I was wanting to make a Lemon Meringue Pie for a while and I found tonns of good recipes on the internet and cook books.
BUT since I'm an absolute newbie when it comes to pies, I'd like some tips, recipes, ideas and help of any sort from more experienced people.

Also I don't mind if there is some work involved and making the pastry from scratch...

Thank You!

Lemon meringue pie - now there is a good idea.

Have you ever made pastry before? It's pretty straight forward but it's one of those things you need to have the feel for. You can follow a recipe or watch something on Youtube, but they won't be able to show you how the pastry should feel or look at different stages of the process. Alternatively, give it a go but don't be too upset if it doesn't come out perfectly the first few times.

The only other suggestion is to remember how sweet the meringue will be when making the lemon filling and make the filling sharper than you would like it if eating it on its own. That way you will have a nice contrast and the finished dish will be balanced.

To make pastry a guide is half quantity to flour so if you use a llb of flour you use 8oz of butter if you use more then just half it to butter , rub it in tll it resemble breadcrumbs then add water till it comes together.

Are you wanting to make it using "Sweetened Condensed Milk" in a can? Or the Custard version?

Do you like a crushed biscuit base? ... Or the pastry method?

I only ever do the crushed biscuit base, as the pastry comes out too soggy for my liking (I`m not a pastry fundi!) and prefer quicker and less messy baking

I`ll follow this thread and see if anyone more learned comes up with their more professional fillings - and if not - then shall venture my own humble filling for you.

what's the difference between bisquit and pastry?

I'd rather have the bisquit base if the other one could turn out soggy...

Is that bisquit what souler reccomended? that sounded easy as soon as I translated the english mesurements in to swiss ones... (I'm swiss, so be patient with me )

and I love sweetend condens milk, so why not?

I'd quite like to see your recipe anyway, no matter how professional it is...

Smoky's suggestions sound lovely but I wouldn't call the end product Lemon Meringue Pie! But I too love condensed milk!

For me, its a pastry base, tart lemon set using a method similar to making custard (but no milk) and then whipped baked meringue on top.

Unless you are keen to get to grips with pastry, I see no reason not to use a ready made pastry. Pre-cook it (line the base with greaseproof paper and fill with dried beans, ceramic baking beads or rice). Use the underneath heating element on your oven (not the usual fan setting). Your base will be cooked through after about 15 -20mins. Baking blind (as this is called) may sound like a faff, but it guarantees, every time, crispy, well cooked pastry that will never go soggy.

Okay, first understand that I come from South Africa where canned sweetened condensed milk and "Marie" biscuits are available from every shop! Here I have to search for the S/C/milk, and try different biscuits.

And I am just an old lady who bakes from memory!

But I have made some pretty good Lemon Meringue Pies nevertheless!

If you can get your hands on Condensed Milk (the sweet thick gooey stuff in a can - NOT the Swiss or German "condensed milk that they put in coffee!) ........

You need:
One can of the S/C/milk
2 egg yolks
Juice of at least 2 large fresh lemons
plus the grated zest.

Mix all that together and set aside.

For the crust:

A packet of hard sweet plain biscuits (Milchkeks work - or Caramel Keks)
Crush them fine
Mix with +-125gr melted butter

Line buttered pie dish with the crushed biscuit base.

Pour in the C/milk mixture.

Meringue topping:

Beat the 2 egg whites with 2 Tbsps sugar till thick and stiff.

Top the pie with this, and bake for +- 20 mins @ 180c till meringue peaks just begin to brown.
Leave to cool. Don`t refrigerate as the meringue sweats!

.............................
If you like to try the Custard filling .....?

2 Cups milk
2 Egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Maizena
1/2 cup sugar
2 Lemons - juiced and grated zest from skin.

Take out half a cup of cold milk and mix the egg yolks and Maizena into this.
Bring the milk to boil.
Pour into the cold milk/egg yolk/maizena mixture.
Stir well, and return to pot.
Heat gently till it thickens. Take off stove.
Add the lemon juice and zest.
Pour into crust.
Add meringue topping as above
Bake the same.

(A hint - let the lemons stand in boiling water for about 5 mins - you get more juice out of them)

Never made custard so don't have a clue about that.

I am more the spontaneous baker and I don't have ready made pastry at home very often, that's why the idea with doing it myself.
Yes, I knew about the blind baking, just forgot over the years since cooking school...

I think I have the pastry issue solved, now what about the different fillings???
Is it true that australians and americans use more lemon juce than the english?

Aaahhhh ...... Can you tell me how to make the custard filling without using milk? I`d like to make that. I seem to recall that method from the misty depths of my experiences .... the filling was a more clear shiny yellow, similar to Lemon Curd ?

Hmmm I think I could manage that recipe!

