These are simply divine! No other description will suffice. A twist on an old favourite from my childhood – lemon meringue pie, but brought into the 21st century, de-glutenised and made so much better.
Ok…. I made them and maybe I am biased (just a tiny bit) but really, they are one of the best desserts I have ever made. Even my husband (who is usually a trifle man) called them ‘one of my triumphs’. High praise indeed!
The raspberry filling is soft, moussey, rich with raspberry, delightfully tangy with a wonderful hint of lime and is the most beautiful colour! The pastry is crisp, deep with the pistachio, slightly tart with the lime zest (which smells totally amazing and hits you instantly as you open the oven door) but sweetly balanced with caramelly brown sugar. And all this is topped with a light, pillowy, sugar-sweet meringue – crisp on the outside and oh so melt-in-the-mouth on the inside.
Have I convinced you yet? This really is one to try! Savour every mouthful….. it will be gone way too soon………..
Sadly, it was an absolute pig to photograph and I don’t think the pictures do it justice. Maybe it is the time of year and the poor light. More likely it was my impatience in desperately wanting to eat it as quickly as possible. Either way, I hope they give you enough of a sense of just how delicious this is.
Because of the significant and varied use of egg in this recipe (which is this month’s theme), I have decided to share it as my second offering to January’s Tea Time Treats Challenge hosted by Janie over at Hedge Combers and Karen at Lavender & Lovage.
There are no less than 4 eggs in this recipe – all large and all free range. One whole egg is used in the pastry to help it bind. 3 egg yolks add richness to the filling and help it to set. And the 3 remaining whites are whipped furiously to make that delicious meringue which tops the pie and hides the magic within!
Decadent, glorious………. gone! Need I say more?
Raspberry Meringue Pie with Lime & Pistachio Pastry (makes one large or several smaller pies)
Lime & Pistachio Pastry
Ingredients
Method
- Get ready your pie tin(s).
- Weigh and mix the flours, ground pistachio, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl, making sure any lumps are completely broken down.
- Rub the butter into the flour mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add and stir in the lime zest and sugar.
- Lightly beat the egg with the water and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a flat knife until it comes together as a dough.
- Dust your hands with corn flour and gently knead the dough to ensure it is evenly blended.
- Using a floured surface and a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 2mm.
- Line the pie tins with the pastry straight away (do not chill) and carefully trim the edges with a sharp knife.
- Now chill the pastry in the fridge for about half an hour to allow to rest.
- Whilst chilling, pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas 6.
- Line the pastry cases with baking paper and fill with baking beans.
- Blind bake for 10 minutes with the baking beans and then remove the beans and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes until the pastry is golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Once cold, remove the pastry cases from the tins.
Raspberry Filling
Ingredients
Method
- Puree the raspberries with the lime juice in a liquidizer and then sieve to remove the pips. You should now have about 460 ml puree.
- Mix the raspberry puree with the sugar in a large saucepan.
- Mix the corn flour with a little water in a small bowl to make a paste and then stir this into the raspberry-sugar liquid.
- Heat gently, stirring continually until the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to stir over a low heat for about a minute until the mixture thickens.
- Remove from the heat and cool very slightly.
- Beat in the egg yolks one at a time using an electric whisk and then beat in the butter.
- Spoon the filling into the pastry cases and smooth the surface.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the filling to set.
Meringue Topping
Ingredients
Method
- Whilst you are making the meringue, pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 and place the baking tray that you intend to cook the pies on in the oven to heat up.
- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
- Gradually add the sugar a little at a time continuing to whisk until the meringue has reached a stiff, glossy appearance.
- Spread and pile the meringue onto the raspberry tarts, making sure it reaches the edges to seal.
- Carefully remove the hot baking tray from the oven and place the tarts onto it.
- Bake for about 20 minutes in the middle of the oven until the meringue surface is golden brown and crisp. Check frequently to make sure it is not burning and turn the oven down slightly if you are concerned.
- Eat warm or cold. Delicious with cream!
Dear Kate, I've made this recipe over the weekend for my husbands birthday party, it was delicious. Great filling with the touch of lime and very nice pastry. I added a little bit of red food colouring to the meringue, so it became pink. Very nice in combination with de darker pink of the raspberry filling. I'll definately make this pie again. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Fantastic Janka. You're welcome. I am so pleased you liked it. It is one of my favourites!
I imagine it was so pretty with a touch of pink in the meringue. I will have to try that myself! x
Wow this is gorgeous, I love how when you cut it open you get the bright red filling.
Well thank you! I know what you mean….. it is one of my favourite colours and edible too!!
haha "a pig to photograph" that made me laugh but it looks beautiful! Great colours and the pistachio pastry sounds delicious 🙂
Thanks Aimee. Laugh you might……. I was so unhappy with the first set of pics (about 50 of them), I had to wait until there was a break in the clouds and whizz the one remaining pie into the garden! Fortunately I hadn't devoured the lot already!
Hole Schmoly! Not only does that look utterly irresistible, your photos definitely do it justice as do you words! My mouth was watering the entire time I read your post!
Janie x
PS Thanks for taking the time to link up a second recipe in this months Tea Time Treats x
Aaaawww thanks Janie! I had to enter it…. it was too good to waste!
Wow they look amazing and what a colour! It looks almost like raspberry sorbet. Love the sound of the pastry too.
Thanks Katie. I've never added lime to pastry before, but it really worked….. especially combined with the pistachio!