Lemon Berry Meringue

Lemon Berry Meringue Pie; a very berry-licious update from lemon meringue! It still has the same lemon filling spiked with some fresh lemon zest, but wow, the black raspberry meringue is combination is WOW. Lemon never had it so good.

My berry of choice today is Black Raspberry a.k.a. Black Caps. Black raspberries are a little harder to come by and have a unique flavor all on their own. They don’t taste like red raspberries and tend to lean towards a hint of blueberry. Whatever your berry powder flavor of choice is, it will be meringue-fully delish.

When I first beat up the meringue it was very so lighter in color, however, I wanted the meringue to “sit” for a couple of hours before slicing. I want to be you know what to expect. After a couple of hours specs of berry powder “burst” giving the meringue spots. I LOVE IT! Click here for instructions in making your own berry powder.

I make the meringue first so it can be spread onto the hot filling. As you can see, the berry meringue started reacting a bit with the lemon filling, giving the look of a thin layer of a “berry glaze.” This is because of the berry powder and the heat from the filling. Another happy accident! After a couple of days the meringue held up, the filling did not get runny, it was nearly the perfect Lemon Berry Meringue Pie.

For the best meringue, it has been suggested to be made on days when humidity is low. This is not really possible depending on your geographical location, And when you just plain old want a pie with meringue, who is thinking about humidity? Therefore, I have some tips for nearly foolproof meringue, regardless of what Mother Nature has in store:

1. Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to help stabilize the meringue.
2. Use room temperature egg whites; they will beat up fluffier.
3. Beat the egg whites and sugar on lowest setting for 5 to 7 minutes to help sugar dissolve. The cause of meringue weeping are sugar crystals that have not fully dissolved. Therefore, as the meringue cools any un-dissolved sugar will turn to liquid an it will weep.
4. Always spread meringue onto hot filling. The heat from the filling will essentially “cook” the meringue and keep from shrinking. If you want the browned edges use the broil setting and watch like a hawk. Over cooking will burn the meringue and cause it to shrink.
5. Make sure the meringue touches the edge of the crust, it needs something to grab onto.

Okay that’s the meringue lesson for the day. For a couple of pictures/pointers on making a pre-baked/blind baked pie crust click on my Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie. Don’t forget to save the last slice for yourself, your inner berry spirit is depending on you.

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5 from 1 vote

Lemon Berry Meringue Pie

Lemon-zest filling with berry powder flavored fluffy meringue, a beautiful marriage of flavors, all served up in a buttery flaky crust.

Author: Portlandia Pie Lady

Ingredients

Lemon Filling

• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 7 tablespoons tapioca starch or Clearjel *see note below
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1-1/2 cups water
• zest of one lemon
• dash salt
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter

Berry Meringue

• 4 egg whites room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons black raspberry, red raspberry or blueberry powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• dash of salt

Grandmas' single 9-inch crust (pre-baked/blind bake)

• 1 cup flour (see notes for making crust gluten free)
• 1/2 cup butter (equals 1 cube or 4 ounces), cold and cut into pieces. Note: If using soft butter or shortening, see note below.
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

Pie Crust (make first)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all dry ingredients together. With a fork cut in butter until just starting to be crumbly. Pour in cold water and give it 3 to 4 stirs to form a dough ball.
• Roll out dough, place in 9-inch pie plate, trim and crimp edges, and prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork.
• Place foil, shiny side down, fill with beans, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove foil with beans and place crust back in oven for another 6-7 minutes. Remove from oven. It's ready for the filling.

Berry Meringue

• In a large mixing bowl add the egg whites, sugar, cornstarch, and berry powder.
• Beat at lowest setting for 5 to 6 minutes to dissolve sugar.
• Increase speed to high and beat meringue until glossy and stiff peaks form, about another 7 minutes. Set aside and make lemon pie filling.

Lemon Filling

• In separate bowl beat the egg yolks, set aside (these will be tempered into the filling).
• In a large sauce pan stir sugar and cornstarch together. Add water, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt.
• At medium to medium high heat on stove, cook while whisking constantly until mixture starts to get very steamy; at the beginning of a simmer.
• Using a measuring cup, scoop out about 1/2 cup of lemon mixture, beat into egg yolks and return back to sauce pan. Cook and whisk another 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
• Remove pan from burner and stir in butter until melted and thoroughly incorporated. Pour immediately into pre-baked pie shell.
• Spread on prepared meringue. If desired, brown the meringue in the oven at 350 for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how brown you want the meringue. Remove from oven, let cool at room temperature for a few minutes or longer before storing in refrigerator.

Notes

*Note: regular cornstarch can break down in high heat. I highly suggest using tapioca or Clearjel; this will help from having a runny filling.  With cornstarch it may seem “set” at first, but sometimes the next day it will be runny as the cornstarch just couldn’t “keep up appearances.”

Gluten Free Crust Instructions:

Use my gluten free flour mix, made with Bob’s Red Mill products, at a one to one substitution. Follow the ling for making the flour mix:  https://portlandiapielady.com/gluten-free-pie-crust/

Use butter instead of shortening for gluten free, it does make a difference in taste.  Make the pie dough the same as above, but roll it out onto a gluten-free floured parchment or wax paper, invert onto pie plate and peel off paper.  If it tears, it will simply push back together.