Cranberry Meringue Pie

I came across this quite old recipe for Bogberry Pudding and thought it looked interesting. Bogberries, of course, are cranberries. I was a little worried that it might be too much like cranberry sauce in a pie crust, but it wasn't at all. The spicing made it quite different and very appealing.

Since it called for egg yolks I decided to use the egg whites to make a meringue topping, which I think really contributed to the success of this dish. I was a bit dubious about it being thick enough with just egg yolks to thicken it, and rightly so as it turned out. I added some potato starch but not quite enough - I have called for twice as much as I actually used. You can see in the photo it did not set completely and was a bit runny. Part of that was because it needed more starch but I have to admit that at least part of the problem was that I did not wait long enough to cut it. The leftovers were set much better.

Apart from that minor problem, we really liked this. Mr Ferdzy is encouraging me to make it again soon, to be sure that I now have the starch amount exactly right. Because he is very concerned about that.

The flavour is

6 to 8 servings
2 1/2 hours to make; 4 hours to overnight to cool

Make the Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups soft unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
1/4 cup (about) buttermilk

Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl, then cut in the cold butter until the size of peas or smaller. Mix in the oil and buttermilk. Stir with a fork until well mixed then form it into a ball. If it is still too dry to form a cohesive ball, dribble in a little more buttermilk and mix again.

Wrap the dough loosely in parchment paper or a clean damp tea towel and set it aside while you make the filling.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the cranberry purée cools, roll out the dough on the parchment paper or a floured board, and use it to line a 9" pie plate. Flute the edges, and poke the crust all over with a fork. Bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes until it looks dry all over. Set aside while you finish the filling, but leave the oven on.

Make the Filling: 
340 grams (11 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cup apple cider and/or cranberry juice
the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon or orange
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a few scrapes of nutmeg
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sweet sherry
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons potato starch

Wash and pick over the cranberries and put them in a pot with the cider or juice and bring them to a simmer. While they simmer, grate in the orange or lemon zest and add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer the cranberries until all have popped and are quite soft, then press them through a sieve. Discard the skins and seeds which won't go through; there should be about a quarter cup of them.

Add the sugar and butter right away, stirring to dissolve them, but wait until the cranberry purée has cooled enough that it will not cook them to add the egg yolks. Measure the sherry and mix in the vanilla and potato starch. Mix this in with the cranberry purée. Pour it into the prepared pie crust and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the surface has puffed all over. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and let the pie cool slightly while you make the meringue.

Make the Meringue & Finish the Pie:
3 large egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Put the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler (or metal bowl that will fit over a pan of boiling water) and turn on the heat to medium-high. Give it 3 or 4 minutes to warm up, then begin beating it all with an electric mixer. Beat for about 5 or 6 minutes, until the egg whites are very light and begin to pile up behind the blades of the mixer as you beat them. Remove from the heat at once (using oven mitts!) and scrape out the meringue onto the top of the pie. Spread it over the pie from edge to edge, mounded slightly in the centre. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the meringue is set and just lightly browned.

The pie must be cooled completely before being cut; it is probably a good idea to make it the day before you plan to eat it. 




Last year at this time I made Roasted Beets & Pears.

Posted in: Ontario Food