Lemon Meringue

Lemon Meringue
Originally uploaded by foodillusions.

Who would've thought?? I had no idea that lemon meringue was naturally gluten free, except of course, for the crust and the butter.
I also had no idea that egg whites took sooooooo loooooooong to fluff up. I kept thinking I did something wrong. Then finally, they started to stiffen and I got really excited.
You see, my first egg white experiment went haywire. I guess you can't have ANY egg yolk in with the whites. Sheesh. Picky, picky!!

Then I remembered that Elise at Simply Recipes had a blurb about treating egg whites properly, so I went back to check out that post. I almost followed her directions perfectly, (I forgot to start out slow) and they still turned out ok.

I figured this would be the perfect very first spring dessert to try. Can I consider a lemon meringue to be a spring dessert?? Who cares, it looked good, I had the ingredients and I'm pregnant, so those are the only excuses I need!!

Enjoy!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

original recipe from an advertisement I got in the mail from Fife RV, thanks guys!

1 baked 9 inch GFCF pastry shell
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch (I used tapioca starch)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups water
3 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. GFCF butter
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, tapioca starch, and salt in top of double boiler. Gradually stir in water. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until thick enough to mound slightly when dropped from spoon.
Cover and cook 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Do not remove from boiling water.
Mix together egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Blend a little of the hot mixture into egg yolks, then stir into remaining hot mixture.
Cook 2 minutes over boiling water, stirring constantly. Remove from boiling water. Gently stir in butter, lemon rind, and juice. Cool to room temperature without stirring.
Turn into baked pastry shell. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until foamy, then gradually beat in 6 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. at a time. Spread meringue over filling. Bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool at room temperature.