My lemon meringue pie collapsed in under 5 minutes

I spent all Sunday afternoon on a lemon meringue pie for my mom's birthday dinner. Pulled it out of the oven looking perfect, tall peaks and all. Set it on the counter to cool and within maybe 4 or 5 minutes the whole top just slid right off into a puddle of syrup. Turns out I didn't cook the cornstarch filling long enough, it was too thin to hold the meringue. Now I'm wondering if anyone has a foolproof way to test the filling before you bake it off?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher6715d ago

4 minutes is brutal. I've had meringue problems before but that's just mean. With the cornstarch filling, I always use the spoon test now. Dip a clean spoon in the hot filling and run your finger across the back of it. If the line holds and doesn't fill back in, you're good to go. Otherwise keep stirring and let it bubble for at least a full minute or two more.

ryan_kim6314d ago

Honestly, the spoon test is a lifesaver. @christopher67 I used to just guess and hope for the best, but now I do that every time and it never fails. Gotta let that filling bubble a solid minute after it thickens too, or it'll be a watery mess.