Sunday, January 27, 2008

Lemon Meringue Pie - The Daring Baker's January Challenge


This was my second DB challenge, and this months challenge was Lemon Meringue Pie. Lemon Meringue Pie is not a standard dessert around here, but my Mom made it a few times in my childhood (she is half American, which means that she makes some food that might not otherwise not have been known to me). I always loved it, so many thanks to this month's hostess, Jen at The Canadian Baker for making it a challenge. Since there is only two of us here, and the recipe seemed to be a rather large one, I choose to make only two fifths of the original recipe. (The recipe used five eggs, so making something that would require a whole number of eggs seemed convenient.) This turned out to be quite a lot for two people anyway!
So, here is what they looked like. Since my only pie form used to be a non-stick thing that some time during December decided to deliver pies with a non-stick coating I decided to go for the free-form tartletts. I was really nervous about how the filling would manage this, never having made a lemon curd before, but everything worked out perfect. Actually, D. thought that I had piled the curd up a bit too high, I think he would have preferred more meringue and less lemon. I must admit that I cheated a bit to get the nice browning marks by using a kitchen torch. Since we ate them almost immediately there was no problem at all with weeping meringue or something like that. The red stuff on top is dried cranberries which I thought looked pretty on top of the meringue. I never had cranberries before, but found them in the supermarket a few days before making the pie and decided to buy them without a plan of what to use them for. Don't they look pretty on top of the white meringue? I hope this isn't cheating, I just put them on top as a decoration.

Would I make this again? I still love lemon meringue pie, but since I had a success with this I actually went on and made some more lemon curd with another recipe I wanted to try. Most of the result is now in the freezer, so next time I will probably be lazy and just use that. I'm still to unsure about translating measurements to know how different the crust was to the one I usually make, but it worked fine, cooked beautifully golden and tasted great. And the meringue was fluffy and tasty, so yes, I actually already made it again for another pie.

Again, thanks for a yummy challenge Jen! Now, I'm looking forward to the February challenge.

14 comments:

Big Boys Oven said...

Such a yummy LMP... well done!

Katie said...

Your tarts looks great. The way you have piped your meringue and the additon of the cranberries make them look like hearts. Perfect for valentines day.

breadchick said...

Your tarts are fantastic looking with their little touch of red. Nice job on the challenge this month!

Dolores said...

I agree with Katie; at first glance I thought "she made heart lemon tarts for Valentine's day". Both beautiful and creative. Great job!

Deborah said...

I love the hearts! Great job!

The Fast Lane said...

I don't think the cranberries were "cheating" -- we were invited to use fruit at the end of the recipe... as an additional topping. I used blueberries.
So, how did the cranberries taste with the lemon?
Jane of VeganBits.com

The Fast Lane said...

I almost forgot...
Here is a link to a cooking conversion calculator which will help you convert metric to US measurements.


Jane of VeganBits.com

Dawn0fTime said...

They look almost heart-shaped! And the cranberries really add to that idea. Great job!

Tracy said...

Great tarts! I love the idea of the cranberries!

Gabi said...

Lovely meringue-love the addition of the cranberries!
xoxo

Unknown said...

Looks good! I also like the cranberries, although the combination of two tart fruits might be more than most people could handle. :)

Lis said...

Your free-form tarts are gorgeous! They look like lil hearts. :)

I love the sprinkling of the cranberries too.. they do look beautiful on top of the white meringue.

Nice job! :)

xoxo

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Lina your tartlets are perfect! And yes the cranberries are lovely decoration!!

Unknown said...

I think the cranberries add the perfect amount of color! Your pies looks great. Glad you liked the curd.