Raspberry Lemon Meringue Pie             


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon butter
1 pre-baked 9 or 10 inch pie crust
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup fresh raspberries

Method:
In a 3 quart sauce pan (non-reactive), mix 1 1/4 cups sugar with 6 tablespoons of cornstarch and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup cold water, lemon peel, and lemon juice, blending thoroughly. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups boiling water.

Set pan over medium-high heat and stir with a flexible spatula until mixture boils about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir filling 1 minute more. Add butter and stir until melted and absorbed. Sprinkle 1 cup of fresh raspberries in the bottom of the prepared pie crust and pour hot lemon mixture over the berries.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the remaining 2 teaspoons of corn starch. In a deep bowl or the bowl of a mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with a mixer on high speed until very foamy and no liquid whites remain in the bottom of the bowl. Continue to beat at high speed and gradually add the sugar-starch mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time. Then beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Spoon meringue onto hot pie filling. With a spatula, swirl meringue to cover filling completely, touching the rim of the pie shell all around.

Bake in a 325 degree oven until meringue is browned, about 25 minutes. Set pie on rack to cool, about 3 hours.