Best Bob Hope's Lemon Pie

This lemon meringue pie carries Bob Hope’s name from the era when celebrity recipes filled the back pages of women’s magazines, and it earns the title. A bright cornstarch-thickened curd loaded with fresh lemon juice and zest fills a baked pie shell, topped with a sweet meringue browned in a low oven.

The egg-yolk-to-juice ratio is what sets this apart. Four full yolks for just four tablespoons of juice gives the filling a custard-rich body without losing the tart bite that defines a great lemon pie. A pat of butter stirred in at the end gives the curd its glossy shine.

Pro Tips

• Temper the egg yolks before adding them. Whisk a few tablespoons of the hot sugar mixture into the yolks first, then stream them back into the pot. Adding cold yolks directly to hot liquid scrambles them.
• Cook until the curd visibly thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Pulling early gives you a runny pie that won’t slice clean.
• Spread the meringue all the way to the edges of the crust. Gaps between meringue and crust shrink and weep as the pie cools.
• Bake the meringue at the lower temperature, not high. Slow baking sets the foam without weeping the syrupy beads of moisture on the surface.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of lime zest along with the lemon for a Key lime crossover.
• Brown the meringue under the broiler for 30 seconds instead of in the oven for a more dramatic, torched look. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn.
• Swap the standard meringue for a Swiss meringue made over a double boiler for a more stable, glossy finish that holds for days.