Soft billowing meringue tops the zesty lemon filling. An old fashioned Lemon Meringue Pie is a thing of beauty. Soft, billowing meringue sits on top of a tangy, zesty lemon filling all held in place by a short, buttery pastry. It speaks of the best of times gone by yet is ideally suited to today’s light and fresh tastes. Best of all worlds. I don’t know why I don’t make it more frequently
There is a recipe for easy shortcrust pastry that you make in the food processor on the site. Shortcrust Pastry If you don’t want to make pastry you can use a bought, baked shortcrust pastry case or use ready made pastry both of which cut down on preparation time considerably.
The pie itself is not difficult to make though there are tricks to making a good one. The meringue seems to be the main concern with bakers. It needs not to weep or slide off the lemon layer. These two problems are usually due to the sugar in the meringue not being dissolved thoroughly into the eggwhite and the filling being too cold for the meringue and filling to meld together. I find that if you start making the meringue before the lemon filling this solves any problems. I also think it’s important to spread the meringue right to the edges so there are no gaps. My final tip is how to keep the pastry crisp. I like to sprinkle the cooked shell with a dusting of ground almonds (or semolina for those with nut allergies) as this really seems to help.
