This pie is a taste of heaven for lemon lovers. Our take on the indulgent diner classic—with its fluffy meringue topping and tender, ultra-flaky crust—will be your go-to dessert for years to come.
- Prep time 40 minutes
- Total time 7 hours
- Portion size 12 servings
- Credits : Canadian Living Magazine
Ingredients
Pastry:
Lemon Filling:
Meringue:
Method
Pastry: In bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. In glass measure, whisk egg yolk with lemon juice; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup. Whisk to combine; drizzle over flour mixture, tossing with fork and adding up to 1 tsp more cold water, if necessary, until ragged dough forms. Shape into disc; wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Makeahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.)On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness. Fit into 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate. If necessary, trim edge to leave 1-inch (2.5 cm) overhang. Fold overhang under and flute edge. Line pastry with foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake on bottom rack in 400 F (200 C) oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights; using fork, prick pastry all over. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.
Lemon Filling: Meanwhile, in heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt; whisk in 2 cups water. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk one-quarter of the sugar mixture into egg yolks; whisk back into pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in lemon zest, lemon juice and butter until butter is melted. Scrape into bowl; let cool for 30 minutes. Scrape into pie shell; smooth top.
Meringue: In bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until stiff peaks form. Starting at edge and using spatula, spread some of the meringue around outer edge of filling, sealing meringue to crust. Pipe remaining meringue evenly over remaining filling. (Or, using spoon, spread meringue over remaining filling, making peaks with back of spoon.)
To Finish: Bake in 400 F (200 C) oven until meringue is golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack until completely set, about 5 hours.
Nutritional facts per each of 12 servings: about
- Fibre 1 g
- Sodium 218 mg
- Sugars 30 g
- Protein 5 g
- Calories 315.0
- Total fat 13 g
- Potassium 68 mg
- Cholesterol 98 mg
- Saturated fat 6 g
- Total carbohydrate 45 g
%RDI
- Iron 8.0
- Folate 16.0
- Calcium 2.0
- Vitamin A 10.0
- Vitamin C 8.0
