An Intro and Vanilla Lemonberry Pie!

I can’t believe it! I’ve really done it. Started my very own blog! It’s not as though creating a blog is some groundbreaking achievement. In fact, a quick google search for “blog” yields 11.2 billion (!!) results. Essentially I’ve done nothing but join the masses and yet I can’t help but be excited – insert yelp here – and look forward to embarking on this journey with you all.

Anyhow, I plan for this blog to be a mash up of all the things I enjoy. From DIY to cooking and baking to the garden I plan to grow this summer, I want to create a catalogue of the things I’m doing, loving and thinking.

For my inaugural post, I’ve created a divine Vanilla Lemonberry Meringue Pie adapted from Bon Appetit with my own Vanilla Lemon Crust. I know the recipe may look daunting (plan at least two days to prepare!) and it is complicated, but I promise the end result is worth it!

-Tita

VANILLA LEMONBERRY MERINGUE PIE 

Ingredients:

Vanilla Lemon Crust

• 1 ¼ cup of flour
• 1 stick of butter (nearly frozen, cut into ½ in cubes)
• a pinch of salt
• small bowl with water and a few ice cubes
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• the zest of 1 small lemon (½ large)

Caramelized Lemon Curd and Mousse

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons of cornstarch
• ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
• 9 large egg yolks
• ¾ cup butter
• ½ cup very cold heavy whipping cream

Vanilla Blueberry Compote

• 1 ¾ cup fresh blueberries
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• the juice of ½ lemon
• the zest of ½ lemon
• pinch of salt
• seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tsp flour

Meringue

• 5 egg whites
• ¾ cup sugar

Directions:

For the Crust:

1. Add flour and salt to food processor (my mini-prep works perfectly for this or you could use a blender). Pulse to combine.
2. Add butter 1/3 at a time (very important that the butter is nearly frozen!). Pulse until small clumps start to appear.
3. Add 2 tbsps. of ice cold water, lemon zest and ½ tsp vanilla extract.  Pulse to combine, mixture should resemble a coarse meal.
4. If dough forms when pinched together remove. If dough is still too dry, add water 1 tsp at a time. Check after each tsp.
5. Turn out dough onto lightly floured or nonstick surface (such as a silpat) and form into disk. Wrap disk in plastic and go over quickly with rolling pin (makes it easier to roll out later). Chill 30 mins, up to 1 day. This can be done 1 day ahead.

For the Lemon Curd

1. Caramelize the Sugar: Whisk sugar and water in pan over med heat until dissolved. Continue to stir sugar until it reaches a boil. Stop stirring and boil until mixture becomes a light amber. Swirl pot to distribute color.
2. Meanwhile heat the lemon juice and cornstarch over med heat in a separate pot. Stir to combine. Add caramelized sugar to pot and whisk in yolks. Add butter. Whisk mixture constantly until curd thickens and boils. Immediately remove from heat.
3. Transfer Curd to medium container and allow to cool. Press plastic wrap against surface of curd and refrigerate. Prepare at least 1 day ahead. Up to 3 days ahead

For the Mousse

1. Using stand mixer, beat whipping cream with whipping attachment (beat around level 6 or 8 on kitchen aid) until stiff peaks form. It’s key that the cream is very cold and the peaks are very stiff!
2. Fold ¾ cup lemon curd into cream, ¼ cup at a time. Chill mousse.

For the Blueberry Compote:

1. Combine 1 cup blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest, salt, and vanilla in small saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. About 5 mins. Whisk in flour and stir until combined.
3. Remove from heat and add in ¾ cup to 1 cup blueberries. Transfer to small bowl and cool. Cover with plastic wrap just as you did with the lemon curd. Can be prepared 1 day ahead.

The Day of Serving:

1. Roll out dough until large enough to fit 9in pie pan. Crimp edges and freeze for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat Oven to 375.
3. Fill pie pan with parchment and pie weights or beans and bake for 20 minutes. Be sure to really fill up pie to prevent sides from “shrinking” – all butter crusts tend to do this.
4. Bake for 15 mins or until sides are set. Remove weights and parchment. Brush edges with egg white wash and pierce any bubbles with fork. Bake for 20 minutes – until golden and cooked through. Cool
5. Once crust has cooled, spread the remaining curd along bottom of crust. Spoon ½ blueberry compote over curd. Spread lemon mousse over blueberry – use knife and be careful to avoid mixing. Spoon remaining berries over mousse. Chill.

Meringue

1. Bring water to simmer on stove. Whisk egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl. Place bowl atop simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves – about 1 minute.
2. Transfer egg mixture to stand mixer. Using whipping attachment bead until thick and fluffy peaks form.
3. Spoon meringue into gallon Ziploc bag. Cut off tip and arrange decoratively over pie. I then used knife fancy up the top.
4. To singe the meringue you can either use a blow torch or broiler. If using the broiler I would recommend freezing the pie (I didn’t! :0) instead of chilling before placing meringue. Otherwise, you run the risk of melting the mousse and it gets a bit messy to serve (as seen below, oops!).
5. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Get ready for lots of oohs and ahhs!