This recipe would have been great if it had told me how long to cook the pie before I put the meringue on. I did it without cooking the pie by itself, before meringue, and I had a liquid pie with a beautiful meringue.

Hi Caitlin,

The pie uses a cooked custard; the filling is cooked before being poured into the pre-baked pie shell. If the custard did not set up, it wasn't cooked until it had thickened. The recipe calls for the custard to be cooked until thickened, which is an important step. When the custard thickens (somewhere about 185°F), it indicates that the custard is cooked - otherwise, it will never set up.

I highlighted this step so hopefully others will not make the same mistake. Thank you for taking the time to provide your input.

-- CM

Caitlin, line the unbaked pie crust with a double thickness of heavy duty foil. Bake at 450°F for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and continue backing for 5-7 minutes longer or until browned. You'll have to watch it, as it can get burned pretty fast. Cool on a wire rack.

BTW, cool the pie with filling completely before spreading the meringue. If it's not cooled, the water vapors are trapped between the filling and the egg whites and condensate, causing the "weeping" (watery layer between the filling and meringue).

I'd personally get a kitchen torch for the meringue, instead of putting it back in the oven. It looks "puffier" than the oven one, but I'd also make sure to heat the egg whites on the stove before beating them (to cook them), not much, only until they're warm/hot.