Lemon Angel Pie

This recipe is not one of mine It comes from a very special person, who I only met once This lady won a contest with this recipe. She has since passed away and I don't think she will mind me sharing it with you, Thank you to Robert Blanton's grandmother - you rock (and to you too, Robert. Robert is a Marine awarded the Silver Star for his service in Iraq).

Lemon Angel Pie

Using butter, generously grease a 10" glass pie pan

Separate 6 room temperature eggs.
Put the white (absolutely NO yolk, otherwise the white will not beat properly) in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add 3/4 tsp cream of tartar, a pinch of salt. Mix together and then beat until stiff. Once the mixture has reached the stiff stage, begin adding one tablespoon of sugar at a time until you have added 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. The mixture will be very stiff and glossy.

Using a spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom of the pan first. Then slowly build up the sides until you have used most of the mixture. Be sure to "lean the beaten meringue towards the center of the pan. (if the mixture leans outward, it may fall off during the baking process and make a horrible mess in your oven).

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 300 degrees for 40 minutes. It should be puffed up, lightly golden brown. Remove from oven the allow to cool on a rack.

When the meringue goes in the oven, in a double boiler, whisk the 6 eggs yolks with 3/4 cups sugar, zest from three lemons, 6 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir this mixture constantly with a wire whisk over the hot water. (If you don't stir constantly, you will get lemon flavored scrambled eggs - not good and you will need to start over with the egg yolk mixture.) Once the egg yolk mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of butter. Then cover the mixture with a piece of waxed paper , push it down so that it sits directly on top of the lemon mixture - this keeps the mixture from developing a thick skin. Cool totally in the frig.

Once the baked meringue has cooled, take the lemon curd mixture from the frig. Remove the waxed paper and stir the mixture to soften. Beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until stiff. Fold into the whipped cream about a third of the lemon curd. This will soften the whipped cream. Then transfer all of the whipped cream into the remaining lemon curd gently folding the mixtures together. Once folded together transfer to the meringue. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.