Lemon meringue pie is just about the most American dish I can think of, but I grew up with the South African version of this fan favourite. Smooth, creamy and just a little tart, I guarantee you’ll prefer this recipe to its American equivalent. The real difference lies in the filling. Instead of lemon curd, the primary ingredient in South African-style lemon meringue pie is condensed milk, which tempers the tartness of the lemons.
Ingredients
- 12 graham crackers
- 1⁄3 cup melted butter
- 1 1⁄2 cans or 450 mL condensed milk
- juice and zest of 2 large lemons
- 3 eggs
- 1⁄2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3 tbsp sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit and butter your pie dish. This recipe usually calls for a tennis biscuit base, but seeing as they aren’t usually available at the grocery store and frequent trips to the South African imports store on Marine Drive aren’t budget-friendly, it’s simple enough to swap them for the all-American favourite graham cracker base. Pulsate the graham crackers in a food processor until their consistency is fine crumbs. Mix with the melted butter and flatten out evenly in the pie dish.
Next, separate your eggs whites and yolks. I recommend separating them one at a time and transferring the whites to a larger mixing bowl, because if you get any yolk in the mixture, you’ll have to start over. Set the egg whites aside and transfer the yolks to a mixing bowl along with the condensed milk and lemon. Stir until the mixture is soft and runny, then transfer to the pie dish and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
While the pie is in the oven, start on the meringues. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip on medium to high speed until it starts to foam. Then, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. You’ll know your meringues are ready when they form soft peaks that don’t collapse. After 20 minutes, remove the pie from the oven, add the meringue topping, and place back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes until the meringue starts to turn golden brown.
Hi, My name in Dawn and I live in QB, BC, Canada. I stumbled across this blog today looking for a recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie from the Cafe Bon Bon ( gone since COVID) in Franschhoek. My husband and I still talk about this pie years later. I have been to SA 6 times now, my husband introduced me to it 23 years ago after we got together. He worked in Durban many years ago. We have friends in Plet and adore SA. We also go on safari and then spend time in the winelands. That said we have done the Panorama Route, the garden route and been everywhere. When we try to explain to people how amazing the country is, the food and the wine ( we only get their crappy wines here ) they really do not get it. Anyway I am going to try your pie in May when we get back from vacation. Thank you!
Lovely to hear about your adventures in good old SA! Enjoy the pie and let me know if it lives up to the one at Cafe Bon Bon.