Favorite Spring Dessert
When I was a little girl, my mother taught me how to make lemon meringue pie. I never liked a regular pie crust with it, so I made it with a graham cracker crust one time, and that version became the standard from which I never deviated. I make this pie every Easter. It’s now a favorite of my daughter. The picture shown has a regular crust. Unfortunately, my family ate the one I made before I could photograph it!
Ingredients
Crust:
1 ¼ stick salted butter
½ box graham crackers
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 egg yolks beaten (save whites for meringue)
Meringue:
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 300°
To make the crust, melt 1 ¼ sticks of salted butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. With a rolling pin, crush ½ box of Graham Crackers in a large ziplock bag until crumbs are no bigger than an pea. Pour crushed graham crackers into sauce pan with butter. Stir in ¼ cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Press mixture into pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool before filling.
Ingredients
Crust:
1 ¼ stick salted butter
½ box graham crackers
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 egg yolks beaten (save whites for meringue)
Meringue:
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 300°
To make the crust, melt 1 ¼ sticks of salted butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. With a rolling pin, crush ½ box of Graham Crackers in a large ziplock bag until crumbs are no bigger than an pea. Pour crushed graham crackers into sauce pan with butter. Stir in ¼ cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Press mixture into pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool before filling.
Turn oven up to 350°.
To make filling, empty can of sweetened condensed milk into mixing bowl. Squeeze lemons (3-4 depending on size) until you have 1/3 cup juice. Remove seeds from juice. Pour juice into bowl with sweetened condensed milk and stir. Zest lemon peels (you only want the yellow— the white part of the rind is bitter). Add 2 teaspoons lemon zest and stir. Separate yolk from white. Beat yolk, then stir into pie filling. Fill cooled graham cracker crust.
Meringue Topping
Beat egg whites until frothy in a stainless steel bowl. Once frothy add cream of tartar and beat until peaks lean. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until peaks are stiff. With a large spoon, plop meringue onto pie surface covering all the filling. Create peaks with spoon by placing it on the meringue then lifting. Bake at 350° until tips are browned, about 10-15 minutes.
Once the pie has cooled, you can refrigerate it, but the meringue will fall a bit. My family likes it cold!
To make filling, empty can of sweetened condensed milk into mixing bowl. Squeeze lemons (3-4 depending on size) until you have 1/3 cup juice. Remove seeds from juice. Pour juice into bowl with sweetened condensed milk and stir. Zest lemon peels (you only want the yellow— the white part of the rind is bitter). Add 2 teaspoons lemon zest and stir. Separate yolk from white. Beat yolk, then stir into pie filling. Fill cooled graham cracker crust.
Meringue Topping
Beat egg whites until frothy in a stainless steel bowl. Once frothy add cream of tartar and beat until peaks lean. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until peaks are stiff. With a large spoon, plop meringue onto pie surface covering all the filling. Create peaks with spoon by placing it on the meringue then lifting. Bake at 350° until tips are browned, about 10-15 minutes.
Once the pie has cooled, you can refrigerate it, but the meringue will fall a bit. My family likes it cold!
What desserts say "Spring" to you?
Labels: favorite spring dessert
posted by Mo H @ 9:18 AM
10 Comments:
I love, love, love Lemon Meringue Pie, Mo. Your recipe sounds fabulous.
Far and away the best version I've tasted to date was one I had 25 years ago when I was in PA at The Inn at Phillips Mill. The lemon part was thin layers of lemon filling and vanilla ice cream. Then it had the meringue on top. Something about the cold ice cream, tangy lemon and crunchy meringue was perfect. I tried a few times to duplicate it at home but I never mastered how to toast the meringue without melting the ice cream. *sigh*
Very very much like my Key Lime Pie recipe.
Rule for toasting meringue on ice cream: The ice cream must be completely encased. The meringue acts as insulation. If there is even a tiny hole, it's all over, literally. Baked Alaska is the same principle. Cake on the bottom for insulation, then the ice cream, completely sealed in meringue. The meringue really must be sealed all the way to the pan, including the cake. The cake will be enough insulation on the very bottom for the 10-15 minutes its in the oven.
Chocolate bunnies (which I cannot bear to eat), peeps (stale, of course), and jelly beans are spring to me. :-)
Mary,
The ice cream with the lemon filling sounds delicious!
Terry,
So I can substitute the lemon juice and zest with key lime, and voila--a key lime pie??
Judy,
Thanks for giving us the scoop on ice cream desserts with meringue!
Oooh, my mouth is watering with all these tasty dishes and great tips--thank you, everyone :-)!
I've been looking forward to seeing what your favorite spring recipe would be. Perfect! I haven't had lemon meringue pie in ages, but I'll definitely give this one a try.
Wow, this does look good. Must give it a whirl! Yummy.
I love Lemon Meringue pie and I like Key Lime pie, too. You guys are making me hungry.
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