Fresh and full of vibrant flavours, you will absolutely love this luscious lemon meringue pie. Made from scratch, it is a showstopping dessert made with a combination of sweet, buttery homemade pastry and a zingy lemon filling. Piled high with fluffy Italian meringue, it is impossible to resist!
Lemon lovers, rejoice! Foolproof and easy, this easy lemon meringue pie is the perfect recipe to get your lemon fix. A popular dessert in Australia and NZ, lemon meringue pie features a delicious homemade pie crust filled with a smooth and vibrant lemon filling. It’s the perfect combination of creamy, zesty and sweet. And it has mounds of fluffy meringue to boot!
Below, you’ll find tips to make your own pie crust. But if you are short on time or prefer an easier option, you can skip this step and make a no-bake biscuit base like the one in this banoffee pie recipe.
Looking for more lemon recipes? Try this lemon syrup cake or these cute lemon meringue cupcakes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Make ahead – you can make the components of this pie ahead of time and assemble it the day of serving.
- Perfect for any occasion – lovely for morning or afternoon tea or for serving at a special occasion like Christmas, Easter, or any time you fancy a treat.
- Made with real lemons – an easy lemon filling that uses both fresh lemon juice and zest.
- Simple ingredients –this recipe uses fresh lemons and a handful of basic pantry staples like flour, sugar and eggs.
- Step by step guide – contains a helpful guide and step-by-step photos to help you make the perfect lemon meringue pie, every time.
- No watery or weeping meringue – using Italian meringue makes a fluffy, stable meringue that won’t leak into your pie.
Ingredients you will need
** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. The photo above is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!
Flour – plain, all-purpose flour is used to form the pie crust. Be sure to measure/level it correctly for a tender, crumbly pastry. I have included weights below for accuracy.
Lemons – fresh lemons are best, as both the zest and juice are used. I recommend Meyer lemons for their sweet-tart flavour and high juice content, but any fresh and in-season lemon will work.
Butter – is used in both the pastry and the lemon filling. And chilled butter is the key to flaky, tender pastry. Start with cold butter, straight from the fridge. I recommend cutting it into cubes and then popping it into the freezer while you prepare the other ingredients. Real butter is recommended, rather than butter substitutes or margarine.
Cornflour – ensures that the lemon filling thickens properly. This ingredient is essential, or the lemon filling will not be firm enough to slice.
Eggs – The yolks are used for both the pastry and the lemon filling, while the egg whites are whipped to form the Italian meringue that tops the pie. Use room temperature eggs for best results.
Step by step guide
There are three elements to lemon meringue pie.
- The pie crust; made using a sweet and short butter pastry. You can easily substitute for a store-bought frozen crust or biscuit base, if preferred.
- The lemon filling; which is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
- The meringue topping; which is made using a sugar syrup and cream of tartar for ultimate stability and texture. Lightly toasted to perfection, it tops everything off beautifully.
Making the pie crust;
Make the pastry dough by placing the flour, caster sugar and butter together in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles fine crumbs (with no visible lumps of butter).
** If you don’t have a food processor, use your fingers to rub the butter into the dough.
Then, add the egg yolk and 1-2 tablespoons of chilled milk and continue to blend until the mixture forms a lump of dough.
Immediately flatten and wrap the dough and rest it in the fridge for at least an hour. This step is important to stop the dough from shrinking while baking. To save time, the dough can be made the day before and stored in the fridge.
After the dough has rested, roll it between two sheets of baking paper and gently press it into a 20 cm (8 inch) pie tin. I highly recommend a tin with a removable bottom for easy removal of the pie once baked.
Press a fork into the bottom of the dough (to prevent bubbling) and return the dough to the fridge to chill.
Place a layer of baking paper over the dough and fill the dish with baking beads. If you don’t have baking beads, you can use dried beans or rice.
Baking beads help the pastry to keep its shape while baking. Blind bake the pie crust before adding the lemon filling. The baking paper is removed and the pastry is cooked for a further 5 minutes to dry out the bottom of the pastry.
For the lemon filling;
A simple lemon filling forms the base of the pie. It is made using lemon juice and zest, egg yolks, sugar, butter and milk and is thickened to a custard-like consistency using cornflour so that the filling holds its shape when cut.
Heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved.
Make a cornflour slurry with a little water and add it to the hot milk, whisking to combine.
Add the butter, lemon juice, zest and egg yolks and whisk to combine. Continue to beat over low heat until the mixture thickens (this will take around 3-5 minutes).
