Smooth and velvety blueberry filling nestled in a golden flakey crust and crowned with the fluffiest melt-in-your-mouth Swiss meringue!
Although it’s hard to beat a lusciously tart and tangy lemon meringue pie, sometimes it’s a good idea to change things up a little. When it comes to baking, I’ve always been the type of person to push the envelope, and with so many endless possibilities in the culinary world, why wouldn’t I??
So today, I’m comin’ at ya with a different and dare I say, much more exquisite take on your traditional lemon meringue pie.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the BLUEBERRY MERINGUE PIE…
For real though, how gorgeous is this slice of heaven? I can’t stop staring at its sky-high meringue and magnificently rich plum hue. Not only does it look like a dream, but it TASTES like a dream as well. It’s bursting with blueberry sweetness, and the meringue is so light and fluffy, it’s like biting into a cloud.
Now, if you’re not already convinced that you need to make this ASAP, allow me to explain what makes this pie so devastatingly divine. (Does that even make sense?)
LOTS of Blueberries = LOTS of Flavor
To cram this pie with as much blueberry flavor as possible, you’ll need 4 cups of blueberries. The juicier, the better! I recommend using fresh blueberries since frozen blueberries tend to contain extra liquid. Although a little water is added to the blueberries to prevent them from sticking to the pan while cooking, you don’t want too much liquid to dilute the flavor.
As the blueberries cook, you’ll use either a potato masher or fork to smash the berries into smithereens. The goal is to squeeze as much of that delicious juice from the berries as possible. They’ll get a second squeeze when you pour the juice through a fine-mesh strainer, using a spatula to press the juice out of the berry solids. You should end up with 2 cups of fresh blueberry juice.
Less Baking and No Tempering Involved
Most lemon meringue pie recipes require egg tempering and baking the filling in the oven, but this recipe involves none of that. The filling starts by combining some sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Then the egg yolks, lemon juice, and zest are whisked in, followed by the blueberry juice. This mixture is heated on the stove for about 7-8 minutes until it thickens up. Make sure to stir it constantly.
Once it reaches a pudding-like consistency, remove the pan from the stove, and stir in the butter. Pour the filling into the fully baked pie crust, and smooth out the top. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before chilling it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
Swiss Meringue is Superior
As you might have noticed, the meringue on this pie doesn’t look like your typical lemon meringue pie meringue. That’s because it’s not the traditional French meringue, which tends to be foamy and stiff. Instead, I opted for Swiss meringue since it’s much more stable, silky, and doesn’t weep like French meringue has the tendency to do.
The process of making Swiss meringue might seem intimidating, but it’s actually really simple. All you have to do is whip up some egg whites until stiff peaks form. I recommend using a stand mixer or an extra helper who can continuously beat the whites when it comes time to add the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup is just a mixture of sugar and water, which is cooked over high heat until it reaches 240ºF. Immediately after it reaches that temperature, the sugar syrup is poured into the whipped egg whites while the mixer is running on medium speed. Make sure to pour it in a thin steady stream, and try to avoid hitting the whisk or beaters.
Once all of the sugar syrup is incorporated, add a splash of vanilla, a splash of lemon juice, and a dash of cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is basically an added safeguard for meringue and it gives more stability to the beaten egg whites. After a few more minutes of beating, the meringue should be cooled enough to spread on top of the pie.
Torch That Meringue!
After the meringue is spread on top, the last crucial step is to toast it. You can either use a kitchen torch, or place it in the oven under the broiler. Keep in mind that if you use the broiler, you have to keep a very close eye on it. It shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes to reach a nice, golden brown.
I prefer to use a small kitchen torch since it provides way more control and even browning. Plus, it’s just way more fun! You get to be a bit of an arTIST, airbrushing the meringue with golden hues. Nowadays, you can find very inexpensive kitchen torches that are very safe and easy to use. Not only are the great for toasting meringue, but they’re also useful for caramelizing the sugar on creme brûlée or browning cheese on any of your favorite dishes.
This Blueberry Meringue Pie is truly out of this world. With its smooth blueberry filling and unbelievably fluffy meringue, each forkful is like ecstasy to the tongue. Odds are you won’t find a pie quite like this in a bakery near you, so I HIGHLY recommend giving this recipe a try!
Blueberry Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons shortening (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
Blueberry Filling:
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 3 Tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Meringue:
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- In a small bowl, combine the water and sour cream; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, sugar and salt together. Scatter the shortening over the flour, then use a cheese grater to grate the butter on top. Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut the mixture together until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the sour cream mixture and use a stiff rubber spatula to stir and press the dough together until it forms one big mound. If dough is still too dry and doesn’t hold together, add another tablespoon of water.
- Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a 5-inch disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Once chilled, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle and fit into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Trim, fold, and crimp the edge of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes until chilled and firm.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. To blind-bake, I like to press a sheet of aluminum foil into the pie pan since it gets into the crevices better than parchment paper. I then pour pie weights (or dried beans or rice) on top of the foil. Place pie plate onto a baking sheet and bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the aluminum foil (with the dried beans or rice) out of the pie. Return the pie crust to the oven and bake until the bottom crust is golden brown, about 10-13 minutes longer. Remove and cool completely.
Make the Filling:
- Place blueberries and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Using a potato masher or a fork, crush the berries. Bring the berries to a simmer, then lower temperature to medium-low and simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat and pour berries into a fine-mesh strainer set over a glass measuring cup. Using the back of a ladle or spoon, press on the berries to squeeze out as much juice as possible. Discard solids. You should end up with about 2 cups of juice. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, and zest, whisking until combined. Pour in the blueberry juice, and whisk until smooth.
- Cook mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until the filling has completely thickened and large bubbles begin to form on the surface, about 7-8 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from the heat and immediately pour through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, using the spatula to push all the filling through the strainer while leaving behind any bits of cooked egg. Whisk in the butter until fully combined.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and smooth out the top. Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Make the Meringue:
- Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl with a beater), and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Pour the sugar and water into a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until it reaches 240ºF. This usually takes about 5-6 minutes from the time it begins to boil. Immediately pour the hot sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream into the whipped egg whites, with the mixer running on medium speed; try to avoid hitting the whisk attachment.
- Once all the sugar syrup has been added, add the cream of tartar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Continue beating the meringue on high speed for 7-9 minutes, or until it’s cooled to room temperature and glossy peaks form.
- Using a spatula, spread the meringue evenly on top of the chilled pie filling. Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue, or place the pie under the broiler, watching closely so it does not burn.
- Serve within 6 hours, keeping chilled until ready to serve.