When I make dessert for a handful of people that are coming to my house, I will make a full-sized portion so my guests can enjoy one spectacular portion of something yummy. But whenever I make desserts for a crowd (and especially when I’m bringing something to a friend’s house where there may be other goodies to choose from), I tend to make smaller versions of the real thing so everyone can have a taste of a bunch of different sweets.
Aaand, if you haven’t noticed through my posts, I looove pie! But once you have a slice of pie, you are pretty much done (actually, I could have more dessert but that’s just me!). So why not make a mini-version? These lemon meringue pie shots are just that…a single shot of lemony flavour…crust and all!
Ingredients:
1 pie crust (either homemade or frozen)
Sanding or coarse sugar
1 egg beaten or 2 tbsp whipping cream
Filling:
1/4 c cornstarch
1 c sugar
2 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1 3/4 c water
4 egg yolks
1/2 c lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
4 tbsp butter
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/3 c sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. If you are using homemade crust, roll it out into a circle (as if you are getting ready to put it in a pie plate). If you are using frozen, thaw it and cut it into 8-10 wedges.
3. Place the wedges onto a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet and brush with either whipping cream or beaten egg and then dust it with coarse sugar to make it extra crispy!
4. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes until they are browned; set aside.
5. Prepare your lemons (zesting and squeezing!)…don’t ya love lemons!!
6. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar and lemon zest.
7. Whisk in water and cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened (about 7 minutes).
…should be this thick!
8. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks.
9. Very slowly, stream in the hot cornstarch mixture while whisking the egg yolks (making sure not to scramble the eggs!!); return the mixture to the saucepan and cook until mixture comes back to a boil (about 2 minutes).
10. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Once the mixture is combined, stir in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. If the mixture looks loose, you can return to the heat to thicken again – it should look thicker than a pouring custard but more loose than a pudding.
11. Pour the mixture into shot glasses (or for a larger portion, you can use brandy glasses); place into the fridge until it firms up (usually a couple of hours but this is more important when you are making a pie because you have to cut it into slices…in the shot glasses, a less firm filling is fine!)
12. If you have anybody who doesn’t like meringue topping, you can serve it like this:
…but that’s just boring!
13. In a clean mixing bowl, place your egg whites and begin whipping. It will get frothy and then thicken. Once it thickens, slowly stream in the sugar until combined; whip until it’s glossy and stiff.
14. Get your torch ready or turn on your oven broiler. I know most of you may not have this so you can easily use your oven (just be careful to keep an eye on it while you’re toasting the tops!). If you are using a torch, this is a can of butane that you would use for camping (btw, I don’t camp!)…
…this is the torch top (that goes on top of the butane cylinder) – I bought mine through Amazon.
Or you can use this mini-torch (I think I got this at a kitchen supply store like Kitchen Stuff Plus).
15. Scoop the egg whites into a piping bag and squeeze onto the lemon filled glasses.
…it should look like this
16. If you are using the oven, place the glasses (which must be oven proof!!) on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler until browned.
. If using a torch, go ahead and torch to your heart’s content!!
17. Tuck the pie pastry wedges into each glass and voila…lemon perfection!
18. If you would rather make pie. blind bake a pie shell and proceed in the same way (pour the lemon custard into the cooked pie shell, top with whipped egg whites and torch (this makes one pie).
Such lemony goodness…fresh, fruity and luscious!!