Want to make a lemon pie filling from scratch? This Lemon Pie Filling Recipe is tart, tangy, and so easy to make you will wonder why you never made it homemade before.
Homemade Lemon Pie Filling is so much better than anything you buy from a can.One of my favorite pies every is my great grandmother’s lemon meringue pie recipe.
She used to have it all the time. I think from that love of lemon meringue I developed a love for all lemon desserts. It is sweet and sour and amazing.
I remember having a dessert a long time ago that they used pie filling in the frosting and I thought ooh what a unique idea. When I was making my Lemon Cake, I decided to try to make lemon frosting using homemade lemon pie filling.
Another delicious dessert idea is our Lemon Dump Cake. This is such a simple recipe that the lemon lovers in your family will love!
You will find a complete list of the ingredients, with measurements listed below.
🔪Instructions
At the bottom of the post, in the recipe card, you will find the full instructions.
🧾Substitutions
Fresh lemon juice can be used in lieu of concentrated, but you will need to use more of it, and it take longer to cook.
📖Variations
Most recipes have four main ingredients: lemon juice, eggs, sugar, and cornstarch. The ratio of these ingredients varies depending on the recipe, but the basic principle is always the same: the acidity of the lemon juice interacts with the eggs and cornstarch to create a thick, creamy filling.
Sugar is added to offset the tartness of the lemon juice and provide sweetness. Water is used to thin out the filling if it is too thick. Some recipes use flour to thicken the filling, but I use just the cornstarch.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a balance of tartness, sweetness, and creaminess that will make your taste buds sing.
🍽Equipment
You can make lemon pie filling and store it in these mason jars in the refrigerator or use the jars to can the filling. That way you have it whenever you want it. Don’t know how to can? Use this FREE book to learn how.
🥫Storage
You can freeze this filling. Just place it into a freezer-safe container and store it for up to six months.
It will last in the fridge for up to two weeks. Make sure you put it in an airtight container though, so it doesn’t pick up the other smells from your refrigerator.
You can also make up a double batch and can this for later. To do this, simply sterilize some canning jars and then fill them with the pie filling.
Be sure to leave some headspace at the top of each jar, and then seal them with canning lids.
Then, process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes before allowing them to cool and storing them in a cool and dry place.
👩🏻🍳Top Tips
Besides the lemon cake with lemon icing, you can also make a delicious dessert with lemon pie filling.If you love baking with lemon pie filling, try these ideas:
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Cookies
Lemon tarts
Lemon Danish
Lemon Muffins
Need a low calorie, low point pie crust recipe that tastes amazing- Use the one from this Skinny Easy Strawberry Pie Recipe.
As the lemon filling cools, it will thicken. It will usually take 3 to 4 minutes to start to thicken.
❔FAQ
Can Filling be Used as Cake Filling?
If want to add a burst of lemon flavor without the cake itself being lemon, you can add a thin layer of lemon pie filling between the layers of the cake. How much pie filling you put in between depends on how thick and how messy you want the cake to be.
How to Make Lemon Pie Filling Thicker
If you find that the pie filling isn’t as thick as you like, simply cook it longer. This is all it takes to make lemon pie filler thicker.
Want to make a lemon pie filling from scratch? This Lemon Pie Filling Recipe is so easy to make you will wonder why you never made it from scratch before. Homemade Lemon Pie Filling is so much better than anything you buy from a can.
In a small saucepan, mix together water and cornstarch.
When the cornstarch dissolves, add sugar, lemon juice, and a slightly beaten egg.
Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it thickens and comes to a boil.
If adding food coloring, add it in this step.
Remove the thicken lemon mixture from the heat.
Let the filling cool before using.
Keyword lemon pie filling
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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A lemon pie filling is the base for a lemon meringue pie. You make it with egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest, and fortify it with cornstarch so the filling holds its shape when you cut the pie.
Water seeping from meringue is practically always coming from the egg whites. There are a few standard things you can do to reduce it. First, do not overbeat. For some reason, recipes love to direct people to beat egg whites "to stiff peaks".
I think you didn't cook it long enough after adding the eggs. Lemon pie filling has to be almost so thick you can cut it with a knife before you pour it into the shell or it won't set up. So you cook it until it becomes that thick.
A good berry pie filling calls for a few usual suspects. Sugar and salt, plus a thickening agent and a mountain of fresh berries. Zingy lemon juice and floral zest are often part of the picture as well, to temper the sweetness.
Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.
A: Dotting the top of a fruit pie filling with butter is an old habit but one that is called for in only about half of the pie recipes out there. Some maintain that the butter is for taste; others claim that it helps the filling set up, particularly when using flour as a thickener.
If the bottom crust doesn't set before the filling soaks in, it's going to be gummy. A metal pie pan placed on a preheated surface will set the bottom crust quickest; once cooked, the liquids from the filling above won't soak in, and as a result: no soggy bottom.
Originally Answered: How do I prevent a lemon meringue pie crust from being soggy? Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg white, then blind-bake it completely. Once it's cool, add your lemon curd, top with meringue, then broil that for a few min for color.
The key to thickening Lemon Meringue Pie so it sets properly is to cook the filling until bubbles start to pop on the surface of the lemon/egg yolk mixture. It should be the consistency of thick pudding before you remove it from the heat. If it's not thick before you add it to the pie, it will never set properly.
This old-school ingredient may be what your great grandmother used to thicken her pies, and it's still great for making a perfect fruit pie with a clear, stable filling. Tapioca is derived from cassava (also known as yuca or manioc), a starchy root native to South America.
Cornstarch has thickening power similar to Instant ClearJel. Like flour, it lends a cloudy, semi-transparent look to filling. It can also give filling a starchy taste.
The best way to thicken runny apple pie filling before baking it is to add some cornstarch, tapioca starch, or flour to your mix. To fix a runny pie that's already been baked, simply let it cool to see if it will congeal naturally. If not, you can stick it back in the oven for a bit longer.
Yes. Cooling is crucial for thickeners like flour, cornstarch, and even the natural pectin found in the fruit to work their magic. The thickeners were activated in the oven, but the pie filling gels further with cooling.
Bakers making fruit pies face the problem of the fruit juices running out into the oven and having a soggy crust. An ingenious way of preventing this is to put a paper cone made of thick brown paper in the hole at the center of the top crust as you put the pie in the oven.
Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, and rice vinegar can all be substituted at a ½:1 ratio. If your recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, then, sub 1 tablespoon vinegar and replace the rest with water if needed.
While they both have a lemony flavor, they are not interchangeable due to their different textures and consistencies. Lemon curd is best used as a spread or filling for cakes, tarts, or scones, while lemon pie filling is specifically formulated for use in pies.
If you cannot find Clear Jel, another option is to can the pie filling without any thickener and then thicken it with tapioca or cornstarch before putting it into the pie shell.
It can only be heated once without breaking down. It needs to be mixed with sugar to help it distribute evenly. Pie filling enhancer is is instant Clear Jel mixed with ascorbic acid and superfine sugar. It is about 50 percent sugar so you have to cut back on the amount of sugar called for in your recipe.
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