Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie — Hint of Southern

Since I started seeing my husband, I have been trying to convince him that the fruit desserts I make are really good, but so far, the only fruit related dessert I have gotten him to like is Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie. I think the fact that there is ice cream in it makes a difference. He has always been gracious and tried a bite of everything I made. I recently made this dessert for friends and it was helpful that I could make most everything ahead of time. The only tricky thing is that you have to make the meringue right before you serve it. It ended up being fun for my friends to practice toasting the meringue with my kitchen butane torch.

It is best to plan the timing of this dessert ahead of time because freezing the different parts of the pie take up most of the day. The first step is to make the lemon curd because it has to chill for 4 hours. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl. You can reference my 4th of July Patriotic Dessert for tips on separating eggs and making meringue. Melt the butter in a bowl over simmering water. Once melted, whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. You have to keep whisking the mixture for the 8 minutes or until it gets to the right temperature. You will notice it getting thicker over time. Remove from the heat and press plastic wrap on top of the lemon curd. Chill.

I juiced a few lemons and had the juice in a bowl. I wasn’t paying much attention I guess because I poured my whole bowl of lemon juice without measuring it. At first I was frustrated that I was going to have to start over, but my husband had the great idea to juice the same number of lemons to get an estimate of how much lemon juice I poured into the mixture. Thankfully it wasn’t too much extra, so I added a little more sugar. It worked out in the end because the ice cream added some sweetness.

While the lemon curd is in the fridge, get started on the crust so it can cool to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop up the pecans and melt the butter. Combine the butter, sugar, and pecans in a bowl. Press the pecans up the sides of the pie plate and along the bottom. Bake until the nuts are lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. The pecans will fall down the sides into the bottom while it bakes. Use the back of a spoon to push them back up the sides. It will cool in place. When the lemon curd has 30 minutes left in the fridge, pop the crust in the freezer and pull out the ice cream to soften.

To assemble the pie, spread the softened 1-1/2 cups of vanilla ice cream over the crust. I like to splurge on Haagen Daaz ice cream when I bake. Then spread the lemon curd evenly over the ice cream. I do not add all of it. Add as much or little as you would like. Freeze for 2 hours. The last layer is another 1-1/2 cups of vanilla ice cream. Freeze for another 2 hours. I completed this the day before we had company coming over.

When you are about to serve dessert, separate the egg whites and make sure the bowl is completely clean. I forgot to let my eggs sit out to room temperature. They still worked, but it gives the meringue more height if the eggs are not cold. My mixer conveniently didn’t work when I was making the meringue (works now thankfully), so I used a hand mixer. Beat the eggs until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and sugar. Beat the eggs until stiff peaks form. Spoon over the ice cream pie so it seals the edges. If you do not have a kitchen butane torch, don’t worry! The first two times I made this pie, I did it in the oven at 500 degrees. Watch until golden and not burnt. I find it a lot more fun to use the torch because you see the color change right before your eyes. You have to be extremely careful not to burn it though. Serve and enjoy!