Lemon Meringue Pie

This lemon meringue pie recipe is perfect for any season. While citrus fruits like lemons are at their best in winter, this sweet-tart dessert has such a sunny color that it also looks right at home among a spread of spring desserts, and it’s even one of our favorite meringue recipes for a summer day. The filling is similar to lemon curd, with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, sugar, egg yolks, and plenty of butter. While it has a fairly sharp flavor, the cloudlike meringue topping balances it out, giving you a perfect equilibrium of taste and texture in every bite.

While each of the pie’s elements—pie crust, filling, and meringue—is simple, you’ll want to proceed with care to avoid having a soggy crust, a soupy pie filling, or a meringue that “weeps” (releasing beads of water): First, blind-bake your pie shell and let it cool to room temperature, so that it’s nice and crisp. Then, when you make the lemon filling, be sure to bring the milk mixture to a boil, to activate the cornstarch (which is what will thicken the pudding). While the pie crust and lemon filling cool, whip your egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until stiff peaks form so the meringue holds its signature shape. Finally, when you fill the baked pie crust, spread the meringue to the very edges of the pie, so that it touches the crust, before decorating it with pretty swoops and swirls. This will seal the pie and keep it from losing moisture when you slide it back into the oven to toast the meringue until it’s golden brown.