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Oh, the decadence. This month’s daring bakers challenge was to make lemon meringue pie. Well, folks, what a pie this is! There were a few mistakes along the way, of course: I misread the amount of sugar to go into the crust, for example, so ended up with 1/2 a cup of sugar instead of 1/4 of a cup. This was taken to be a good thing by the tasters, though, who said, “it tastes like sugar cookies!” Serendipity? Perhaps. The other problem I ran into was the fact that I don’t know where our pie-plates are packed: we packed them with the glass things, and have left quite a few “glass / fragile” boxes packed, simply because we didn’t feel like bringing them out when we’ll likely move to a different flat towards the end of the school year. So, I was stuck with trying to make this work in a springform pan. Never, folks. Never.
Getting pie crust to work in a springform pan means that you’ve got to kind of drape it over the sides. Doing this with an 8″ diameter pan means that you’ve got a 3″ wide strip of dough which is 25″ long! Physically impossible to get right, let me tell you. So, I decided I’d cut the side dough into segments & try to patch them together when I’d managed to get them draped over. Well, it worked, mostly … but wasn’t anywhere near a perfect job, and left me not at all proud at the shape of things.
We’ve been warned repeatedly about the differences between UK flour and Canadian / American flours, so we were expecting to have more trouble with the texture or composition of the dough for the crust. This was not the case, except in that the amount of water called for by the recipe was by no means necessary, so I’m guessing that some of the problems people run into in making the transition to the UK is simply that UK flour may have a higher moisture content, which would tend to throw things off, for sure.
How did it turn out? Well, we had some friends over, and timed it such that I pulled the pie from the oven just before their arrival. After a lovely dinner, we were in the right mood to try pie. You see, unbeknown to us, our friends do not like eggs, either. So, here we were, with four people who don’t particularly care for eggs, eating meringue pie! We figured that it’d be a good bet that some locals would like this – it is a British pie, after all. Once again, though, we’re reminded that Scots are not British: the crust was great, the filling wonderful, and the meringue was left in clumps on the plates.
After our friends left for the evening, I packed up two slices for our next-door neighbors. Since I’d just heard them come home, I proceeded to offer them their slices … to be told, “I have to be honest with you, I really don’t like lemon-meringue pie. My partner might, though.” Sigh.
Two slices sit in the fridge, awaiting someone to eat them. Is it a good recipe? Certainly! Would we make it again? Not unless an army of egg-lovers were to come by, needing dessert!
Be sure to check out the other daring bakers and their pies – there are over 100 of us doing this now, so that’s quite a few experiences with this same recipe, in case you needed to know that it’s been thoroughly tested! This month’s host is Jen, from Canadian Baker. At some point she’ll post the recipe up for all to see.
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I love all your pictures, the step by step is awesome. So glad your pie turned out. I wish mine had done so well. Great job, even if the anti-egg folks wouldnt touch that meringue. I would have scarfed it.
How can it be possible not to like LMP ? lol ! Yours looks great, a pity the pictures are not bigger.
The pictures all link out to much larger sized pictures – although, to be fair, I’m still stuck with cell-phone pictures, so they’re not that large, even when blown up. Click on to find out more about them – and every other picture on this site, as well!
hahahahaa! You know, I’m not the biggest LMP fan in the world, but would I EVER pass up a free homemade dessert? HELL NO. Their loss. 🙂
Loved your write up, David.. glad you guys are settling in.
xoxo
oh they are done so systematic step by step, just so adorable!
You should’ve dropped me a phone call, I’d gladly scooped all that lovely meringue off. Kudos for baking this in a spring form!!
Great write up David! How can anybody pass up free dessert is beyond me also!! The pie looks write and the documentary step by step is very nice!
The picture framing the post is such a neat affect! What a creative and terrific job wrestling the sides up the springform pan, I can commissurate that it’s not easy by far.
Pity no-one cared for the filling of your lovely looking pie. I used springform tins too, 7 inch I think. But I didn’t have problems getting the dough in. I rolled between baking paper, after rolling I pulled it off but kept it on the bottom of the dough and used that to get it centered on/in the spring form.
Ahh, but they did like the filling: they just didn’t like the meringue!
I just didn’t think of doing it all in one piece, ’cause I had the springform … which apparently distorted my brain into thinking that I had to treat it as a two-part pan, rather than as just a pie dish.
Next time….
wow, i toyed with the idea of the spring form as well, as i find it impossible to get the slices out of the pie dishes whole! glad i didn’t, as it seems like a nightmare job, well done on pulling it through!
Great job on your completion of the LMP!
I can’t believe your neighbours turned them down!!! Well done with the challenge!
sugar cookie crust?! Yes please. Serendipitous indeed! Sp? You need to get yourself some egg loving friends…
Nicely done! You’re doing so great with cell phone pics.
