Double Meringue and Lemon Curd Pie

Posted by Milagritos on Friday, April 30, 2010 Under: Sweet Pies and Tarts

This pie will convert most lemon pie haters out there. True. It happened in front of me. I observed this guy voraciously eat slice after slice of this pie while insisting that he hated lemon pies, except for this one. Don't you love it when people do that? He loved this dessert so much he begged me to post about it. This guy to which I'm referring was my husband. Foodwise, husband has very definite likes and dislikes. I tend to agree with him most times but on the odd occasion in which I don't, he'll see me concoct batch after batch of whatever dish he dislikes but I happen to like in order to change his mind. Anything to prove him wrong, right?

As much as I like to show the real side of home cooking (you know, the not-so-great-looking dishes that taste terrific) I was a bit disappointed, that, once cut, this pie wasn't standing up properly. My fault, I undercooked the curd in my haste to bring it to a dinner on time. I also should have cooled it down and then refrigerated it in order to firm it up. But I didn't, did I? The resulting pie was unsteady and the sauce spread all over the dish. My guests decided that I was being overly critical and suggested I should be focusing on what mattered to them: flavour and texture. They were right, the intensity of the lemon curd was mellowed by the not too sweet meringues and the whipped cream topping ... and hell, it was silky, very silky! It's just really a very simple but brilliant pie, you'll see when you taste it.

This lemon meringue recipe is from James Peterson's Baking, an excellent book which uses recipes to guide you through various techniques and concepts lucidly, expertly and without ever being intimidating. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in furthering their baking skills with a great teacher.

Double Meringue and Lemon Curd Pie, recipe slightly adapted from James Peterson's Baking

Ingredients for meringue shell

10 to 11 inch pie plate, buttered and powdered with icing (confectioner's) sugar
Egg whites: 6 large
Cream of tartar: a pinch. You don't need this if you'll be using a copper bowl
Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup. If it's a humid day you will need an extra 1 1/3 cups folded in at the end

Preheat oven to 120 ^oC.

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar using a stand mixer for 1 minute on medium speed and then 4 minutes on high or until stiff peaks form. Add the granulated sugar in a steady stream and beat for 2 more minutes on high. If it's a humid day you need to fold in the extra sugar now.

Spread the meringue over the pie pan and leave an indentation in the centre which will hold the lemon curd.

Bake shell for at least 3 hours or until hard and dry to the touch. If it starts to brown, lower heat to 90 ^oC. Prepare the lemon curd, below.

Ingredients for lemon curd

Large egg yolks: 10
Granulated sugar: 1 cup
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Lemon juice from 3 medium size lemons
Unsalted butter, sliced: 70 grams
Sea salt: 1/2 teaspoon

Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar and salt in a saucepan with sloping sides for about 2 minutes, or until pale. Add the lemon zest and juice.

Place pan over medium heat and whisk constantly until mixture stiffens. Remove from heat, add the butter and stir for a couple of minutes to cool slightly. Transfer to a bowl, cover with wrap and let it cool for an hour and then refrigerate for another 2 hours, at least.

Preheat oven to 180 ^oC. Prepare the meringue topping, below.

Ingredients for meringue topping