Upside-down Lemon Cream Meringue Pie

This upside down Lemon Cream Meringue Pie has the meringue on the bottom as the shell and then it’s filled with sweet lemon curd and fresh whipped cream!

Upside Down Lemon Meringue Pie

When you hear someone say they are making Lemon Meringue Pie, you are probably a little impressed. I mean, only experienced bakers can bake with meringue, right? Not anymore! I have a unique recipe for even a beginner level baker that will turn lemon meringue pie on its head; literally. Upside Down Lemon Cream Meringue Pie has all the tastes you love, but with the meringue acting as the crust!

For anyone who has ever wanted to make a fancy pie, but is just too intimidated by some recipes, this pie is for you! Often, the idea of making a crust from scratch is enough to make me flip right on by in my cookbook.

The beautiful thing about this pie is that the shell will not look perfect, and that’s the point! Meringue pretty much does its own thing, but you can choose to make it fairly smooth or give the edges a unique meringue look, your choice.

Don’t be intimidated by the word “meringue.” Meringue is mostly egg whites and sugar. If you have a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, the whole process is even easier! The only other ingredient I use for the meringue is cream of tartar.

Unique Lemon Meringue Pie

Meringue is pretty unique. When baked, it dries out and becomes light and airy with a crisp inside, making it a great crust option. The only thing to be careful of is a humid day. If you live in a humid summer climate, you want to make this with the A/C on.

Humidity makes it nearly impossible for the meringue to dry out, so it becomes more chewy than crispy. You do have to be sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete this pie, though. When I make it, I often bake the meringue the night before, because it has to sit in the oven for a few hours to really let it dry out. Leaving it in the oven overnight means it’s ready in the morning (don’t worry, the oven is off!).

The lemon curd has to cook a bit and then cool completely before adding a little whipped cream to it and spreading it on the crust. It’s best to let the lemon curd cool completely before you even start whipping the cream.

Even if it seems like this pie is time-intensive, keep in mind, much of the time is spent waiting for the meringue to dry out or the lemon curd to cool down. Once the parts are all ready, throwing it together is a cinch.

What You Need to Make Upside Down Lemon Meringue Pie

• Egg Whites & Egg Yolks: I list these together so you don’t think you can throw one part out. The egg whites are for the meringue and the egg yolks are for the
  lemon curd. So, crack them open and separate the yolks from the whites and you’ll be ready for both steps!
• Cream of Tartar: This ingredient is a stabilizer for the egg whites, both giving the whipped egg whites their bright white color and helping the stiff peaks form and stay that way.
• Sugar: You’ll need sugar for both the meringue and the lemon curd.
• Lemon: Both the juice and the peel are necessary parts of this lemon meringue pie.
• Salt: To sharpen the flavors and help prevent staleness.
• Heavy Whipping Cream: Because if you don’t whip your own, then you didn’t make the whole pie from scratch! I promise you can’t mess up homemade whipped cream.

Believe it or not, that’s all you need! Meringue only needs three ingredients, lemon curd only has four parts (two of which come from the lemons!), and the whipped cream is just whipped heavy cream.

Tips and Tricks for Making Lemon Meringue Pie

When heating up the lemon curd, don’t leave it alone at the stove for even a minute. Keep whisking and don’t let it cook too long, or it really does turn into lemon scrambled eggs and you’ll have to start over. Keep a sharp eye on reaching 160 degrees and you shouldn’t have a problem.

A stand mixer with a whisk attachment can really do most of the work for you, whether for the egg whites or the whipped cream. It’s not smart to fully walk away since you do need to stop it when your egg whites reach stiff peaks, but a stand mixer allows you to prep the next step with both hands, which will keep your kitchen less messy!

More recipes that use egg whites:

• Simple Meringue Cookies
• Samoa Macarons
• Classic Coconut Macaroons
• Peach Melba Pavlova Recipe
• Cute Reindeer Chocolate Meringues

I love Meringue recipes, so here’s a few more that you might enjoy as well.

Mocha Meringue Bark

Strawberry Meringues

Strawberry Meringue Sandwich Cookies

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