As American Thanksgiving is lower than every week away, I believed I might put together a show-stopping dessert with this cranberry loving nation in thoughts – vegan meringue pie with cranberry! It’s encompasses a pleasant distinction of candy and bitter, it has a touch of winter spices and it’s lovely to have a look at too. It’s going to actually make an impression in your visitors, I promise!
This vegan meringue pie is a festive twist on a a lot beloved traditional – lemon meringue pie (recipe right here if you’re into lemons greater than cranberries). Since cranberries are naturally extremely bitter, I figured they are going to be an ideal flavour distinction to the candy meringue that may be a should for a vegan meringue pie.
As I needed this pie to style like Thanksgiving (or Christmas), I flavoured the curd part with lots of orange zest, some orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger too. I actually love the top consequence, it’s not too overpowering, but it surely’s actually there. For those who needed one thing much more paying homage to mulled wine, be at liberty so as to add cloves, a bay leaf, maybe a star anise, some crushed cardamon pods and a few all spice berries too.
As I realise that Thanksgiving is a logistically troublesome operation with so many, usually difficult, dishes needing to be ready , this pie actually permits you to get forward so far as a lot of the elements are involved. The one factor I might advocate not making forward is the meringue half. As with egg-based meringue, plant-based one additionally tends to wick moisture out of the environment and weep so bake it on the morning for greatest finish consequence.
SHORTCUTS (to hurry issues up)
1) make the curd 1-3 days forward, refrigerate;
2) make the pastry a day forward, line the tin with it however bake on the day to maintain it as contemporary as potential;
3) as a substitute of baking the meringue till crispy, merely toast it evenly with a chef’s torch (like this) or beneath a broiler for just a few minutes.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
CRANBERRIES – I used contemporary cranberries to make the curd for this vegan meringue pie, but when that’s not out there to you, you can additionally use frozen. 500 g (17.5 oz) of cranberries equals 4 barely heaped cups in order that’s how you know the way a lot frozen cranberries to make use of. You can additionally presumably use cranberry jelly, however because it already incorporates sugar and differs between manufacturers an excessive amount of, the recipe will want some critical tweaking so until you’re good at that sort of factor, search out contemporary or frozen cranberries for this vegan meringue pie.
ORANGES – Cranberries and oranges belong collectively so I flavoured the curd with a considerable amount of orange zest (2 oranges), though be at liberty to dial that down in case you favor or use one lemon and one orange for a barely totally different flavour profile. I additionally used orange juice so as to add pure sweetness to the curd. You will have two navel oranges for this.
SPICES – To present the curd a touch of festive flavours, I added some vanilla, ginger and cinnamon to the cranberries. You can go additional by including floor cloves (fishing complete cloves out is a ache), a star anise, a number of crushed inexperienced cardamom pods and maybe a number of all spice berries too. All these spices will infuse the curd with lovely festive flavour.
SUGAR – sugar is integral, not simply to style, however the construction of this dessert – each the curd and the meringue depend on sugar for its construction so please don’t be tempted to cut back until what you’re doing and settle for the chance (I don’t need to hear that it didn’t work afterwards 😉 , okay? ). Caster (also referred to as castor or superfine white) sugar is utilized in each situations and that’s the one sugar I examined with. You may get away with utilizing coarser sugar within the curd however actually I might not advocate doing that within the meringue. Small particles imply that it might dissolve absolutely through the whipping course of, in any other case your meringue received’t work or shall be gritty and ugly to eat on the very least.
VEGAN BUTTER – vegan butter is used each within the pastry and within the curd and what you want right here is vegan butter that is available in a block (usually referred to as vegan block, in actual fact). I used Violife model. In makes the pastry good and tender and adverts richness to the curd and helps it hold its form. You may substitute with coconut oil, I all the time advocate utilizing odourless one to maintain the flavour profile coconut-free.
FLOUR – I used plain flour to make the pastry for this vegan meringue pie, however you may as well make this dessert gluten-free if wanted. To try this merely use a nicely balanced gluten-free flour combine and a smidge of xanthan gum to assist with binding. Relatively than rolling gluten-free pastry, I personally discover it simpler to scatter it within the tin after which mould it to the inside of the tin with my fingers.
CORNFLOUR / CORNSTARCH – cornflour (or cornstarch for the US readers) is a thickener that’s key in thickening the curd in addition to in stablising the meringue. Theoretically, you can attempt utilizing tapioca or potato starch as a substitute, however I’ve not examined with both of these so cornflour is the one one I can advocate with 100% certainty.
