Author Notes
This is the lemon pie of my childhood, a perfect concoction of intensely lemony custard and cloud-like meringue. You won't find here any of that scary gelatinous "lemon" stuff too often used. This pie is lighter than air, and the intensely lemon cloud that is each bite makes it a great foil to any heavy meal.
I've NEVER had a better lemon pie.
That's all there is to it. —em-i-lis
Ingredients
- For the crust
-
2 cups
all-purpose flour, sifted
-
1½ teaspoons
salt
-
½ cups
canola oil
-
¼ cups
milk
- For the lemon filling and meringue
-
4
eggs, separated
-
grated zest of 1 lemon
-
1/3 cup
freshly squeezed lemon juice
-
3 tablespoons
water
-
1 cup
sugar, divided
Directions
- For the crust
-
Preheat oven to 350.
Place the sifted flour and salt into a bowl and whisk well. Pour in oil and milk, and, using a fork, mix well to combine.
-
Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll out your crust to desired thickness (for this pie, I like the crust to be on the thin side) and invert over a pie plate.
Line with pie weights or foil/beans, and bake 10-15 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and set crust aside to cool. Reduce oven temp to 325.
- For the lemon filling and meringue
-
Preheat oven to 325. Put egg yolks in top of a double boiler and whisk until thick. Add the lemon zest, juice, water and 1/2 c sugar, beat well and cook over the hot water. Reserve.
-
Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff. Add the remaining sugar and continue beating until sugar is blended into the whites.
Fold 1/2 of the meringue into the warm yolk and lemon mixture to lighten. When everything is well combined, pour the mixture into the baked pie crust.
-
Using a spoon or spatula, drop dollops of the remaining meringue in a circle around the pie’s periphery. Bake in the oven until the meringue is lightly browned and the center is set, 20-25 minutes though sometimes more.
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