Written instructions follow the video
CRUST
This is the first step (best if done with graham cracker crumbs-imho) for a 9” pie
Crust Ingredients:
- Graham cracker crumbs 1 & 1/3 cup of crumbs
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix in medium-sized bowl. I do this by hand mixing because the little chunks are all kinds of deliciousness. Once thoroughly mixed, press into pie pan until it covers the pan pushing up the sides. Use a spoon if preferred. Put the pie pan in the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes depending on your oven (we at times have an oven from hell). Let it cool completely to the touch.
PIE FILLING
I used a popular brand as I’ve tried to make homemade and, for me, it doesn’t bring back that childhood nostalgia of Ma making that pie. She was a baker also but she also chose to use the brand over the homemade. I don’t know why and never asked. If I’ve bought a slice in a restaurant or bakery, the crust is usually pastry. I don’t bake this a lot anymore, but when I do it’s a mouthful of memory that takes me back.
Filling Ingredients:
- 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 2 cups of hot water
- 1/3 cup of cold water (tap is fine)
- 1 pouch of pie filling (you know the brand)
- 1 tbsp of butter (room temperature is best)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. In a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 egg yolks and 1/3 cup of cold water, and stir. Add the pie filling contents and whisk/mix until the texture isn’t lumpy. Add 2 cups of hot water until thoroughly mixed. Continue cooking and stirring non stop and when bubbles appear, continue stirring for about 30 seconds. Take off burner and drop in the tablespoon of butter. Give it 5 minutes and two stirs while it sits. Put aside.
MERINGUE (this is the toughie)
Meringue ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- ¾ cup of white sugar
Directions:
I used to use a hand mixer but it’s really tough to not over beat or under beat it so an electric mixer has been the best outcome for meringue for me. Cream of tartar used to help but if you put too much it tastes quite terrible (yes, me). Pour the egg whites in an electric mixer mixing bowl. Beat the whites on medium speed until peaks begin to show up (not long, maybe half a minute). Pour the ¾ cup of sugar in slowly, then beat on a high speed until the peaks get stiff. That’s it! You’re almost ready.
Pour the filling into the now-cooled graham cracker pie crust. Put the fairly hot lemon filling into the pie crust. Put the meringue on top of the pie as best you can and make it look pretty. It’s okay to ask for help, lol. Depending on your oven you can bake it until golden which can vary depending on your oven, almost 5-7 minutes. Once baked you’re supposed to wait 3 hours at room temperature so it properly cools, if you can wait that long. That’s it!
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TAMARA JONG is a Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) born writer of Chinese and European ancestry. Her work has been published in the Humber Literary Review, Room Magazine, and The Fiddlehead, and has been both long and shortlisted for various creative non-fiction prizes. She is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, and a former member of Room Magazine’s collective. She currently lives and works on Treaty 3 territory, the occupied and ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (Guelph, ON). Worldly Girls is her first book.
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Thanks so much to Tamara for sharing her lemon meringue recipe with us! Find a copy of Worldly Girls here on All Lit Up, or from your local indie bookseller.
