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!
Jump to:
🥘Ingredients
🔪Instructions
🧾Substitutions
📖Variations
🍽Equipment
🥫Storage
👩🏻🍳Top Tips
❔FAQ
Lemon Pie Filling
🥘Ingredients
Sugar
Cornstarch
Cold water
Egg
Concentrated lemon juice.
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".
The cause? While the meringue cooks on top when it is put into a hot oven, there isn't sufficient time for the meringue to cook on the bottom. The solution? Rather than cooling the filling, reheat it quickly after you add the egg yolks, so it gets steaming hot.
While commercial pie thickeners aid the naturally occurring pectin in your fruit filling, pectin from the added lemon, lime, or orange solidifies your pie's interior. Don't worry about the citrus fruit overpowering the flavor of your pie.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch is a super-effective thickener that doesn't need much time to cook, although it does require high temperatures to activate. To avoid clumps, mix cornstarch with sugar before adding it to your filling.
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.
Meringue pies will ''weep'' water because of the interaction between the filling and the whipped meringue. If one or the other is overcooked, water beads will form and weep. Egg whites can also weep if they are over-beaten or are from old eggs. Refrigeration (unfortunately) speeds up the process of weeping—oops!
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.
The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.
If your lemon curd hasn't thickened, it may not have been heated enough. It can take up to 30 minutes of constant stirring to cook lemon curd, especially if it's a large batch.
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.
Some common techniques are to include natural lemon juice, lemon zest, or even lemon pulp to add or boost lemon flavor. Other options for adding lemon into your flavor profile include the use of natural and artificial flavors.
A thickener prevents the filling from being too watery by adding a substance that will absorb some of the liquid that seeps out of the fruit. A small amount of thickener should not alter the flavor of your pie. Use cornstarch as a thickener.
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.
Adding the butter after the cooked eggs, juice and sugar have cooled significantly is what sets lemon cream apart from lemon curd, in which everything is cooked together. The flavor is quite similar, but the textures of the two couldn't be less alike.
While curd resembles pudding or custard, the difference lies in the way it's thickened. Custards and puddings rely on cornstarch, milk and cream, while eggs are the primary thickener for curd, making it lighter and brighter.
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.
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