Lemon Meringue Pie

I borrowed this one from Alton Brown, but changed a few things to make it mine. It can be a little tricky. You're going to need to measure all of the ingredients out beforehand (because you won't have time to do so while you're cooking). Also, you're going to need a stopwatch or a timer.

Lemon custard:
4 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
Baked pie crust

Meringue:
4 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar


Preheat oven to 375, adjust oven rack to middle position.
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Whisk egg yolks in medium mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Turn heat on medium and, stirring frequently, slowly bring mixture to a boil.
Boil for 2 minutes. It should be thick.
Remove from heat and temper* in egg yolks.

*How to temper:
Scoop up a little of the cornstarch mixture up with the whisk. Mix in with the egg yolks until well incorporated. Repeat process, adding a little of the mixture at a time until you've added about half of the cornstarch mixture. Add yolk-cornstarch mixture to the rest of the cornstarch. This step is important; it slowly brings the temperature of the egg yolks to the same temperature as the cornstarch mixture without cooking them. If you add the egg yolks to the hot cornstarch, it will cause them to curdle and your custard will not set.

Return to heat and cook, bringing to a boil, for exactly 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon zest until well incorporated.
Stir in lemon juice a little at a time until it is well incorporated.
Pour custard into pie shell

Meringue topping:
Place egg whites and cream of tartar in bowl (or in a stand mixer bowl). Beat eggs with whisk attachment of a hand or stand mixer until soft peaks form and gradually add sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form (approx 1-2 minutes)

Cover pie filling completely with meringue. Bake 10-12 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Cool on wire rack.
Let pie sit for at least an hour to allow filling to set.

Variation:
Strawberry Lemon Meringue Pie

Prepare as above, except fold in 1/2 pint of diced strawberries into lemon filling before pouring into pie shell.