Lemon Meringue Pie

Getting ready for summer.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been very much in the mood to bake with citrus lately.  In fact, I have been baking with more fruit in general.  Expect a post to come shortly for some Strawberry Muffins.  Now, when I say shortly you may be doubting me because my posting has seriously dropped off since having Noble.  Well, Noble is nine months old now so I figured it is high time I get back to this little blog of mine.  I really hope to not disappoint you. For those bloggers who have full-time jobs outside the house and a little one running around, I really commend you for being on top of everything!

Now, back to this pie.  Believe it or not, but I had never made a lemon meringue pie prior to this one.  I went to my go-to source for new recipes, Allrecipes.com and came back with this recipe.  Overall the pie was really delicious, but a little too sweet.  In the future I will cut down the amount of sugar.  I have modified the recipe below to adapt for my suggested changes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

recipe from Allrecipes.com

1 (9 inch) graham cracker pie crust, prepared

2/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups water

2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 2/3 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Clementine Cupcakes

Cuties are not just for kids.

Now that the weather has warmed up, I have been in the mood to bake with citrus.  This is evidenced by my last post for Key Lime Pie and my next post which will be a Lemon Meringue Pie.  There is also an Organe Pound Cake coming in the near future.   Zack and I love clementines and have them in the house whenever they are in season.  They are perfectly sweet, easy to peel, and seedless.  You really can't beat them.  The clementines made the perfect addition to these cupcakes and are a welcome treat after a rainy spring day.

Clementine Cupcakes from Baked Perfection

recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 12-15 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cups sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

zest of 3 clementines

juice from 2 clementines

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the clementine zest, clementine juice and vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Very Vanilla Frosting
recipe by Baked Perfection

1 sticks of butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 - 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Key Lime Pie

Perfection.

Zack and I had our first non-family visitor two weeks ago, Ellen. Having Ellen visit was amazing.  We really needed a visit from an old friend and now I am trying to convince her to move here.  Since one of Ellen and my favorite things to do when we are together is bake, the weekend of her visit we whipped up two pies.  This delicious Key Lime Pie  because Publix brainwashed me into needing one and a  Lemon Meringue since it seemed appropriate.

If you live in the South like I do, then you may have recently been inundated with commercials for Publix's Key Lime Pie.  I have not tried their pie, but I hear it is pretty tasty.  They really want me to buy there pie because it seems every time I get in my car I hear it on the radio and every time I turn on the TV I see there commercial.  I suppose in a way the commercial worked, because I did buy all the ingredients to make this pie at Publix, they got me in the store. 

Anyway, this pie is really fantastic and incredibly easy to make.  I highly recommend it.  I fancied our pie up a bit with some piped homemade whip cream and a homemade crust, but feel free to use a pre-made crust and some whipped cream in a can.

Key Lime Pie

recipe from Allreipes.com

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker pie crust

3 cups sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice

1 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a medium bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and lime rind.  Mix well and pour into the graham cracker crust.  Baked in preheated oven 8-10 minutes  until tiny bubbles burst on the surface of the pie.  DO NOT BROWN.  Chill pie thoroughly before serving.  Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

p.s. Zack and I loved having you here Ellen.  We would love more visitors!