You were awfully nice to offer home made pie to your neighbors- even if it was underappreciated.
I’m not a fan of meringue on pies either-but I’d take the pie and replace the meringue with some lovely whipped cream. I only put meringue on two of my tarts for the challenge- I have more to eat plain or top other ways.mmm.
xoxo
Great job on the challenge! It’s a shame your neighbors didn’t want a slice!
There loss. I loved the meringue!
And your springform slices look very nice indeed!
I’m not aware of these Uk flour vs US flour rumors – are you sure it’s not just a bit of cultural prejudice? 😉 I could have left the meringue topping on the side as well, but I do love me some curd…
Mmmm, lemon curd. Do you know the Julia Child’s Floating Islands recipe? VERY eggy, but I like it. While I was reading that you are newly in the UK, and also that the LMP crust was a little like sugar cookies, the following vision popped into mind: a replica of Stonehenge made with shortbread cookies and cemented together with marizpan.
Too bad I’m not your neighbor because after finishing our little meringues off we wanted more 🙂 The pie looks fab!
A job well done on the LMP challenge! The pictures down the side look fabulous. I like the cell-phone pics. I find, my phone takes better pics than my Canon! Go figure!
congrats! the meringue did not weep from the edges. the sign of a successful LMP. it looked beautiful. hope some one enjoys it.
Your pie looks so delicious! Frankly I’m stunned people would turn it down!
Yanno, I think your springform version is pretty rad!
The springform version is impressive. I can see it with very thin slices of Meyer lemon on the bottom…wish I could get you some.
It’s funny that you can’t find anyone who appreciated the meringue. No problem around here.
I did the spring-form too! Wasn’t the easiest thing, but it worked. Looked like yours did too. In fact, looks lovely. Well done.
Wonderful pictures!!! If you offered that pie to my friends, they would have lept for joy!
great pics and great job on the pie! I didnt know about the differences in moisture content in flours so maybe thats why mine dripped off while baking!! 🙂
A really great job doing it in a springform. More power to you!
You did a wonderful job on your lemon meringue pie. I’m sorry this challenge had so many eggs, maybe the next one won’t.
Lovely job on all of your pictures.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Nice pictures. Your pie looks lovely too bad your friends aren’t egg fans:)
Too bad you aren’t egg lovers! I’m glad you made it anyway, even if the meringue was left on the plates. Great job!
Great job in making the pie. But I’m with you and your neighbours. Not my thing at all. On to the next challenge!!!
That is too funny that no one really was into the lemon meringuw thing! What an odd coincidence!
Looks great though!
An ARMY of egg lovers in need of dessert! I love it!! it is hillarious. YOU had it challenging trying to make a pie in a springform, I can not even begin to imagine how difficult it was, still congratulations for being such a daring baker and your amazing looking pie! ^_~
Well done for attempting the pie in a springform tin. I think it turned out brilliantly. At least the meringue topping was easy to scrape off.
Your photos turn out wonderful and the step by step is perfect. Good job on this month’s challenge!!
I dunno, I kind of like the springform shape for the LMP….
I would have liked more sugar in the crust…so yours would have been perfect for me.
It looks FABULOUS! And we are egg lovers! Wish we were closer, I’d have taken that pie off your hands in seconds!
Even with my crust problems David I really did enjoy this pie.
I think I’d be leary of folks that pass on a free home made dessert.
Ah well, what will February bring . . .
Quite a challenge! But you kept your good humor throughout.
You pie looks great! (I was really happy with the way the crust turned out, too!)
Even though you aren’t a fan of eggs, you did a great job in making the challenge! It looks great! Kudos to you. Looking forward to seeing your next challenge! 🙂
Ah the irony of it all! All that lovely pie and no one to eat it!
Cool idea to use the springform pan, btw!
I LOVE Lemon Meringue pie! It’s standard that it’s made with pumpkin and apple or cherry at Christmas and Thanksgiving in my house, and it’s usually the first one gone 🙂 I’ve even made it “sugarless” using Splenda, it was good but not great.
Great job, and I would have gobbled it up if I was there 🙂
Your sugar cookie crust sounds delightful. :0)
Love all your photos! And i sure wouldn’t turn down a slice of that pie!
Interesting about the differences re: Cdn/US & UK flours. I’ve not heard that one before, but I have a feeling it could be from misinterpretations of each other’s terminology of flours…if that makes sense…plain, soft, hard,ap, etc etc…
I dunno.
Sometimes I scoop the meringue off too…especially if it’s too weepy…
j
I have made a pumpkin pie in a springform with the same results – not too attractive. I always associate LMP as “American” even though I know that lemon curd is something from the tea table! Great pie. Wendy
That’s funny that you sat down to have this dessert with 4 people who don’t like eggs! Looks like it turned out yummy though! 🙂