Making the perfect meringue pie involves challenges such as ensuring the crust doesn’t get moist, the filling is baked through, and the meringue is thoroughly baked without burning. Pre-bake the crust, prepare the meringue ingredients, cook the filling, whip the meringue, and assemble the pie before baking for 20 minutes.
A perfect meringue pie has a smooth, evenly baked filling encased in a flaky, delicious crust, and is topped with nice snowy pillows of smooth meringue that don’t cry or sag. Creating the ideal meringue pie can be extremely difficult, as the cook is faced with a series of bottom-up challenges. The meringue pie should be constructed such that the crust doesn’t get moist, the filling is baked all the way through, and the meringue is thoroughly baked without pulling away from the sides of the dish or burning on top. Through trial and error, cooks have developed a number of techniques that will greatly improve the success of the meringue pie.
Making the perfect meringue pie starts with the crust. Select a crust recipe that will result in a light, flaky crust. Once you have the crust ready, pre-bake it. To pre-bake a crust, roll it out and place it in your oiled and floured pie pan. Then weigh the crust with beans or another smaller dish and bake for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, start making the filling and prepare the other ingredients so you can assemble the pie as soon as the crust comes out of the oven. The heat from the pre-cooked crust will help cook the filling evenly.
Before you start filling the pie, prepare the ingredients for the meringue. The meringue will cook evenly if it’s piped over a hot filling, because the heat from the filling will help cook and set the meringue. For this reason, you want the meringue done quickly when the filling is freshly cooked. Measure out all the ingredients you need for the meringue and pre-cook a cornstarch paste to mix with the meringue as you beat it. The cornstarch paste will keep the meringue from weeping or oozing and will also provide body so it doesn’t sag.
When the ingredients for the meringue are laid out, the filling begins. Follow directions carefully, cooking the filling over low heat and stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn or clump. A variety of fillings can be used for meringue pies including lemon, lime, chocolate, or butterscotch. Most cookbooks provide recipes for different fillings, and you can even feel free to experiment after you learn the basics of making a custard filling.
As soon as the filling is done, pour it into the pie crust and start whipping up the meringue. Beat the egg whites briskly and evenly, making sure to rotate the bowl so everything is beaten together. Most recipes call for a gradual addition of sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla until the egg whites have started to reach stiff peaks. Then beat in the cornstarch paste until the egg whites create firm, crunchy peaks and get ready to spread the meringue over the hot filling. Never prepare the meringue before filling, as it will deform and lose its consistency: it must be cooked immediately after preparation.
To keep the meringue from pulling away from the edges, first guide a layer of meringue around the edge of the pie, making sure to attach it tightly to the crust at all points. Then start filling in the middle, whipping the meringue into a classic hill like shape. As soon as the meringue pie is assembled, pop it into the oven on the top rack and bake as directed: usually about 20 minutes or until the top of the meringue pie starts to turn lightly golden. Place the meringue pie on a wire rack until completely cool before eating or refrigerate, covered.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