Immediately pour the hot lemon filling into the pie crust and cover directly onto the surface with cling film. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the lemon filling has set.
For the Italian meringue topping;
Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until it reaches “soft ball stage”. Soft ball stage is where you can drop a bit of the syrup into cold water and it will form a soft ball. If you have a candy thermometer, the temperature needs to reach 115 C/239 F.
**If you don’t have a thermometer, just test at the 10-minute mark and keep an eye on it until a little syrup added to cold water turns soft.
Using clean, dry stand mixer, add the egg whites and a large pinch of cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
At the same time, continue to bring the sugar syrup up to 121 C/250 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, the syrup needs to reach “hard ball” stage. This is where the sugar concentration has increased and there is less moisture in the syrup. At hard ball stage, a little syrup dropped into cold water will harden.
Leave the beaters running on high speed and carefully pour a thin, continual stream of the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. Once the sugar syrup is incorporated, continue to beat the meringue on medium speed for around 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick, glossy and holds its shape without falling.
Toast the meringue topping.
Add thick peaks of meringue to the top of the lemon filling and toast using a hand-held blowtorch. Alternatively, place it under a hot grill/broiler (at least 20cm distance from the hot element to prevent burning) for a few minutes, until browned.
** If using a grill/broiler, keep an eye on the meringue the entire time, as it will brown very quickly and you don’t want it to burn.
Full recipe notes and ingredient quantities are found in the recipe card below.
Expert tips
- Italian meringue is a little more fiddly and time consuming than regular meringue, but the end result is so worth the extra effort. If I’m short on time, I’ll make the pie crust and fill it with the lemon filling the night before and top with fresh meringue the following day when ready to serve.
- For the perfect meringue; make sure you use clean, dry bowls and equipment. Any residual egg yolk or oil contain fats that can interfere with the egg whites and prevent perfect peaks. Separate your eggs one at a time and then transfer each egg white to the clean mixer bowl. You don’t want even the smallest drop of egg yolk in your egg whites.
- Use fresh, room temperature eggs. Fresh egg whites hold their shape better when beaten. Allow your eggs to reach room temperature before beating. They will foam better than cold eggs and form a more stable meringue. Sit the eggs on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes before using them, or to speed up the process, add them to a bowl of warm water for five minutes.
- Use chilled butter in the pie crust. Chilling the butter first will help the crust to maintain its structure as it bakes. And the resting time in the fridge before rolling relaxes the dough’s gluten, helping to prevent a tough crust.
- Lemon curd consistency; as the lemon filling cooks, it will start to thicken to a custard-like consistency. Whisk over very low heat to prevent the mixture catching and burning on the bottom of the saucepan. When ready, the mixture will coat the back of a spoon. The chilling time in the fridge is essential, as the filling will continue to set in the fridge (so don’t skip the chilling time!). Allow to cool completely before adding the meringue topping and cutting the pie.
- To prevent the meringue from shrinking back; shrinking occurs when the meringue topping shrinks back from the edges of the pie, exposing the lemon filling. To prevent this from occurring, spread the meringue right up to the pie crust. This way, the meringue will hold onto the crust and won’t fall back. The addition of sugar syrup also helps to prevent the meringue from weeping and shrinking.
- Prefer mini lemon meringue pies? Easy! Follow the recipe card below, but cut and shape the rolled dough into cupcake trays instead of one large pie tin. Blind bake the pastry until lightly browned and then fill with the lemon filling and chill before piping the meringue over the top.
- Lemon meringue pie with biscuit base; Don’t have time to make the pie crust? You can substitute the homemade pastry for an easy, no-bake biscuit base like this one here.
- Have everything prepped and ready for the lemon filling. The filling is time sensitive, so having pre-measured ingredients including separating eggs, zest and juice is essential. Keep everything within reach beside the stovetop, ready to add to the filling when required.
- To remove the pie from the pie tin; The pie can be tricky to remove from the tin without breaking. For easy removal, use a pie tin with a removable bottom. Springform tins can also be used. If you don’t have one of these, I recommend slicing the pie in the tin and removing one piece at a time.
FAQs
The elements of lemon meringue pie can definitely be prepared ahead of time, to make assembly easier. The pie crust can be baked and filled with the lemon filling and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (although it is best eaten in the first day or two). It is recommended to make the meringue topping on the day you want to serve the pie. When ready to serve, simply top with the Italian meringue, torch and serve.
I love to bake with Meyer lemons which are more fragrant and a touch sweeter than regular lemons which make them perfect for this dessert. However, any type of lemon can be used in this recipe.