AQUAFABA – that’s proper, right here I am going once more with my favorite bean juice (I really like working with it as might by now). I used aquafaba from homecooked chickpeas as I all the time prepare dinner chickpeas however you may as well simply open a tin or a jar of chickpeas and use the brine. Be certain all of your utensils, bowl and palms are spotlessly clear as aquafaba and grease hate one another like cats and canines (that truly just isn’t true as exemplified by quite a few ‘my cat and my canine are BBFs’ movies however what I imply 😉 ). To banish grease, use a glass or steel bowl and wash your whisk attachments in soapy sizzling water fastidiously.
XANTHAN GUM – these of you who bake gluten-free shall be already acquainted with this ingredient because it’s one of many binders utilized in gluten-free pastry and dough. It additionally occurs to enhance the lifespan of a vegan meringue and cease it from deflating after baking so I actually advocate including it to your whipped meringue. I saved this pie in a tupperware field, out of the fridge in a single day and the meringue saved its form and didn’t weep or deflate for a whole subsequent day.
USE SCALES – pastry work wants precision so I strongly advocate utilizing scales as a substitute of measuring by quantity, which is inherently imprecise and should result in a disappointing final result. I give US measurements as individuals ask for them however they’re approximations solely and relating to making desserts like this one being correct is vital.
To make the curd, mix all the curd substances, apart from vegan butter, in a medium-large measurement pot. Simmer on low warmth, stirring regularly, till cranberries break up and the combination resembles jam – about 10 minutes. Take off the warmth, fish out cinnamon sticks and add vegan butter to the new combination. Stir it into the new combination with a spoon.
Switch the combination to a big blender and mix till clean. If making the curd forward – which is what I like to recommend – switch the combination again to the pot, cool and refrigerate till prepared. You could need to heat it up a bit of earlier than you fill the pie in order that the filling is evenly distributed throughout the pastry case.
Make the pastry by combining all of the substances, apart from water, in a meals processor and pulsing a number of instances till the combination resembles breadcrumbs. Then trickle in chilly water whereas pulsing to moisten the dry substances simply sufficient in order that they will kind a dough. If making the pastry by hand, you’re prone to want extra water however add it step by step in incremental quantities.
Take away the combination from the meals processor and kind the pastry right into a disk, wrap in cling movie and chill for at the very least 60 minutes. As soon as able to bake, roll it out on a evenly floured floor till 2-3 mm in thickness. Line a pastry tin case with rolled out pastry, ensuring it’s neatly tucked into all of the nooks and crannies
Lower off extra pastry with a pointy knife and patch up any holes with extra bits. Prick with a fork and chill once more earlier than blind-baking. Line the within of the pastry case with a big piece of crumpled baking paper and weigh it down with baking beads (dry beans or rice). Bake till not uncooked, eradicating the paper and the beads at roughly a half approach level.
When you pile the meringue onto the pie, use a spoon to make ornamental swirls throughout. Bake the pie after which permit it to chill COMPLETELY earlier than reducing up (5 hours roughly). Utilizing an ice-pack wrapped in a kitchen towel beneath the pie helps! Alternatively, toast the meringue utilizing a chef’s torch (or put it beneath a broiler for just a few minutes) and reduce it up staight away. This works if as a substitute of pre-baking the filling, you chill it within the pastry case for a few hours.
- 250 g / 2 cups white all objective flour or GF plain flour combine
- 35 g / 3 tbsp icing or caster / superfine sugar
- ½ tsp wonderful sea salt
- 2 tsp xanthan gum (just for GF pastry)
- 120 g / 4.25 oz chilly vegan butter*
- approx. 60 ml / 4 tbsp ice chilly water
CRANBERRY CURD FILLING
- 500 g / 17.5 oz (approx. 4 cups) contemporary (or frozen) cranberries
- 225 g / heaped 1 cup caster (or any) sugar*
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- 2.5 cm / 1 inch ginger, peeled & sliced skinny
- pinch of wonderful salt
- zest of two oranges
- 240 ml / 1 cup contemporary orange juice
- 100 g / 3.5 oz (approx. ½ cup) vegan butter* – I used Violife
- 16 g / 2 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
MERINGUE
- 180 ml / ¾ cup aquafaba (selfmade or from a can/jar of chickpeas)
- ½ tsp cream of tartar (or 1 tsp lemon juice)
- 250 g / 1¼ cup caster / superfine sugar
- 8 g / 1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
- ¾ tsp xantham gum (optionally available, however advisable)
METHOD
PASTRY
- Place flour, sugar, salt and xanthan gum (provided that making a GF pastry) in a meals processor. Pulse to mix.
- Add chopped up vegan butter. Pulse a number of instances, till your combination appears to be like like breadcrumbs.
- Slowly add iced water by way of the chute whereas pulsing the combination. If making the dough by hand, you’re prone to want a contact extra water.
- Switch the combination onto a piece floor. Utilizing your palms, deliver it collectively and kind right into a disc – it ought to properly stick collectively, if it’s nonetheless too dry and crumbly trickle in 1 tsp of chilly water at a time. Deal with as little as potential and don’t knead.
