#222 - Wet Bread Pie

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 - 8 inch pie shell (baked)
1 cup bread broken into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup water
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs (separated--reserve egg whites for later)
the juice of 1 large lemon
1 tsp. lemon zest (grate the lemon peel)
2 TBSP butter
3 TBSP white sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Add the 1 cup of bread pieces to a bowl and pour the 1/2 cup water over the bread pieces. In the top of a double boiler (water in bottom pot--if you don't have a double boiler use two pots that fit inside of each other) add the wet bread, 1 cup white sugar, 3 egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter. Cook on medium heat until thick, stirring occasionally. Pour this mixture into the baked pie crust. In a mixer, combine 3 egg whites, cream of tartar. Beat until foamy, then add the 3 TBSP white sugar and continue beating at your mixer's highest speed until the mixture is stiff. Pour the egg white mixture on top of the pie. Use a spatula to spread the egg whites all the way to all edges of the pie. Using your index finger, start in the center of the egg whites and begin making a small spiral and continue as it gets larger until you get to the edge of the pie (for decoration). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the egg whites (meringue) are brown.