Once the pie has cooled, place it into the fridge to set before serving. While the pie is best eaten within 1-2 days of being made, if you do have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Both the baked pie crust and the lemon filling can be frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend making and adding fresh meringue on the day you want to serve it. To freeze, allow the pie to cool completely and add to an airtight container (or carefully wrap) and lay it flat in the freezer. To thaw, leave it in the fridge overnight. Top with freshly made meringue, torch, slice and serve!
Italian meringue is the most stable type of meringue. It requires boiling hot sugar syrup to be drizzled into whipped egg whites. The sugar syrup cooks the egg whites resulting in a soft, glossy meringue that doesn’t require baking. It is perfect for piping on top of pies and desserts because it holds it shape so well.
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Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 250 grams plain flour 1 cup
- 125 grams butter chilled, chopped into cubes
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tablespoons chilled milk
Lemon Filling
- 1 ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 ½ cups milk whole, full cream milk
- â…“ cup + 2 heaped tablespoons cornflour â…“ cup + 2 heaped tablespoons
- 100 grams butter unsalted, chopped into cubes
- ¾ cups lemon juice approx. 4-5 lemons
- zest of 2-3 lemons or more for extra lemon zing
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 egg yolks lightly beaten
For the meringue
- 200 grams caster sugar 1 cup
- 200 ml water
- 4 egg whites
- 1 pinch cream of tartar a large pinch
Instructions
For the pastry
- Place the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. If using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and one tablespoon of milk and continue blending on medium speed until the mixture starts to form a ball of dough in the food processor. Check the mixture and if still a little dry, add another tablespoon of milk and blitz until the dough forms a ball in the food processor.
- Press the dough flat and cover with cling wrap. Place into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the pastry from the fridge and let it warm up a little (if you use it straight from the fridge and try to roll it, the pastry will crumble). Roll the pastry between 2 pieces of baking paper until about 5mm in thickness.
- Line a 20cm tart tin with the pastry (a tin with a removable bottom is highly recommended for easy removal of the finished pie, but is not essential) and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until firm.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 C/356 F.
- Once the pastry is firm, trim the edges and press a fork all over the bottom of the pastry.
- Line the top of the pastry with a piece of baking paper and top with baking beads (or dried beans). 'Blind bake' for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is light golden brown.
- Remove the baking beads and paper and cook for a further 5 minutes to dry out the bottom of the pastry. Once cooked, remove the pie crust from the oven and set aside.
For the lemon filling.
- While the pie crust is baking, place the caster sugar and 1 cup of the milk into a medium saucepan and whisk over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a low simmer.
- In a small jug, mix the cornflour with the remaining (½ cup) milk and stir until smooth and lump free. Pour the cornflour mix into the saucepan and whisk to combine.
- While continuing to whisk over low heat, add the butter, lemon juice, zest and egg yolks and whisk until combined and the butter has melted.
- While continually whisking, cook the lemon mixture over low heat for around 5 minutes, or until it thickens.
- Once thickened, immediately pour the lemon filling into the pastry case and cover with plastic wrap directly onto the top of the lemon filling to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (3-4 hours is best) to allow the filling to set.
For the meringue
- Combine the sugar and 200ml water in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook (simmering) for around 10-15 minutes, until the syrup reaches 115 C/239 F (if you don't have a thermometer, the syrup should be at "soft ball stage", where if you drop a bit of it into cold water, it will form a soft ball.
- In a clean, dry bowl of an electric stand mixer, start whisking the egg whites with a large pinch of cream tartar until soft peaks form.
- Meanwhile, bring the sugar syrup to 121 C/250 F. (Again, if you don't have a candy thermometer, the syrup should now be at 'hard ball stage', where a little syrup added to cold water will form a hardened ball.
- With the mixer motor running on high speed, gradually pour a thin, continuous ribbon of sugar syrup into the meringue. Once the sugar syrup is incorporated, turn the speed to medium and beat for a further 10 minutes, until the meringue is thick and glossy.
To assemble
- Top the lemon pie with the finished meringue and shape some peaks with a metal spoon. Use a hand-held blow torch to toast the meringue top to a golden-brown colour. Alternatively, place the pie in an oven at least 20cm away from a hot grill/broiler and heat until the meringue is browned, but not burnt. Keep a close eye on the meringue, as this process can happen quickly. Place into the fridge until ready to serve. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- For the perfect meringue; make sure you use clean, dry bowls and equipment. Any residual egg yolk or oil contain fats that can interfere with the egg whites and prevent perfect peaks. Separate your eggs one at a time and then transfer each egg white to the clean mixer bowl. You don’t want even the smallest drop of egg yolk in your egg whites.
