Gordon Ramsay’s lemon meringue pie is sharp, silky and light, a crisp sweet pastry shell holding a rich lemon-cream filling under a pile of torched meringue. It’s made with fresh lemons, egg yolks, cream and sugar, no cornflour in sight. About an hour of work, plus cooling.
This is his real recipe from Great British Pub Food, where he gives the classic a rethink. He says he loved lemon meringue pie as a child but went off “the texture of the lemon-cornstarch filling,” so his version sits a French-style lemon tart under the meringue instead. That swap is the whole point of it.
The filling is the make-or-break. You whisk the lemon, yolks, sugar and cream together gently, taking care not to beat air in, then bake it low and slow so it sets like a custard, not a sponge. Air bubbles now mean a cracked, souffléd top later.
Gordon Ramsay Lemon Meringue Pie
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes1
hour450
kcalFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food. A blind-baked sweet pastry shell, a French-style lemon-cream filling set low and slow, and a warm-sugar meringue torched to order. Serves 6.
Ingredients
- For the pastry:
300g sweet shortcrust pastry (good all-butter shop-bought is fine)
Plain flour, to dust
- For the lemon filling:
Juice of 2 lemons (about 75ml)
175g caster sugar
6 large egg yolks
250ml double cream
- For the meringue:
4 large egg whites
175g caster sugar
Directions
- Line the tin: Roll the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm and use it to line a 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving a little overhang. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Blind bake: Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan, 375F). Line the shell with foil and baking beans, then bake 15 to 20 minutes until set and pale gold. Lift out the foil and beans and bake another 5 minutes until golden. Trim the overhang level. Drop the oven to 135C (115C fan, 275F).
- Make the filling: Whisk the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks and cream together gently, taking care not to whip in air.
- Pour and bake: Set the tin on the oven shelf, then pull the shelf half out. Pour the filling into the shell, slide the shelf gently back, and bake about 30 minutes until just set with a faint wobble.
- Cool slowly: Turn the oven off and leave the tart inside to cool, so it carries on setting. Take it out only when fully cooled, after a few hours.
- Meringue, to serve: Warm the sugar in a low oven for a few minutes. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the warm sugar a spoonful at a time, beating to a firm, glossy meringue. Pile onto the tart, swirl into peaks, and torch or grill briefly until golden.
FAQs
Is this a pie or a tart, and how is it different from the cheesecake?
Gordon calls it both. He built his lemon meringue pie on a French lemon tart base, so it bakes in a shallow tart tin but eats like the pie you know. Same dish, two names.
It’s a different pudding from his lemon meringue cheesecake, which sets a baked cream-cheese filling on a biscuit base. This one is sharp lemon custard in crisp pastry. If you’d rather a fruit-filled classic in pastry, his apple pie is the one to make.
How do I stop a soggy pastry bottom?
Blind bake it properly. Line the chilled shell with foil and baking beans so the sides don’t slump, bake until set, then take the foil out and bake a few minutes more so the base dries and colours.
That second stint without the beans is the bit people skip, and it’s why bases come out pale and damp. A fully baked, golden shell can take the wet filling without going soft. His rhubarb tart uses the same blind-baked base.
What’s the trick to pouring the filling without spilling it?
The filling is liquid, so carrying a full tart across the kitchen to the oven is asking for a spill. Gordon’s fix is simple: put the empty shell on the oven shelf first, then pull the shelf halfway out.
Pour the filling in right there, then slide the shelf gently back. The tart never has to be lifted full. It sounds fussy, but it saves a cream-and-lemon flood across the oven door.
Why does Ramsay skip the cornflour filling?
Because he doesn’t like what it does to the texture. He’s said straight out that he went off classic lemon meringue pie for exactly that reason, the slightly claggy cornflour set.
So instead of thickening with starch, he sets the lemon with egg yolks and cream, like a French tart. You get a smoother, richer filling and a cleaner lemon hit. It’s the single thing that makes this version his.
When do I add the meringue?
At the last minute, not before. Meringue spread over a cooled tart and left to sit will slowly weep a sugary syrup and slide. Make it just before serving, top, torch, and bring it out.
Warming the sugar first helps the whites hold, so you don’t need cream of tartar. For the showiest finish, torch it like the meringue on a baked Alaska, or flash it under a hot grill for a minute or two.
