When I have an abundance of lemons I always make lemon meringue pie…. A family favourite! For those interested here is the recipe I always use.

Easy Lemon Meringue Pie

With a tennis biscuit crust (or a graham cracker crust outside of South Africa) and sweetened condensed milk filling, this lemon meringue pie is foolproof and easy.

Servings: Serves 8 to 10

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1½ cups of Tennis biscuit crumbs, from about 12 whole crackers (I use about 1 and a half packets) which is more but I like a thick crust
• ¼ cup ( about4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, or a little more if you are going for my biscuit quantities

For the Filling

• 4 large egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)
• 1 (14-oz) can sweetened Nestle condensed milk (see note)
• 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest, from 1 lemon
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 3 lemons (make sure they are lush and juicy lemons)

For the Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 6 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Instructions

For the Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (about 190 degrees Celsius) and set an oven rack in the middle position.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the biscuit crumbs and the melted butter; stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined. Using your fingers and the bottom of a clean drinking glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 x 1.5-inch pie pan. The crust should be about ¼ inch thick.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust sit on a wire rack while you prepared the rest of the pie. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F (about 160 degrees Celsius).

For the Filling:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour into the warm crust.
2. Bajke for about 10 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius

For the Meringue:

1. Mix egg whites till frothy
2. Add caster sugar one heaped spoonful at a time. Beat till thick and silky
3. Add the vanilla essence
4. Mound the meringue onto the wet lemon filling. Using a soup spoon, gently spread the meringue over the entire surface of the filling, making sure to go all the way to the crust’s edge (it is essential that the edge of the meringue be anchored to the rim of the crust; otherwise it will shrink). Make decorative peaks and swirls in the meringue with the back of the spoon.
5. (Be sure you’ve reduced the oven temperature to 160 degrees Celsius.) Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned. Let the pie cool completely on a rack before serving, about 3 hours.
6. Lemon meringue pie is best eaten the day it’s made, but leftovers will keep, loosely tented with aluminum foil and refrigerated, for 2 days. Just keep in mind that meringue gets quite sticky in the fridge. Do not freeze.
7. Note: Several readers have had issues with the filling being too runny. I believe this is likely caused by using less common brands of sweetened condensed milk, (I always recommend Nestle).