

The flaky pastry crust holds it all together. The contrasting texture of a slightly crispy shell covering very sweet pillowy meringue balances the tart, thick, custardy lemon filling perfectly. But the most popular style eventually evolved into a pie of layers. One version that became a Southern specialty is lemon chess pie, kind of a fusion between pudding and cheesecake. Other lemon pie iterations emerged where lemons were sliced like in an apple pie, and sometimes a top crust was added. In fact, lemon custard pie was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln. Although sometimes called iced lemon pie, lemon cream pie, or lemon custard pie, they all featured a meringue topping.
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In her 1847 cookbook, The Lady’s Receipt-Book: A Useful Companion for Large or Small Families, she says: “Any very nice baked pudding will be improved by covering the surface with a meringue.”īy the 1860s, lemon meringue pie recipes began popping up in cookbooks nationwide, including Common Sense in The Household – A Manual of Practical Housewifery by Marion Harland and The Godey’s Lady’s Book Receipts and Household Hints by Sarah Annie Frost. Goodfellow’s tutelage) began familiarizing Americans with the concept of meringue-topped puddings via her recipes. Throughout the mid-19th century, domestic goddess Eliza Leslie (who had studied under Mrs. Perhaps the success of this combination prompted her to accent her lemon pudding with the same topping, and voilà – lemon meringue pie was born! Goodfellow’s lemon custard recipe calls for the yolks of ten eggs rather than allowing the whites go to waste, she likely decided to resourcefully whip them with sugar to create a meringue for the top. Although there are recipes for decorating cakes, tarts, and custards with sweetened and flavored egg whites starting in the 1600s, adding meringue to a pudding (pie) doesn’t appear until the nineteenth century. At some point she cleverly thought to top her famous pudding with fluffy meringue.

Goodfellow’s signature desserts, a rich lemon pudding. This classic pie of contrasting sweet-tart layers evolved from one of Mrs. Elizabeth Goodfellow, a 19th century pastry shop proprietress who ran America’s first cooking school. What many folks don’t know is that lemon meringue pie is actually a Philadelphia invention born out of the Victorian-era, courtesy of Mrs. Others may think of it as a Diner restaurant staple, a featured highlight in the revolving glass dessert case alongside other luscious treats such as cream puffs, éclairs and cheesecake. Lemon pie is often considered a Southern confection, conjuring up images of plantation parties with lovely slices of the sky-high pie served on fancy china.
