Ah, The Daring Bakers. I joined in July 2007, but right when my first challenge was set to debut, I was taken away from the blogging/baking world for many a month. Now, armed with a new year and fresh lemons, I am finally able to participate! This month’s challenge was “Lemon Meringue Pie” which honestly freaked me out. I have never had much (any) luck with meringue. While whipping, they are beautiful pillows, but as soon as they hit the oven they fall into a sad mess. I’m also a notorious pie crust killer. And an egg curdle bandit. All of these things in one challenge had me worried.
The pie crust was simple to make (I had to add a little more water), and when chilled rolled out well. I always roll my dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to avoid the mess I seem to make. I chose to make 4 smaller tarts as opposed to one large, just because, well, they are easier to travel with, and having a full big pie laying around the house makes me nervous (well, it makes my thighs nervous!). Now, the joy of having super cute pie crust must have gotten to my head, because later in the day, my husband had to point out how “poofy” they looked, at which time I realized I forgot to weigh them down while blind baking. For a split second I thought about remaking them, but that soon passed and no real damage was done. J
The lemon filling was very funny to make. In the beginning, it looked like craft glue! While whisking away all I could think about was hair gel or super bonding glue, at which point I started to get nervous again. Once the eggs (which did not curdle at all, hooray!) and butter was added, it started to look more like a pie filling, though my whisk could stand up straight in the mixture. I didn’t buy enough lemons so I had to add ¼ cup water to the lemon juice, but it didn’t seem to affect the outcome very much.
And then came the meringue. What a wonderful surprise! They whipped wonderfully and when applied kept their shape! I played around with all sorts of designs on the top, but the one that came out the best was the classic star drop. They sat in the oven for 15 minutes, and some of the higher tips became a little too brown! I’m honestly not sure what consistency the meringue is supposed to take after baked, mine was soft and airy. I’m sad to say that while taking pictures, the meringue became extremely squishy!
In the end, at the moment of truth, I was happy that I actually made a lemon meringue pie! It was very tart, tasted fresh, and very lemon-y. The filling was a little off, I don’t know the best way to describe it but I’m very certain I measured out way too much cornstarch, or heated the cornstarch for too long. I’m very happy with the result and my kitchen smells great!
Lemon Meringue Pie
(from "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" by Wanda Beaver)
Daring Bakers Challenge #15: January 2008
Host: Jen (Canadian Baker)
Lemon Meringue Pie
Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie
For the Crust:
3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water
For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar
To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.
To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.
To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.
