Thursday, April 16, 2009

The World's First Strawberry Meringue Pie!

I adore Lemon Meringue Pie. E- not so much. Since it's up to the two of us to finish anything I bake, it's important that he like it too. So, in his honor, I decided to try a twist on the traditional Lemon Meringue. A quick Google search yielded recipes for Pavlovas, and classic strawberry pie, but no strawberry meringue. I decided to conduct an experiment. Here are the results:

I began with my mum's pie crust recipe- (I make it in double batches and keep it in the freezer- one never knows when one might want a pie or quiche!). I lined it with tinfoil, filled it with beans to weigh it down and pre baked it for 20 minutes at 425. There is nothing I detest more than soggy pie crust.

After letting it cool, I added a layer of lemon curd. (We can't get too far from the original, now can we?)

Next, I sliced up two big containers of strawberries. (Is there anything lovelier than a big red berry? YUM!) I put half of them in a saucepan with 1/3 cup of sugar on medium heat to reduce. After it was bubbling, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. You could probably add more if you like a thicker filling, but I prefer mine to be more like jam then jello.

I topped the filling with the remaining fresh strawberries. So purty!

Then I whipped up a batch of meringue. I just love slathering it across a pie and making the little peaks with the back of a spoon. It's seriously fun- like building with clouds!

Finally, I baked it for 20 or 30 minutes at 350. Since everything inside was already cooked, I was really just browning the meringue. Afterward, let it cool so the strawberries can solidify- otherwise your pieces will look quite sloppy! (Says the girl who ate a horribly disfigured piece right away...)

Fin! It was excellent and I have big plans to try a few other variations- I think rhubarb would be amazing as well. What have you been baking lately?

7 comments:

raina said...

I love strawberries. But JUST strawberries. Hate when they are combined with sugar... or the artificial strawberry tasting candies. We got some in our CSA box the last two weeks, I feel summer coming!

Pies seem like WAY more work than I'd want to go for. No baking for me lately... last thing I attempted to back was Spinach Feta bread, but I shattered a glass pan onto it, so it had to be scraped.

Diana said...

This looks delicious. You should totally be so proud of yourself!

glentwistle said...

How did the lemon curd and Strawberrys taste together? I want to come to be your taster!

Jennifer said...

Becky, you always make me feel so inspired! I think I may try to whip this one up. You came up with a fabulous recipe from the looks of it!!

panoptica said...

Looks delicious B!!! I'd love to try and bake it...

Marta said...

This is perfect! I just got back from the farmer's market with a 4lb bucket of strawberries and I was searching TasteSpotting for inspiration of what to do with them. I found it!
Thanks very much!

Anonymous said...

If you love lemon meringue pie, but he doesn't, try a lemon CREAM meringue pie. It's a lot less tart and sour for him, and you get the lemony pleasures still.

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