The Best Lemon Pie Filling Recipe - Our Wabi Sabi Life (2024)

FAQs

What is lemon pie filling made of? ›

Lemon Meringue Pie Ingredients

For the filling: white sugar, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, water, lemons, butter, and beaten egg yolks.

What is the best way to prevent having liquid at the bottom of a lemon meringue pie? Don't over bake your meringue! Overbaking causes the egg whites to shrink and squeeze out small droplets of moisture. Always make sure to check on your pie at the minimum baking time.

A lemon pie may become watery when put in the oven to brown the meringue, if it is left in the oven too long; or it may water because the filling was not sufficiently cooked before putting into the pastry shell, or it may be from an insufficiency of flour being used in making the filling.

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.

A: Dotting the top of a fruit pie filling with butter is an old habit but one that is called for in only about half of the pie recipes out there. Some maintain that the butter is for taste; others claim that it helps the filling set up, particularly when using flour as a thickener.

The watery layer between the meringue and the filling (weeping) is usually caused by undercooking.

Combine lemon zest with oil or butter

Rub the lemon into the sugar, then add your cooking fat, like butter or oil. The tangy zest will infuse the whole batter, elevating the tart flavor of your dessert. For a shortcut, you can use lemon-infused olive oil.

Why is my lemon curd not thickening? Make sure to cook the curd until thickened and bubbling. Stir it frequently with a rubber spatula or whisk to make sure it doesn't get lumpy. Once it's cooked, add cold butter and stir until it melts and becomes smooth.

The key to thickening Lemon Meringue Pie so it sets properly is to cook the filling until bubbles start to pop on the surface of the lemon/egg yolk mixture. It should be the consistency of thick pudding before you remove it from the heat. If it's not thick before you add it to the pie, it will never set properly.

The acid in the lemon limits the ability of starch to capture moisture, contributing to the pooling in the bottom of the pie plate. We need to use enough juice to provide the lemon flavor but not so much that the starch can't do its job.

Why is my lemon pie crust soggy? ›

A soggy bottom crust happens when the wet filling of your pie soaks into the raw pie dough beneath before it's had a chance to set, causing it to become sodden and gummy.

In a medium saucepan, add 6 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 cups water, and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil on medium heat, whisking constantly. Let simmer for a minute or two until the mixture begins to thicken.

Experiment with different thickeners

If you usually use flour to thicken your apple pie and it's not doing the job, try something different: cornstarch, tapioca, and arrowroot are other established fruit pie thickeners. For more on specific thickeners and how to use them, see our Pie Filling Thickeners Guide.

All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.

Directions. In a saucepan over medium heat mix the white sugar, flour, orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and the egg. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely before folding in the whipped cream.

Make the filling: Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, then the lemon juice until completely combined. Pour filling over warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles.

Fruit, sugar, cornstarch, acid, extras. These are the only things you need to remember to turn out a perfect pie filling. You've already read our step-by-step guide to the flakiest, butteriest pie crust.

Creamy Lemon Pie Filling

We have the sweetened condensed milk to thank for that. It's actually adapted from my oatmeal lemon crumble bars filling, but we also add egg yolks here for structure and fresh lemon juice for flavor. That's it—only 3 basic ingredients that have big jobs to do.