Description
This Vegan Cranberry Meringue Pie is a delightful dairy-free and egg-free dessert perfect for festive occasions or any time you want a tangy, fruity treat topped with fluffy vegan Italian meringue. The tartness of fresh cranberries is balanced with citrus zest and juice, set in a buttery vegan pie crust and finished with a beautifully toasted meringue topping.
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 batch vegan pie crust (makes extra dough)
Filling
- 250 g granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 400 g fresh cranberries
- 270 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 80 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 80 ml non-dairy milk
- 50 g cornstarch
- 100 g vegan butter
Topping
- 1 batch vegan Italian meringue (made from aquafaba)
Instructions
- Prepare in advance: Up to 2 days before serving, prepare the vegan pie crust dough and chill it until ready to use. Also, prepare and reduce the aquafaba for the vegan Italian meringue topping and refrigerate.
- Preheat oven and prepare tin: At least 8 hours before serving, lightly grease a 9-inch pie tin with oil or vegan butter, dust with flour and knock off excess. Optionally line the base with parchment. Preheat your oven to fan 190°C (374°F) or conventional 210°C (410°F) and place an aluminum tray or baking sheet inside to preheat.
- Roll out pie crust: Roll out the chilled dough to ⅛-inch thickness, about an inch larger than the pie tin. Carefully lift and ease the dough into the tin, trimming edges and pressing down with a fork. Pierce the base all over with a fork to prevent bubbling.
- Blind bake the crust: Cut a circle of parchment slightly larger than the tin, scrunch and place on dough. Fill with pie weights or dried beans/rice/lentils. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove weights and parchment and continue baking another 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely.
- Make cranberry filling: In a saucepan, mix sugar with orange and lemon zest, rubbing zest into sugar to release oils. Add cranberries, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes until cranberries burst and soften.
- Prepare cornstarch paste: In a small bowl, whisk non-dairy milk and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
- Puree cranberry mixture: Remove cinnamon stick and star anise. Transfer hot cranberry mixture to blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Strain through fine sieve back into saucepan.
- Thicken filling: Add cornstarch paste to cranberry puree in saucepan. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in cold vegan butter until incorporated. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Fill pie shell and refrigerate: Pour cooled cranberry curd into cooled pie crust. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight until set.
- Prepare meringue topping: Make the vegan Italian meringue from reserved aquafaba. Spoon or pipe the meringue over the set pie.
- Finish topping: Torch the meringue with a blow torch until lightly browned and toasted just before serving.
Notes
- The vegan pie crust recipe yields extra dough which can be frozen or used for another pie.
- Fresh cranberries are preferred for best flavor and texture in the filling.
- If you do not have pie weights, dried beans, rice, or lentils work well to blind bake the crust.
- Use a high-speed blender or food processor to ensure the cranberry mixture is completely smooth before thickening.
- The vegan Italian meringue is typically made from aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid) whipped with sugar and stabilizers.
- The pie must be chilled thoroughly to set the filling before adding the meringue topping.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes (crust) + 15 minutes (filling) + 5 minutes (thickening)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
