The New York Times bestselling food writer and author Anne Byrn is coming to Memphis Tuesday, Sept. 10, to promote her new cookbook, “Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories.”

This Tennessee author (she lives in Nashville) will be doing a Q&A event and book signing at Novel bookstore, beginning at 6 p.m. that day, with Muddy’s Bake Shop owner Kat Gordon acting as moderator.

Byrn’s series of “The Cake Doctor” cookbooks debuted two decades ago and amassed a cult following by delivering exactly what people wanted and needed: A shortcut for delicious and beautiful cakes that appeared to be from scratch and that didn’t take all day to make.

With 200 recipes, her newest book is being touted as the definitive guide to Southern baking.

To give you a taste, Byrn shared her recipe for what she calls “The Best Lemon Meringue Pie.”

“It would be hard to imagine Southern baking without lemon meringue pie. Lemons have grown in sunny backyards along the coasts, and lemon meringue pie was always a big deal and something baked for holidays and birthdays,” Byrn said.

One of her favorite recipes was shared by the late Bill Neal in his Southern Cooking cookbook (1985).

“You juice the lemons but save one to peel and slice into tiny lemon sections without membranes (called suprêmes) and fold those into the filling for even more flavor,” she said. “It may sound a bit fussy, but making the suprêmes is easy, and it’s fine if they fall apart as you get them into the saucepan. They make the pie profoundly lemony, a celebration ready to be sliced.”

And Byrn thinks the pie is even more delectable when made with the faintly orange-flavored Meyer lemons.

And how to best slice a meringue pie?

Byrn said to make sure it’s well chilled, preferably overnight. And here’s the trick:

“Dip the slicing knife in hot water between each slice.” 

The Best Lemon Meringue Pie

From “Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories” by Anne Byrn
Serves 8.

Ingredients
1 (9-inch) piecrust, edges crimped and partially prebaked
4 medium (13 ounces/370 grams) regular or Meyer lemons
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups (267 grams) granulated sugar, plus 6 tablespoons for the meringue
1/4 cup (40 grams) cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/4 cups boiling water
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, with a rack in the middle.

Wash and pat dry the lemons. Zest one lemon finely to yield about 1 teaspoon and place the zest in a medium bowl. Using a serrated knife, remove the skin and pith from the same lemon. Switch to a small, sharp paring knife to section the lemon.

Working over the bowl to collect the juices, cut between the membranes to release the sections (suprêmes), letting them fall into the bowl. Keep an eye out for the seeds and fish them out with a spoon. Juice the remaining three lemons to yield a scant 1/2 cup lemon juice and add to the bowl with the sections and zest.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a large bowl and setting them aside for the meringue. Place the yolks in the bowl with the lemon juice and pulp and whisk well. Set aside.

Place the 1 1/3 cups sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium heavy saucepan and whisk to combine. Whisk in the cold water to combine well, about 30 seconds. Add the egg yolk and lemon mixture and whisk to combine well. Whisk the boiling water gradually into the saucepan, 1 to 2 tablespoons every 10 seconds, until all the water is added. Place the pan over medium heat and, with a flat wooden spoon or spatula, stir until the mixture has thickened and comes to a low boil for 1 minute, which takes about 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir, adding pieces of the butter, until it’s incorporated.

Pour the hot filling into the cooled crust. Set aside.

Make the meringue by beating the egg whites on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. While the machine is running, add the 6 tablespoons sugar gradually and beat until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Dollop the meringue on top of the filling and, with a small metal spatula or soup spoon, swirl the meringue and spread it to the crust. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake until the meringue is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 3 hours before slicing.

Taken from Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn. Copyright © 2024 by Anne Byrn. Photographs © 2024 by Rinne Allen. Used by permission of Harper Celebrate.