- Use fresh, room temperature eggs. Fresh egg whites hold their shape better when beaten. Allow your eggs to reach room temperature before beating. They will foam better than cold eggs and form a more stable meringue. Sit the eggs on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes before using them, or to speed up the process, add them to a bowl of warm water for five minutes.
- Use chilled butter in the pie crust. Chilling the butter first will help the crust to maintain its structure as it bakes. And the time in the fridge before rolling relaxes the dough’s gluten, helping to prevent a tough crust.
- Lemon curd consistency; as the lemon filling cooks, it will start to thicken to a custard-like consistency. Whisk over very low heat to prevent the mixture catching and burning on the bottom of the saucepan. When ready, the mixture will coat the back of a spoon. The chilling time in the fridge is essential, as the filling will continue to set in the fridge. Allow to cool completely before adding the meringue topping and cutting the pie.
- To prevent the meringue from shrinking back; shrinking occurs when the meringue topping shrinks back from the edges of the pie, exposing the lemon filling. To prevent this from occurring, spread the meringue right up to the pie crust. This way, the meringue will hold onto the crust and won’t fall back. The addition of sugar syrup also helps to prevent the meringue from weeping and shrinking.
- Prefer mini lemon meringue pies? Easy! Follow the recipe card below, but cut and shape the rolled dough into cupcake trays instead of one large pie tin. Blind bake the pastry until lightly browned and then fill with lemon curd and chill before piping the meringue over the top.
- Lemon meringue pie with biscuit base; Don’t have time to make the pie crust? You can substitute the homemade pastry for an easy, no-bake biscuit base.
- Have everything prepped and ready for the lemon filling. The filling is time sensitive, so having pre-measured ingredients including separating eggs, zest and juice is essential. Keep everything within reach beside the stovetop, ready to add to the filling when required.
- To remove the pie from the pie tin; The pie can be tricky to remove from the tin without breaking. For easy removal, use a pie tin with a removable bottom. Springform tins can also be used. If you don’t have one of these, I recommend slicing the pie in the tin and removing one piece at a time.
- Make ahead; The elements of lemon meringue pie can definitely be prepared ahead of time, to make assembly easier. The pie crust can be baked and filled with the lemon filling and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (although it is best eaten in the first day or two). It is recommended to make the meringue topping on the day you want to serve the pie. When ready to serve, simply top with the Italian meringue, torch and serve.
- I love to bake with Meyer lemons which are more fragrant and a touch sweeter than regular lemons which make them perfect for this dessert. However, any type of lemon can be used in this recipe.
- Storage; Once the pie has cooled, place it into the fridge to set before serving. While the pie is best eaten within 1-2 days of being made, if you do have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Freezing; Both the baked pie crust and the lemon filling can be frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend making and adding fresh meringue on the day you want to serve it. To freeze, allow the pie to cool completely and add to an airtight container (or carefully wrap) and lay it flat in the freezer. To thaw, leave it in the fridge overnight. Top with freshly made meringue, torch, slice and serve!
- Italian meringue is the most stable type of meringue. It requires boiling hot sugar syrup to be drizzled into whipped egg whites. The sugar syrup cooks the egg whites resulting in a soft, glossy meringue that doesn’t require baking. It is perfect for piping on top of pies and desserts because it holds it shape so well.
- Please note that the nutrition information is based on the pie being cut into 12 slices, with one slice being one serve. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings served with the pie.
- This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in February 2019, but was re-published with new information, helpful tips and photos in January 2022.
Darleen says
In the U.S. we have sweetened condensed mild or canned milk, which is concentrated milk. I am assuming it’s the concentrated canned milk you need for this recipe as the filling calls for sugar as well.
Andrea Geddes says
Hi Darleen! We have sweetened condensed milk and canned milk (as well as evaporated milk) here in Australia too. But what I am referring to in this recipe is regular dairy milk from the refrigerator section in the supermarket. You may refer to it as “whole milk”. Canned condensed milk would be too thick for the lemon filling. I hope that helps!
Sylvie says
Lemom Meringue Pie is ALWAYS a good idea hehe! Such a classic and delicious dessert, and the ratio of lemon to meringue is simply perfect here. YUM!!
TheCookingCollective says
Sylvie, I completely agree! There’s always a good reason to eat lemon meringue pie!