Lemon meringue pie is a classic dessert with three perfect layers: a crisp crust, a tangy lemon custard filling, and a fluffy toasted meringue topping. It’s bright, sweet-tart, and airy all at once.
🍋🥧 Lemon meringue pie
🧾 Ingredients
🥧 Crust
- 1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust (or homemade pastry crust)
🍋 Lemon filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ cups water
- 3 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (optional but recommended)
☁️ Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar (or a few drops lemon juice)
- 6 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
👩🍳 Method
1. Prepare crust
- Bake pie crust until lightly golden.
- Let it cool while you make fillings.
2. Make lemon filling
- In a saucepan, whisk sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Slowly add water and cook on medium heat until thick and bubbling.
- In a bowl, lightly beat egg yolks.
- Slowly whisk a little hot mixture into yolks (to temper them), then pour everything back into the pan.
- Cook 1–2 minutes more until thick.
- Remove from heat, stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest.
- Pour hot filling into baked crust.
3. Make meringue
- Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add sugar while beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Add vanilla if using.
4. Assemble
- Spread meringue over hot lemon filling (important—helps seal it).
- Make sure meringue touches crust edges to prevent shrinking.
5. Bake
- Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 10–15 minutes, until meringue is golden on top.
6. Cool completely
- Let it cool at room temperature.
- Chill before slicing for clean layers.
🍽️ Tips for perfect lemon meringue pie
- Add meringue while filling is still hot to avoid separation.
- Don’t under-sugar meringue or it may weep (release liquid).
- Cornstarch stabilizes both filling and texture.
- Use fresh lemon juice for best flavor—bottled tastes dull.
🍋 What makes it special
- Tangy lemon custard 🍋
- Sweet fluffy cloud topping ☁️
- Buttery crisp crust 🥧
If you want, I can also show:
- A no-meringue lemon cream pie version
- A mini lemon meringue tart recipe
- Or a super easy 3-ingredient lemon pie shortcut
