It’s that holiday baking time of year, so your traditional lemon meringue pie is getting a seasonal makeover and being turned into cranberry meringue pie. It’s got a flaky thick pie crust, a holiday spiced cranberry filling and a silky soft meringue topping. Ready to impress anyone you got to impress over the holidays.
I think I can safely say that cranberries are one of my new favourite berries. Cranberries are still a fairly new thing to me, I mean I’ve for a long time had a thing for cranberry juice, but you can’t easily buy fresh cranberries in England, so it’s not something I’ve baked with before. But as I’ve discovered they are oh so delicious! They are basically the winter version of rhubarb, a bit tart, you got to cook them to make them taste good and they turn everything the best shade of pink.
This pie does take a little work, as all pies do, but it’s easily broken down and everything bar the meringue topping can be made ahead of time. And if you want to make this far much easier there is no shame is getting yourself a pre-made pie crust to make that holiday baking prep work easier. You can also skip the meringue topping if you really really want (have) to and top with whipped cream or yoghurt, though I don’t recommend it because meringue topping!!
I had a learning how to make meringue session a few months ago and after a couple of not so great results I’ve found this method to be the best fail safe method. Heating the sugar with the eggs in a bain marie before whisking it up makes sure that the sugar is fully dissolved, making the meringue silky smooth.
– Cranberry Meringue Pie –
Cranberry Filling
350g cranberries
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
2 oranges + zest of 1 orange
2 lemons + zest of 1 lemon
150g sugar
3 1/2 tbsp cornflour
125g butter
4 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
Pie Crust
270g flour
187g butter
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4-1/2 cup ice cold water
zest of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
Meringue
3 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pastry
Measure the flour, butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until large pea-sized crumbs form. If using a mixer pulse on a low speed with the paddle attachment until large crumbs form.
Add 1/4 cup of the cold water. Mix together until the mixture just starts to come together. Add another tablespoon or two of water if needed. If using a mixer, remove from the bowl at this point onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until the dough comes together in a ball. From into a disc, wrap up the dough and leave in the fridge for at least 30mins.
Roll out the dough onto a well floured surface to 1/4″ thickness and line the the bottom of a 9inch pie dish. Trim any overhang to 1″. Fold the overhanging dough underneath and crimp around the edges. Prick shell in several places with a fork and chill, preferably in the freezer for 30mins.
Blind bake the crust: preheat the oven to 400F. Line the crust with baking paper, fill with baking beads and bake until the edges start to turn golden, about 25-30mins. Turn the heat down to 300F, remove the paper and baking beads from the pie and bake for about 10-15mins longer until the pie crust turns an even chestnut brown.
Cranberry filling
Add the cranberries, spices and zests into a pan with 3 tbsp of water. Cook on a medium heat for 10-15 mins till all the cranberries have burst. Remove from the heat and press the mix through a sieve.
Whisk the cornflour into the citrus juices and add to a pan. Add the strained cranberry mixture, add the sugar and cook over a medium heat, stirring often, till the mixture thickens. Whisk in the butter. Remove from the heat and add the eggs in, mixing in each one well before adding the next. Return to the heat for 5-10mins, stirring often, till the mix has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. When slightly cooled, pour the mix into the crust. Chill in the fridge for 30mins.
Meringue
Combine all the meringue ingredients in a large bowl set above a pan filled with an inch of simmering water (I like to use my stand mixer bowl). Stir the mix until the sugar dissolves. Remove and place in a stand mixer. Beat on medium-heat speed until stiff peaks form. Pipe the meringue onto the top of the pie and toast the top with a small blowtorch. You can also bake the meringue at 375 for about 10mins till it turns golden.
