“During the lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them with a long talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company; then Aunt Petunia made coffee and Uncle Vernon brought out a bottle of brandy.”Can I tempt you, Marge?”Aunt Marge had already had quite a lot of wine. Her huge face was very red.”Just a small one, then,” she chuckled. “A bit more than that… and a bit more… that’s the ticket.”Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie. Aunt Petunia was sipping coffee with her little finger sticking out. Harry really wanted to disappear into his bedroom, but he met Uncle Vernon’s angry little eyes and knew he would have to sit it out.”
It is from the second chapter of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban. Uncle Venon’s sister (as unpleasing as her brother) is visiting the Dursley and they are having lemon meringue pie as a dessert, it is the conclusion of the dinner, but unfortunately the start of a nasty argument for Harry Potter.
Lemon merin2sgue pie is more American than British, but the choice, I suppose, is due to aunt Petunya “wannabe” behaviors. The original recipe for the curd in this pie has a very intense lemon taste, for this reason I offer also a less intense version of the curd.
Pie Crust
300 gr. flour
150 gr. cold butter
150 gr. sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
½ teaspoon of raising power
Intense lemon filling
3 egg yolks
160 gr sugar
30 gr cornstarch
3 tbs water
3 lemon (juice and zest)
100 gr heavy cream
Less intense lemon filling
4 egg yolks
160 gr sugar
3 lemon (juice and zest)
400 ml water
2 tbs butter
Meringue Topping:
2 egg whites
200 gr powder sugar
a few drops of lemon juice
For the crust, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Briefly mix with the tip of your fingers until the dough starts to clump together. Gather the dough t in a ball, , wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for a minimum of 2 hours, but better for one night.
Roll out the dough in a circle and fit a pie pan. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Spread a sheet of baking paper inside the pie crust. Fill the crust with pie weights or beans and bake until the crust is dry and set, about half an hour at 180 C. minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
For the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. In saucepan put lemon juice and when it is warm add the cornstarch mix, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the yolks and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir gently until fully incorporated.
For the meringue, beat the egg whites and half of sugar until soft mounds form. Add the remaining sugar gradually with the help of a spatula mixing with a top-down movement.
To assemble the pie, pour the filling into the crust. With a piping bag pipe swirls on the top of the lemon filling.
Place again in the oven, under the grill until the Meringa topping get a nice golden brown color.
My Bookish Kitchen 
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