And you can get sweet thick gooey stuff in a tube in Coop, sounds like the right stuff to me... or where would I get the other stuff from?

Exactly! Lemon curd (or cheese as we always call it). Divine. But quite a different pie.

Here is the recipe taken from my grandmother's handwritten cookbook circa. 1936 (she was gathering recipes before she got married).

Bake shortcrust pastry base blind

Mix 1 oz cornflour to a cream with a small spoon of water taken from 1/2 a pint of water. Heat the rest of the water to boiling and when boiled, pour onto cornflour mix in a basin. Stir. Return to pan, add juice of 2 lemons and boil for 4 to 5 mins, stirring continuously. Add 4 ozs of white caster sugar (fine sugar but not icing powder stuff), 1/2 oz butter (unsalted) and grated rind. Cool slightly off the heat. Add in 2 beaten egg yolks. Pour into the pastry case.

Whisk 2 egg whites stiffly, whisk in 1 teaspoon of caster sugar (from 4ozs of sugar) then fold in remaining sugar. Pile on top of the lemon mixture and bake for half an hour in the cool aga oven! (ok so this bit is tricky .. I would say at about 140 C perhaps).

For conversion of imperial measurements to metric see http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight-conversion.htm

My grandmother's cookbook also has a recipe for raspberry meringue pie (using tinned raspberries of course .. or fresh ones in summer) and peach meringue.

She has a rather fancy one called "Lemon Chiffon Cake" which has .. wait for it .. crushed biscuit and butter base and milk in a lemon custard filling, topped with meringue. Smoky, you are baking Lemon Chiffon Cake it would seem!

That glossy, nonmilk recipe is one that my other used for making "lemon banana pudding." Make the lemon sauce, then add chopped up bananas. She used the same recipe for lemon merangue pie - I think it's much nicer than the condensed milk version. BUT, add and whisk in a carton of cream cheese to that condensed version and you have the lemon cheese cake filling to put on top of the biscuit crumb (Marie, wine, or even ginger nut biscuits) base.

Biff! Lovely.

I have (on occasion) added gin or vodka to my lemon filling. Hiccup.

I have grown up with the lemon curd type base, and the recipe I have used is something like this one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

If you go to the website you should find links to videos there too. This is an American cook who focuses a lot on the science of cooking, which I really appreciate. Helps me get things right.

I have not watched these particular videos, so I do not know whether he mentions this, but one tip I have picked up over the years is to make sure that the filling is still hot when you add the meringue, or else it might "weep," forming water/sugar droplets on the outside. The other thing is that is really is possible to overbeat the meringue.

Good luck!

Sweeten condensed milk (red label) also comes in cans. I've never had a problem finding it. In fact, I bought a can today from one of the larger Migros shops, MMM. It was next to the non sweetened condensed milk (blue label), which in English we all evaporated milk. I bought a can of each.

There are also Maria biscuits in the section with Portuguese goods or at the Portuguese stores. I don't know if they are the same as Marie biscuits in South Africa. I've never used them for a base. But I'm sure you could.

If you look on the cheese cake thread others list all the different types of cookies/biscuits that can be used.

A couple of types if you are making your own pastry:

1. don't overwork it.
2. Don't let it get too warm. I chill it for at least 30mins before rolling out, and then chill it again once I've rolled it and put it in the pie dish before backing.

Good luck!

What about Murbeteig from the cold section, all rolled out, should work just fine. I would also bake it blind, and dont forget to prick the base with a fork.

Lemon curd is available from Coop, its perfect.

if you want agood recipe, try http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/se...e%22&x=31&y=19

James Martin is my favorite chef, I would say his recipes are great.

good luck!

Ok, today I was at a smallish Coop and they only have sweetened condensed milk in the tube and no condensed/evaporated milk. Go to a big Migros if you need those.

Strangely though this small Migros has the Maria biscuits.... shrug.

Anyway, reading my Portuguese cooking blogs this morning I found that the Maria biscuits are in fact used as substitutes for graham cracker crusts. I can see this as they are not super sweet like some other options people have suggested. AND having used Wikipedia, I found that Maria & Marie biscuits are in fact the same.
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_(bolacha)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_biscuit

Phew! Now I need some pie after all that work! Is it really yet?? ?? :P

Yes it is the same.
I have used the Petit Beurre from Aldi, for biscuit bases, they are not so sweet, as well. And much cheaper.

Hi,
It's my favorite dessert and I've tried many times to do it myself. My tips, after tens of tries are:
- Do the crust yourself, even if the result might look less professional, it's always tastier and not that difficult to do.
- Put just a little thickening agent in the lemon curd, like Maizena but not too much. Never stop stirring after you've added the eggs in the lemon curd.
- Do an italian Meringue for the top. It's egg whites + liquid sugar (boiled with a little water).
Good luck!