my favorites.

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  20. Stacy - Thank you so much!!

    eatme_delicious - Thanks, but I haven't really perfected it yet! I hoep to, though! It gives me a little consolation to hear you say that =)

    Divya - I'm TOTALLY fine now =) It's weird, I baked and even cooked when I was younger!! But I went away from it during my teenage years, only now returning to it! Teenage whims maybe.

    isa - Thank you :)

    Emily - Wow! That means a lot coming from you :D

    Natalie - Thank you! If you tell me which, I'll try and explain it to you!

    Lisa - After this pie, mine too :)

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  21. That cake looks like heaven on earth! Delicious!!

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