Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie

One of the many exciting things for me about this new house we've moved into is our neighbor's lime tree. I shared this picture in this post about my new home, remember?

At first, when I saw the limes just dropping into our yard, I tried my best to return the limes to my neighbors. I tried throwing them back into their yard, lining up the limes on the wall separating our houses, and even just ignoring the limes. But I found they were not very interested in the limes. The limes on the wall just dried up after a few days, and that's when I realized - I might as well put them to good use!

I had friends over for a lazy lunch one afternoon, and this was a really awesome finish to our meal. I must mention - I love pies. Any kind - fruit, custard, meat, nuts - anything but chocolate. Don't hate me. Chocolate overdose just isn't my thing - except if it is chocolate ice cream. Getting back to pies - I love them. This was my first time making a meringue pie, and I was really excited to try it. It turned out great in terms of taste.

The only thing that I was confused about were these weird golden droplets on the top of my meringue. I was really upset by it at first, till one of my guests, who has had her fair share of lemon meringues, assured me that this was a perfectly normal thing to happen to meringue pies sometimes, and that it doesn't affect the taste. Whew! And honestly, I thought it looked kinda pretty. Right?

But of course, I couldn't just let it go. I googled it. And it turns out that meringues weep for many reasons - undercooking, overbeating, letting the curd cool before slathering on the meringue, or simply because the weather is humid.

I'm going to go with the humidity. When in doubt, blame the weather.

And besides, I think this pie was weeping tears of joy.

You could make this recipe easier by using a pre-baked pie crust. I didn't. Also, if you bake the crust yourself, feel free to substitute some of the butter with some shortening if you prefer that.

Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie
Pie Crust
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold & cut into small pieces
1-3 tbsp ice-cold water
1 egg white (for brushing)

Method
1. If making in a food processor, add all the ingredients except the water into the processor and pulse until you achieve breadcrumb-like texture.
2. Transfer to a bowl or your counter and add a tablespoon of ice cold water and form the dough.
3. If making the crust by hand, mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
4. Add the pieces of butter and the shortening and mix into the flour using only your fingertips, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
5. Add the water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the dough just starts to come together. (I needed only 1 1/2 tbsp of water.) Do not over-work the dough.
6. Shape into a thick disc and wrap in clingfilm.
7. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out and lining your pie tin. Once the crust is in the tin, prick all over with a fork.
8. Preheat the oven to 200.
9. Line the pie crust with baking parchment or aluminum foil, fill with baking beans or uncooked rice, and bake for about 20 minutes until set.
10. Take the crust out of the oven, remove the beans and foil, and brush the inside of the crust - bottom and sides - with the egg white.
11. Bake for 10 more minutes until golden.

Lemon-Lime Curd Filling
Ingredients
1.5 cups sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tsp lime zest

Method
1. Combine lime juice, lemon juice, zest & sugar in a saucepan &  boil until sugar is completely dissolved. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add butter and stir until the butter has dissolved completely.
3. Take off the stove and let the mixture come to room temperature.
4. Beat the eggs & egg yolks to the lime mixture & mix well.
5. Return to the heat. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. It should now coat the back of a spoon. At this point, you can preheat the oven to 200.
6. Strain & fill into the pie crust. Top with meringue while the mixture is still very hot. Meringue recipe is below.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top of the meringue is golden.
8. Cool on a wire rack and slice when cool.

Meringue 
Ingredients
4 egg whites
A pinch of cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar

Method
1. Using an electric or stand mixer (or your whisking arm), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
2. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Spread over the lemon-lime curd layer while the curd is still very hot.

I enjoyed the sweet-tart pie a lot. Though I am not a huge fan of meringue in a pie, this was really delicious. But then again, I am a pushover for any dish with lime in it.

I hope you try this recipe, and let me know how it goes! And I hope your meringue doesn't weep... unless you want it to! :)

P.S. - Thanks to the Gecko and the Mouse for taking the pictures of the whole pie! :)

P.P.S. - Tell me - do you have any tips for me to stop my pie from weeping? Apart from moving to less humid climate, that is.