Lemon Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
* 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
* 2/3 cup granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
3. Gradually stir in water and butter.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
5. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, zest, and egg yolks.
7. Pour mixture into the pie crust.
8. Bake for 15 minutes.
9. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool.
11. Spread sweetened condensed milk over top of the cooled pie.
12. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Lemon pies have been made since the era before cooking with ovens. The first known recipe for a lemon pie dates back to 1645 and was made with ground up biscuits, butter and lemon – a surprisingly similar recipe to what we use today.
Today, the most common recipe for a lemon pie starts with a cream or crumb crust. For the filling, the most common recipe calls for equal parts sugar, cornstarch, flour, butter and lemon juice. To reduce the tartness of the lemon, egg yolks are also often added to thicken the filling. The ingredients are mixed and cooked together over a stove before adding some butter and pouring it into the pre-baked crust for added flavor. To top off the lemon pie, a meringue or whipped cream is often added.
To ensure a perfectly balanced lemon pie, a few tips can help. When preparing the filling, reduce the amount of sugar but increase the amount of cornstarch to ensure that it is thick enough for the pie. Also, adding a few drops of lemon oil to the filling gives it an extra boost of lemon flavor. When using the meringue topping, it’s important to make sure it’s still warm while putting it on, otherwise, the topping will not stick to the top of the pie. Additionally, to make sure that the crust is perfectly baked, blind bake the crust before pouring the filling in.
With these tips and techniques in mind, anyone can make a delicious lemon pie.