Lemon Meringue Pots de Crème Recipe (2024)

When cooking a liquid with cornstarch it is necessary for the mixture to reach the boiling point just briefly to activate its thickening power--a few seconds is enough, no more than 20-30. If held longer at that temp the cornstarch bonds will begin to loosen and break down, thinning the mixture. The acids in lemon juice will weaken the starch bonds further as the mixture cools.
Potato starch works better without any of those issues. The other fix is to be meticulous about the timing.

I made this last night and can't figure out why there's liquid in the dish. I let the custard set in the fridge for about 6 hours and then made the meringue as instructed, baked it, let it cool, but when you dig your spoon in there's a lot of liquid sitting below the surface of the custard (not the meringue).
It tastes good, but the liquid is a bummer.

What is 'half and half?'
Is it 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream?

Just made this as a lemon pudding with Meyer lemons. They are in season for us and so we have lots and lots of lemons. I thought was delicious and was nice to just cook on the stove and right into the fridge. Will make this one again!

This wasn't as lemony as I would have liked. I'm wondering if I can use more lemon juice and reduce the half and half by an equal amount? Also, I wish I had followed my instincts and strained the custard after cooking to remove the pieces of lemon zest.
I reduced the sugar in the custard to 1/2 cup, and it was plenty sweet enough for our taste.

Absolutely fabulous desert that is a real keeper! After reading the reviews, I made it with potato starch. I was a bit worried as it came together in much less than the 5 minutes indicated when all was combined, but it was fabulous. I will add more lemon and zest next time to make it more lemony, and thanks to the earlier notes and I added only 1/2 cup of sugar as it was more than sweet enough. Excellent new desert, thank you!

I made this for a summer dinner party to rave reviews. I added about 1/2 tea lemon oil which really added a nice lemony punch. I did not make the meringue but instead served with “drunken berries” (raspberries and black berries tossed with a tea of sugar and a tablespoon or so of Framboise. This was the right touch for a summer dessert.

I was craving a lemon dessert and happened upon this sublime and relatively easy recipe. It's creamy, not too sweet and not too tart, and so very delicious. The meringue topping and sugared pistachios make it special! A little note: If you don't have pistachios, slivered almonds work just fine.

Made this and it was delicious! When cooking the meringue top, I put the filled ramekins in a water bath in a large lipped pan so the cremes wouldn’t separate as others mentioned. It worked great. BUT… my the meringue wept leaving a layer of liquid between the meringue and the crème. I think it might have been because the meringues didn’t go to the edge of the ramekins. Did anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

Did not thicken up in 5 minutes. To fully thicken cornstarch it needs to reach 203°. I recooked and did thicken but was too late to use for dinner party. Is the cornstarch necessary?

Good, but a little too sweet and rich. Next time I will try reducing the sugar by 1/2.

I just wanted to confirm some of the other comments. The addition of a bit more lemon is helpful. I left the zest and I have to agree that it might be better to be removed before setting. I experimented and only put one in the oven after setting in the fridge and I also noticed some seperation. I left the rest as puddings and they were tasty. Another commenter noted that seperation was due to not getting the mixture hot enough. A candy thermometer temp would helpful in the instructions.

Absolutely fabulous desert that is a real keeper! After reading the reviews, I made it with potato starch. I was a bit worried as it came together in much less than the 5 minutes indicated when all was combined, but it was fabulous. I will add more lemon and zest next time to make it more lemony, and thanks to the earlier notes and I added only 1/2 cup of sugar as it was more than sweet enough. Excellent new desert, thank you!

Did not thicken.

This is a lovely light dessert. Easy to make, not time consuming. ' I used a big lemon and so I used almost 2 tbls zest. Could have used a little more lemon juice. Easy to make but heat you pudding gently so it doesn’t curdle.

I also had a liquid problem... I’m wondering if it is connected to the oven step - it’s almost as if the heat made the custard separate. They were throughly set before reheating. It was way more liquid than condensation could have been. And now that the leftover ones went back into the fridge overnight they are firm again. :(

I made this for a summer dinner party to rave reviews. I added about 1/2 tea lemon oil which really added a nice lemony punch. I did not make the meringue but instead served with “drunken berries” (raspberries and black berries tossed with a tea of sugar and a tablespoon or so of Framboise. This was the right touch for a summer dessert.

Although the custard was set before I put on the meringue and baked it off, it was runny when I eventually served the pudding (cold). Any suggestions as to how I might avoid this?

I had the same experience with liquid when I took the ramekins out of the fridge. I like the simplicity of the recipe, but next time I'll do crème anglaise and meringue. It needed a little vanilla flavor to boost it.

I love this recipe, and I can't wait to share this dessert with everyone I know. It's very easy to make. I suggest putting the meringue into a pastry bag and squirting it on top of the custard.

This wasn't as lemony as I would have liked. I'm wondering if I can use more lemon juice and reduce the half and half by an equal amount? Also, I wish I had followed my instincts and strained the custard after cooking to remove the pieces of lemon zest.
I reduced the sugar in the custard to 1/2 cup, and it was plenty sweet enough for our taste.

I made this for Easter dinner and it was a great hit. I stretched the servings out to 8 and they were ample. We had twelve people and although we had other desserts, no one wanted to share these! Fairly sweet and when I make them again I may reduce the sugar in the custard slightly.