- Wrap the pastry disc up in cling movie and chill within the fridge for at the very least 60 minutes. Make cranberry curd when you wait.
- Take away the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a evenly floured floor till you get a circle giant sufficient to cowl your whole tart case, about 2-3 mm in thickness.
- Place the rolled-out dough over a tart case and gently line the within of it utilizing your fingers. Tuck the pastry in nicely, guaranteeing that it suits snugly into all of the nooks and crannies. Trim the surplus pastry with a pointy knife and patch any holes/or thinner bits with the cut-off extra. If making gluten-free pastry (which tends to be extra crumbly), it’s possible you’ll be higher off putting the crumbled pastry within the tart case and easily moulding the pastry along with your palms to the form of the tart tin.
- Pierce the underside of the pastry with a fork in a number of locations and chill the pastry lined tart case within the fridge for an additional half-hour. You can even simply depart it within the fridge in a single day if making forward
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F (160° C / 320° F with a fan setting). Line the pastry case with a big piece of crumpled baking paper and fill with baking beads (or dry beans) for a blind bake.
- Blind bake the pastry for Quarter-hour. Take away the paper and beads and bake for an additional 10 minutes – till cooked and pale golden. Preserve the oven on.
CRANBERRY CURD FILLING (make a day forward for simpler meeting)
- Place the primary 7 substances (as much as and together with zest) in a medium measurement pot. Add all the orange juice aside from 2 tbsp (30 ml).
- Simmer all the things gently, stirring from time to time, till cranberries break down, soften and the combination resembles a jam (about 10 minutes). Change the warmth off and add butter to the new combination. Stir it in nicely.
- Dilute cornflour / cornstarch within the orange juice you saved.
- Take away cinnamon sticks from the cranberry combination and switch the combination to a blender, add diluted cornflour / cornstarch and mix till clean.
MERINGUE
- Preheat the oven to 150° C / 300° F (130° C / 265° F with a fan setting).
- Mix aquafaba and cream of tartar in a spotlessly clear bowl – even a hint of grease will inhibit aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks.
- Whisk on medium velocity till you attain stiff peaks (once you invert the bowl, whipped aquafaba ought to keep put). Relying in your tools, it could take round 8-10 minutes (it does for me and I’ve an outdated handheld whisk).
- This bit is tedious, however crucial! Begin including sugar in 1 tbsp increments whipping nicely (going across the bowl when you’ve got a handheld whisk) and slowly counting to twenty after every addition. I do know, however belief me! By the point you’ve added all the sugar, the combination shouldn’t really feel gritty – if it does, stick with it whipping a bit of longer.
- As soon as all of the sugar has been added, sprinkle in cornflour and xanthan gum whereas the whisk goes. By this level it is best to have a shiny, thick meringue combination that should go on the pie right away.
ASSEMBLY
- Fill prebaked pastry with the curd. If the sides of your pastry case are already brown, shield them with a strip of tin foil first. Bake for 10-Quarter-hour at 180° C / 355° F (till there’s some floor pressure when gently poked with a finger). Enable to chill a bit. As soon as solely simply barely heat, begin in your meringue.
- Dot spoonfuls of the meringue on prime of the evenly heat (not sizzling as it can make it soften) pie going across the edges first. Be certain the meringue touches the crust so {that a} seal is created. Watch out to not depart any air pockets beneath the meringue as these shall be hole after baking. When you cowl the whole pie with meringue, make ornamental swirls with the again of your spoon.
- Place the pie within the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes. By the point you’re finished, the meringue ought to get a crispy, pale golden crust. You need to use a chef’s torch to make it look extra dramatic if you want.
- Take away from the oven and place on a wire rack. Enable it to chill COMPLETELY. Putting an icepack wrapped up in a kitchen towel beneath the wire rack (hold the pie within the tin) will velocity issues up a bit of.
- Meringue pies are greatest eaten on the day, however this one saved nicely for two days, sealed away in an air-tight cake field at room temperature (not within the fridge as it can make it weep). Avoid any supply of moisture, like steam elevating from cooking pots, for instance. Sugar within the meringue wicks moisture out of the air making meringue go delicate.
NOTES
*SUGAR: You may add kind of sugar to the filling relying on how tangy you need the curd to be. I settled on 225 g / 1 heaped cup as I needed the filling actually tangy (to distinction with the uber candy vegan meringue topping). You need to use any sort of sugar you need – even maple syrup, however you a lot need to skip orange juice of that’s the case.
*XANTHAN GUM: it stabilizes the meringue and helps with its construction, in case you don’t have it it’s not the top of the world however I discover that it makes an enormous distinction to the feel and longevity of a meringue.
