Lemon Meringue Pie

I am Emilia, a very excited new recipe developer and writer at HEIROL. The sunny late winter days have felt wonderful and I can feel the burst of energy, inspiration and happiness the sun brings. As my first recipe I want to share a spring appropriate dessert, a lemon meringue pie. A flakey pie crust, tart lemon curd filling and sweet, fluffy meringue cloud are a delicious combination that goes beautifully with Easter menu or a sunny afternoon coffee. The recipe may seem daunting with its several steps but with these tips and instructions you will bake a gorgeous pie!

A few tips:

The margarine or butter you’re using should be cold. Cold butter makes an extra flakey pie crust. Do not knead the dough but fold it into itself until you you’re able to form it into a ball. Let the dough rest in the fridge before rolling it out and before baking the pie.
The meringue topping is made out of aquafaba, the liquid of a chickpea can. It works similarly with egg whites, you can whisk it up with sugar until a fluffy meringue is formed. You must be patient though, aquafaba has to be whisked for around 10 minutes until stiff peaks form.
The best bowl for making meringue is a big enough metal one. Any grease can ruin the process and leave the meringue too soft or loose. A metal bowl is easy to keep clean.

Lemon Meringue Pie

6-8 servings | Active: 1 h | Passive: 3 h

Pie crust:
3 dl all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp organic lemon zest
Pinch of fine sea salt
¾ dl vanilla flavored soy yogurt
1 tbsp organic lemon juice
100 g margarine or butter

Lemon curd:
2 ¼ dl sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 ½ dl organic lemon juice (2-3 organic lemons)
¾ dl oat milk
¾ dl vanilla flavored soy yogurt
1 tbsp organic lemon zest
Pinch of turmeric powder
¾ dl corn starch
¾ dl cold water
25 g margarine or butter

Meringue:
1 dl aquafaba (the liquid of a chickpea can
1 ½ dl sugar
1 tsp organic lemon zest

First, make the pie crust. Mix flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the vanilla-flavored soy yogurt, lemon juice, and cold margarine or butter. Work the dough quickly and form a ball of it. Cover it and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Heat the oven up to 225 Celcius. Add butter and flour to a 20 cm cake form. Transfer the chilled pie crust to a floured surface and flatten the disk using your hands. Roll the dough into a ½ cm thick circle. Press it into the cake tin, making sure it rises 5 cm up the sides. Place the cake tin in the fridge again for half an hour. Once it is cooled, prick the base with a fork and bake the pie crust in the oven for 20 minutes, until it is looking toasty. Let it cool in the tin.

Next, make the lemon curd filling. Wash the lemons and zest one of them. Squeeze the juice of the lemons. Add sugar, honey, lemon juice, oat milk, vanilla-flavored soy yogurt, lemon zest, and turmeric powder into a saucepan over medium heat. Turmeric brings the beautiful yellow color to the filling so feel free to add as much of it as you like. Mix corn starch with cold water and pour it slowly into the saucepan while mixing. Keep mixing the filling until it starts bubbling. Let it simmer for a minute. Add the margarine or butter and mix well. Pour the hot lemon curd filling into the pie crust and smooth the surface. Place the pie into the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

Make the meringue right before serving the pie. Open a chickpea can and pour the needed amount of liquid into a metal bowl. Make sure that the bowl is very clean and dry. Even a little grease in the bowl can ruin the meringue. Measure the sugar into another small bowl. Start beating the liquid slowly with a handheld mixer until bubbles appear. Add the sugar slowly, while constantly mixing. Switch the speed to high and whisk it for around 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the lemon juice and whisk for a couple of minutes. Stiff peaks are formed when you can turn the bowl upside down and the meringue does not move.

Spoon the meringue fluff on top of the pie. Blast the peaks of the meringue with a kitchen blow torch until they’re golden and toasted. Serve the pie with hot strong coffee and enjoy!