yesterday i did something out of the ordinary (relative to said daily routine): i made a lemon meringue pie. turned out pretty good! the lemon custard was a tad sour, although i cut down to using 3 lemons as opposed to 5 (i cannot imagine how sour it would've been if i had stuck exactly to the recipe), but thankfully the sweetness of the meringue compensated the taste. can someone, though, please tell me how i can preserve the crisp of the meringue after chilling it in the fridge? it always softens after being chilled! or is it supposed to be that way?
lemon meringue pie is one of my all-time favourite desserts. the best one i've tasted (in this country) used to be from Bakerzin. it was one of the things i would never think twice on purchasing, at RM10++ for a tiny piece which could've been eaten in 2 bites. unfortunately, to my horror, Bakerzin recently shut down all their outlets in Malaysia leaving me so heartbroken i almost lost the will to live. fine, i exaggerate, but where the hell am i supposed to find a better lemon meringue pie over here? i tried the one at Marmalade and it tasted nothing more than lemon-scented toilet detergent (not that i've tried toilet detergent before but i imagine that's what it is supposed to taste like). and it was RM10.50++! what an outrage!
i mean, seriously, how hard is it to make a good lemon meringue? so i tried my hands on making one myself... the end result? IT'S EASY OKAY.
(excuse the very bad quality picture. don't have a proper camera with me at the mo.)
Recipe
For the pie pastry dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup veg shortening
3-4tbsp cold water
For the meringue:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 egg whites
For the lemon curd:
3 lemons (next time i think i'm going to cut down to 2 lemons)
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
Method (i'm lazy, so i write this very simply!)
1. Make the pie pastry dough; shape and bake the pastry shell at ~200°C (375°F) for about 15mins until it is brownish.
2. Make the lemon curd:
- put sugar, zest of 1 lemon and butter into saucepan
- add lemon juice
- whisk over fairly low heat until sugar has dissolve (2-3mins)
- turn off heat, whisk in the beaten eggs & egg yolks until evenly combined with lemon mixture
- return to the heat and cook gently, so the curd thickens slowly and does not curdle (4-6mins)
- strain lemon curd into a bowl and set aside to let cool
- spoon lemon curd into prepared pastry shell, bake just until the mixture starts to set (10-12mins)
- let it cool and chill before adding the meringue
3. Make the meringue:
- heat sugar & water until dissolved
- whisk egg whites slowly, but increase speed when they become foamy and white; continue this until the egg whites stiffen
- gradually pour the hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites, beating constantly until meringue is cool and stiff (5mins)
- spread meringue over the lemon curd filling to cover. decorate if you bother!
- bake the pie for about 3-5mins
- serve chilled
note to self for future reference: cut down on lemon juice, fill in more meringue!
For the pie pastry dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup veg shortening
3-4tbsp cold water
For the meringue:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 egg whites
For the lemon curd:
3 lemons (next time i think i'm going to cut down to 2 lemons)
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
Method (i'm lazy, so i write this very simply!)
1. Make the pie pastry dough; shape and bake the pastry shell at ~200°C (375°F) for about 15mins until it is brownish.
2. Make the lemon curd:
- put sugar, zest of 1 lemon and butter into saucepan
- add lemon juice
- whisk over fairly low heat until sugar has dissolve (2-3mins)
- turn off heat, whisk in the beaten eggs & egg yolks until evenly combined with lemon mixture
- return to the heat and cook gently, so the curd thickens slowly and does not curdle (4-6mins)
- strain lemon curd into a bowl and set aside to let cool
- spoon lemon curd into prepared pastry shell, bake just until the mixture starts to set (10-12mins)
- let it cool and chill before adding the meringue
3. Make the meringue:
- heat sugar & water until dissolved
- whisk egg whites slowly, but increase speed when they become foamy and white; continue this until the egg whites stiffen
- gradually pour the hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites, beating constantly until meringue is cool and stiff (5mins)
- spread meringue over the lemon curd filling to cover. decorate if you bother!
- bake the pie for about 3-5mins
- serve chilled
note to self for future reference: cut down on lemon juice, fill in more meringue!
