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Cornstarch Meringue Pie

A pie with a cornstarch custard filling topped with meringue.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Cornstarch Meringue Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the crust and filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Cover a small pie pan with the pie crust and bake the crust until golden.

  3. Scald the milk in a saucepan.

  4. Mix together the cornstarch and ¾ cup granulated sugar in a bowl, then add the cornstarch mixture to the scalded milk.

  5. Stir the mixture constantly until it boils and thickens.

  6. Beat the egg yolk, then add it to the thickened mixture along with the butter.

  7. Stir the mixture over heat for 2 minutes.

  8. Remove the mixture from heat and mix in the flavoring.

  9. Let the filling cool completely.

Make the meringue and bake

  1. Once both the crust and filling are cool, combine them.

  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually fold in 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

  3. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract to the meringue.

  4. Spread the meringue over the pie filling.

  5. Sift a little granulated sugar on top of the meringue.

  6. Place the pie on the upper rack of the oven for a few moments until the meringue is delicately browned.

  7. Cool the pie before serving, but consume it the same day it is made.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Vanilla + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch
Thickens the milk into a smooth, sliceable custard filling as it heats.
Egg yolk
Adds richness and helps set the custard once heated.
Egg whites
Whipped into foam to form the light, airy meringue topping.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard filling.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the filling and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
Butter
Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture in the filling.

The step that matters

Stir the filling constantly until it boils and thickens. Cornstarch can scorch on the bottom of the pan or stay lumpy if heated unevenly or left unstirred. Constant stirring keeps heat even and starch granules dispersed so the custard thickens smoothly.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Peachfits better
  3. Coconutfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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