Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie in Toasted Pecan Crust

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

3 cups vanilla ice cream , divided (I recommend a premium quality, all-natural ice cream)
Lemon Curd
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (I used lemon zest)
1 pinch salt

Crust

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (I did this in my food processor)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter , melted

Meringue

4 large egg whites , room temperature
1 pinch cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1
For the lemon curd: Whisk eggs and egg yolks together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2
Melt butter in a medium metal bowl set over a large pot of simmering water.
3
Whisk in sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt. Gradually whisk in eggs yolk mixture. (Thin stream and whisk constantly, be careful not to cook the eggs. May want the egg yolks at room temperature before beginning this step.).
4
Continue cooking and whisking until thick and thermometer reads 178-180 degrees F, about 8 minutes. (I was unable to get my mixture above 162, even after turning water up to boiling and cooking for 14 minutes, but it seemed thick, so I stopped for fear of over cooking, and it turned out fine.).
5
Transfer curd to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed down to the surface. Chill for a minimum of 4 hours.
6
NOTE: Curd can be made up to 2 days ahead.
7
For the crust: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
8
Mix together pecans, sugar and butter in a medium bowl until moistened. Press into a 9-inch glass pie dish--mixture will be crumbly. (I used a 10-inch glass pie dish.).
9
Bake crust until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Crust will slip down the sides of the dish. Use the back of a spoon to press crust back into place.
10
Cool crust on a rack. Freeze crust for 30 minutes.
11
Dollop 1 1/2 cups of the softened ice cream into the bottom of the crust and spread into an even layer. Spread the lemon curd over the ice cream and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. (Note: I froze after putting in the first ice cream layer, too, for about 30 minutes.).
12
Spread the additional 1 1/2 cups of softened ice cream over the curd and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
13
For the meringue: Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy. Beat in cream of tartar. With mixer running, gradually add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon meringue over pie, swirling decoratively.
14
NOTE: All steps above can be done up to one day ahead of time. Freeze pie until ready to brown the meringue.
15
To finish the pie, using a kitchen butane torch, toast the meringue until golden in spots or place pie in a preheated 500 degree F oven until meringue is golden in spots, watching to prevent burning (about 3 minutes). (I used the oven method.).
16
Cut pie into wedges and serve immediately.