A New Kind of Lemon Meringue Pie

In our opinion, it deserves top spot on the podium.

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My dad has been requesting lemon meringue pie for his birthday for as long as I can remember. And every year, for the 50 plus years of their marriage, my mom has made it for him— always the same way. Homemade crust, lemon filling made with a box of My-T-Fine Lemon Pudding & Pie Filling, topped with an egg white-whipped meringue browned under the broiler. It’s the only time all year that we eat this pie and I think I know why. It’s sweet—like teeth-hurting sweet but it’s also very puckery, bordering on too sour (my cheeks hurt just thinking about it). But, my father loves it and, along with his other request of Salade Nicoise for dinner, it’s his tradition.

As I ran through this, the last of the recipes from the pie party we held a few years ago (see our two previous posts starting here to learn how to throw your own!), I thought of Dad’s pie. I had made the crust and lemon-buttermilk filling at home and brought the set pie to my parents house. I finished it with a scattering of raspberries and a toasted meringue topper. I served it up to my family without a mention of the birthday pie we have every August. There were moans and wows between bites then someone said, “This is like a way better version of lemon meringue pie. It has a great creamy custard with just the right amount of sweetness and lemony flavor. Plus the raspberries really make it!” I looked to my dad and asked, “What do you think? Would you take this over your usual pie?” “Oh yeah”, he said. “Absolutely. It’s delicious!”

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Lemon-Buttermilk Pie with Raspberries & Toasted Meringue

Serves 6-8

• Pate Brisée (recipe follows)

• 1 cup sugar plus 1/3 cup for meringue

• ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 4 egg yolks plus 2 egg whites for meringue

• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, cooled

• 1 ½ cups buttermilk

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided

• Kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 6 oz raspberries, halved if large

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1. Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll pate brisée dough into a 12-inch round. Fit the round into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold under the edge to be flush with the top of the pie plate and crimp as desired. Freeze 15 minutes. Line pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie baking weights, dried beans or rice. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and, if needed, continue to bake a few minutes longer until light golden brown all over. Let pie shell cool at least 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cooled butter, 4 egg yolks, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Slowly whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients then whisk in lemon zest. Pour into baked pie shell. Bake until filling is set but still a little wobbly in the center, about 45 minutes. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. When ready to serve. Sprinkle the top of the pie with raspberries. Whisk 2 egg whites, 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water until mixture is hot and sugar is dissolved. Transfer mixture to a standing mixer (or use a hand held mixer) and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form. Whisk in remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spoon on top of raspberries. Run a kitchen torch back and forth over meringue to toast (or toast carefully under a broiler). Serve immediately.

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Pate Brisée

Makes enough for a single crust pie. See here for step by step photo instructions.

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• ¼ cup ice water

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1. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons ice water and pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between fingertips. Add additional tablespoon water, if needed; do not over process (it should still look crumbly in the food processor).

2. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice to bring dough together. Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap (it will still be a little crumbly at this point). Wrap in plastic and press down on dough to form into a flat disk (dough will come together fully as it is pressed in the plastic wrap). Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Dough can be frozen, wrapped additionally in a layer of aluminum foil, for up to 3 months.

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