This grapefruit version of an American classic consists of a flakey pie crust filled with deliciously tart grapefruit filling and the fluffiest cloud of Italian meringue!
We are right in the midst of grapefruit season, so why not transform, this rubylicious citrus into something spectacular??
It’s high time that this fruit gets the recognition it so rightly deserves, and I think I might’ve come up with the perfect way to showcase its sweet, tart, and tangylicious attributes…
Why You’ll Love This Grapefruit Meringue Pie
A New Take on Lemon Meringue Pie: Instead of lemon, this pie incorporates the ruby red citrus flavor of grapefruit. And with a whole 2 cups of freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice, this pie is brimming with that wonderfully tart and tangy grapefruit essence.
Extra THICK and Creamy Meringue: This isn’t your typical lemon meringue topping. That’s because I replaced the traditional (and outdated) foamy and stiff French meringue with Italian meringue. Not only is it unbelievably creamy, but it’s extra voluminous.
An Impressive Dessert Great For Any Occasion: Whether it’s the mile-high meringue, the lusciously smooth and tangy grapefruit filling, or the originality of a grapefruit pie, this dessert is guaranteed to impress anyone who’s lucky enough to wrap their tastebuds around it.
Tips For Making The Best Grapefruit Meringue Pie
Blind Bake the Crust Thoroughly – Blind baking the crust prevents it from getting soggy. Furthermore, the filling is cooked and doesn’t require any baking, so the crust needs to be fully baked and golden brown to ensure a flakey crust.
Use Freshly-Squeezed Grapefruit Juice – While store-bought grapefruit juice is convenient, it tends to be bitter and overwhelmingly tangy. Freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice has a natural sweetness that’s less acidic compared to your mass-produced store-bought juice. For this pie, I ended up squeezing three large grapefruit to get 2 cups of juice.
Add Lemon Zest – Even tough this is a Grapefruit Meringue Pie, we’re going to use lemon zest instead of grapefruit zest. Lemon zest has a bright and fragrant citrus aroma, whereas grapefruit zest tends to be on the slightly bitter side.
Use Room Temperature Egg Whites – As opposed to cold egg whites, room temperature egg whites whip up much quicker. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, allowing your egg whites to sit out at room temperature for just 20-30 minutes yields a fluffier and more voluminous meringue. That’s because they hold air better than cold egg whites.
Cool Filling Completely – Once the grapefruit filling is in the crust, allow the pie to cool completely before covering and chilling in the refrigerator. This can take 1-2 hours. This will prevent any condensation from forming on top of the filling, and it’ll also help the filling set up properly. The pie needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least another 4 hours before it’s ready to be topped with the meringue and sliced into.
Make the Meringue the Day of Serving – Italian meringue is a lot more stable and doesn’t have the weeping issues that French meringue has. However, I prefer to make the meringue and top the pie with it on the day I plan on serving it. The meringue will be the fluffiest and creamiest on the day you make it. Plus, the meringue adds a lot of height, so it’s much easier to store in the refrigerator without the meringue on top.
Do I have to add food coloring?
Nope! This ingredient is totally optional, and simply for appearance. The color of the filling is similar to that of lemon meringue since the color of the grapefruit juice gets diluted from the rest of the ingredients. In order to achieve a shade that’s closer to a grapefruit, I added a few drops of pink food coloring.
Grapefruit Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
Grapefruit Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice (about 3 large grapefruit)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Italian 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:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together. Add the egg yolks, zest, and 1/4 cup of the grapefruit juice, whisking until combined. Pour in the rest of the grapefruit 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.
- Once thickened, 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 4 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.