Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
:

> On Fri 10 Jun 2005 04:58:58a, Andy wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> "CheCooks" > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>> I made a lemon meringue pie for the first time last night. This
>>> morning, as I pulled it out of the fridge, there was a liquid around
>>> the edges and the meringue seemed to have pulled away from the edges
>>> of the pie. Any idea what caused this? I cut a piece for my
>>> husband anyway, and other than the clear liquid (it had a solid
>>> layer of lemon and the meringue seemed just right) seeping out of
>>> it, he said it had great flavor. He also said he has seen this in a
>>> few other lemon meringues. We tipped the pie plate up just a tad and
>>> I spooned the liquid out. Any help would be great as this has
>>> really frustrated me.
>>> Thanks!!
>>>
>>> Che
>>
>>
>> Che,
>>
>> I made a key lime pie with meringue and it suffered the same fate
>> your pie did.
>>
>> The keylime set up fine in the fridge but the meringue didn't and
>> didn't adhere to the filling at all.
>>
>> My pie had more meringue than filling and maybe some meringue near
>> the filling didn't cook through? I'm betting the liquid was tired egg
>> white.
>
> More likely the meringue was baked at too high a temperature. The
> proteins in the egg whites are adversely affected by the heat.
>
>> My next pie, I'm going to double the filling and leave off the
>> meringue until after the pie sets in the fridge, then whip some up,
>> put it on the pie and toss it under the broiler for a couple minutes
>> to brown the peaks and serve immediately.
>>
>> I'm probably way off base.
>>
>> Anybody???
>
> Yes, of course, this will work because meringue doesn't usually begin
> to weep until later. What you propose is basically how "baked alaska"
> is prepared, that is, by putting the meringue on the finished and
> cooled or frozen item, covering it meringue, then quickly broiling it
> to brown.
>
> Having said that, if you try the following recipe, you will have a
> thick layer of lemon filling and a very thick layer of meringue which
> absolutely will not weep. Be sure to follow time and tempeature
> precisely for baking the meringue. I have made this recipe many times
> and have never had a failure. I've seen two sources for almost
> identical recipes, one of which appeared in Bon Appetit 7-8 years ago.
>
>
> You will need a very deep 9-inch baked crust for this.
>
> Filling
> -------
> 1 1/2 cups water
> 1 cup sugar
> 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
> 6 large egg yolks
> 5 tablespoons cornstarch
> 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
>
> Whisk first 7 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Using
> whisk, stir over medium heat until filling thickens and just begins to
> boil, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter. Spoon hot
> filling into prepared crust.
>
> Meringue
> --------
> 7 large egg whites
> 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
> 1 1/8 cups powdered sugar
>
> Preheat oven to 300°F. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large
> stainless steel bowl at low speed until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar
> and 1 tablespoon sugar. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 1
> tablespoon at a time. Beat at medium speed until stiff glossy peaks
> form, about 8 minutes. Spread meringue over warm filling, covering
> completely, sealing meringue to crust edges and mounding in center.
> Bake pie for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275°F and continue
> to bake until meringue is golden brown and set when pie is shaken
> slightly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely,
> about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered.)


Kewl!

Thanks Wayne,

I'll give that a try. I'm a key lime pie guy, so I'll adapt your recipe,
I'm sure it will work.

I think I'm breaking some key lime pie law by adding ANY topping.

All the best,

Andy