Lemon Meringue Pie

This is my very first attempt at a lemon meringue pie, and also my very first challenge as a Daring Baker! I am so happy to be joining a group so fond of baking and blogging. Thanks to Jen of The Canadian Baker for hosting this month's challenge. Check out her blog if you would like the recipe.

First I made the crust. It was the first time I had attempted a crust that actually called for "cutting in" the butter. (I substituted margarine because of my milk allergy.)



I tried to keep everything really cold while I worked the margarine in, even using a frosty mug and Brita water from the fridge when it came time to add the water, but it didn't come together very easily for me.

It was really crumbly and dry, as you can see.


I finally was able to roll it out, though. I assume this trouble was just due to my inexperience.

I gratefully draped the pie crust over the pan...

...and trimmed and crimped the edges.

Then I filled it with foil and black beans (to act as pie weights) and pre-cooked the crust according to the recipe.
Next it was time to make the lemon curd. Things got a little tricky here. Because after running to the store to purchase lemons, I found that I didn't have quite enough corn starch. But remembering my earlier experience with corn starch in pie filling, Bryan and I decided I should just use what I had and hope for the best. (Can you tell where this is going?)

But things seemed to be going alright. So I forged on. My inexperience slowing me down at every turn, this challenge was becoming a baking marathon.

But next we get to my favorite part: meringue. This was my first time making it, and look how fun it is:

I love how effortless it was to create these snowy, stiff peaks. They reminded me of a scene out of the original Grinch cartoon.

I got it on top of my pie, covering the edges, and proceeded to make little decorative peaks all over.

When it came out of the oven, it looked fantastic to me. Success?

Um... not quite.

But that is what being a daring baker is all about, right? Trying things that you wouldn't otherwise have pushed yourself try. And knowing there are tons of kind bakers to commiserate with if you make mistakes and things go awry.


I am looking forward to my next challenge. I feel like I learned a lot from this one, and the next pie I make will be so much better because of it.