Lemon Meringue Pie

 

 
For the Curd:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 slightly beaten egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut up
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

 

For the Meringue:

• 7 egg whites
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Crust: 

Prepare the Pastry for your pie. Roll the pastry out to fit your pie plate.
Put the pastry in the pie plate. Make sure the pastry is firmly pressed along the edges and bottom. 

This will help decrease the shrinkage of the crust.
Trim the pastry to fit the plate and flute the edges of the crust. 

Poke the sides and bottom of the pie crust with a fork. Don't make the holes all the way to the bottom of the crust. You don't want the curd going through the crust. 

Line the crust with foil and weigh the foil down with pie weights or beans. 

Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil and the pie weights. Bake for 5-6 min. more.

Curd:
In a medium saucepan stir together the 1-1/2 cups sugar, cornstarch, and flour.
Gradually stir in the water. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat

Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into beaten egg yolks. 

Now pour the yolk mixture into remaining hot mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted. 

Slowly stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice. 

Keep the filling warm while preparing the meringue. You can do this by using a double boiler, although I did not have one.

Meringue:
Whip 7 egg whites in your mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. About 3-4 minutes.
On a low speed gradually incorporate the salt and sugar. Once the sugar and salt are mixed in turn your mixer onto high speed.

Continue to whip until hard peaks form. About 3-4 minutes more.

 
Poor the curd into your pie crust. Make sure the curd is hot. This will help decrease the amount of weeping from your meringue.
Top the pie with the meringue. Now you can form artful peaks! Make sure to seal the edges with the meringue so the curd does not bubble out.
Bake in a 350 degree  oven for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for 1 hour.
Chill 3 to 6 hours before serving.