I know. I’ve been awfully silent the past two years. But since it’s Fathers’ Day here in wintry Norway, I’m breaking my silence (if only temporary) by sharing a recipe for lemon meringue pie which the hubby requested me to bake yesterday for the occasion. Admittedly, I used store-bought pie crust this time—haven’t got the time to make it from scratch (full-time working Mom here!) 😅 Nevertheless, I included the recipe for the pie crust I used when I made the pie from scratch more than a decade (gosh, has it really been that long?? 😱) ago. The recipe is adapted from Masterchef Michel Michaud of restaurant Marie Louise in Odense, Denmark.
Lemon meringue pie
Puff pastry
Good for a 23 cm diameter pie crust
250 g flour
100 g confectioner’s sugar
pinch of salt
125 g butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
butter for the pie form
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and mix. The resulting dough should be a bit firm. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
- Butter the sides and bottom of a 22-23 cm diameter loose-bottom springform pie pan. Place the pan on a baking tray.
- Roll out the rested dough to a thickness of about a 5 mm. Use the rolled out dough to line the bottom and sides of the prepared pie pans. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork several times (this is to prevent/minimize shrinking during baking). Cover the dough with aluminum foil or crumpled baking paper. Place baking beans in the prepared dough (this is to prevent the dough from bubbling up during baking).
- Bake the crusts in a 180°C pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sides are slightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack (and remove baking beans) before adding the filling.
Lemon curd
(Preferrably made the day before)
80 ml fresh lemon juice (ca. 2 medium lemons)
grated rind of half a lemon (yellow part only)
4 egg yolks
2 tsp cornstarch
115 g caster sugar
167 g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the caster sugar at high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and lemon-colored.
- Pour into a saucepan, add the rest of ingredients except the butter, and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- When the mixture starts to become somewhat creamy, stir in the butter. Continue stirring until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Remove from the heat and let cool in the refrigerator before using.
Italian meringue
125 g egg whites (from about 3-4 large eggs)
200 g caster sugar
40 ml water
- Place the water and sugar in an appropriately sized saucepan. Place a digital kitchen thermometer in the center of the pan with the sugar mixture, and heat over medium heat until the sugar syrup boils and reaches a temperature of 118°C. DO NOT STIR, but you can swirl gently.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the sugar syrup temperature reaches past 112°C, begin whipping the egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.*
- As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 118°C, remove from heat and pour in a thin stream into the egg whites while continuing to beat at high speed. Beat one more minute, then lower the speed to medium and beat for about 2 more minutes.
- Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 2M piping nozzle. (Optional)
Assembly
- Spread the lemon curd on the cooled pie crust.
- Spread or pipe the meringue on top of the lemon curd filling, making sure the meringue is «anchored» on the sides of the crust to prevent it from shrinking.
- Bake in a pre-heated 160°C oven for 18-25 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown on top.
SMØRGÅSBORD! 