Not too tart, not too sweet; just right! This lemon meringue pie is as tasty as it is easy to make - so stop using the mix in the box, and try it from scratch.
Filling:
1¼ cups (300 mL / 260g) granulated sugar
6 Tbsp (75 mL / 66g) cornstarch
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) water
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
½ cup (125 mL) lemon juice 3-5 lemons
3 Tbsp (45 mL / 43g) butter
Blind baked 9" deep dish pie shell
Meringue:
5 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ tsp (1 mL) cream of tartar
⅓ cup (75 mL / 45g) instant dissolving (fruit) sugar
Method:
Pre heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)
Zest one lemon, and then juice all of the lemons to reach ¼ cup of juice. Separate the eggs.
In saucepan, mix cornstarch, sugar, salt, and water. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes, still stirring. Remove from heat and whisk one-quarter into egg yolks, then whisk back into pan. Cook over medium heat, still stirring for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon rind, lemon juice and butter. Set aside.
Meringue: In bowl, beat egg whites with cream or tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar slowly until stiff peaks form.
Pour filling into cooled crust. Starting at edge spread meringue around outside of still hot filling. Sealing meringue to the crust, which prevents it from shrinking and pulling away.
Spread over remaining filling making peaks. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until meringue peaks are golden. Let cool on a rack for as long as you can stand it.
