Description
Vegan Cranberry Meringue Pie with a tart cranberry curd filling infused with fresh citrus zest, encased in a flaky, buttery vegan pie crust. Topped with a sweet Italian vegan meringue that’s torched to a golden finish. Perfectly eggless and dairy-free, ideal for preparing ahead and impressing your guests with a festive dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 1 batch vegan pie crust (see notes)
Cranberry Curd Filling
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 400 g (4 cups) fresh cranberries
- 270 ml (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 80 ml (â…“ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 80 ml (â…“ cup) non-dairy milk
- 50 g (5 tablespoons) cornstarch
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan butter
Meringue Topping
- 1 batch vegan Italian meringue (made from aquafaba)
Instructions
- Prepare Pie Crust and Aquafaba: Up to 2 days in advance, make the vegan pie crust dough and chill it wrapped in plastic. Also reduce the aquafaba needed for the vegan Italian meringue and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare Pie Tin: Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with oil or vegan butter, dust with flour, and tap off excess. Optionally, line the base with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Roll Out Pie Crust: Preheat oven to fan 190°C (374°F) or conventional 210°C (410°F). Roll chilled dough to â…›-inch thickness, making sure it’s about an inch larger than the pie pan diameter. Carefully transfer the dough into the pan and press into the sides. Trim excess, press edges with a fork, and pierce the base with a fork to prevent bubbling.
- Blind Bake Crust: Place a piece of parchment paper on the dough and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, then bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool to room temperature.
- Make Cranberry Filling: In a saucepan, rub orange and lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips until moist. Add cranberries, orange and lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until cranberries burst and soften.
- Prepare Cornstarch Slurry: Whisk cornstarch with non-dairy milk in a small bowl and set aside.
- Puree Filling: Remove cinnamon stick and star anise from cranberry mixture. Blend the mixture until smooth, then strain through a fine sieve back into the saucepan.
- Thicken Filling: Stir cornstarch slurry into cranberry puree and cook for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in vegan butter until smooth. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Assemble Pie: Pour cranberry curd into cooled pie crust. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight until fully set.
- Prepare Meringue Topping: Make vegan Italian meringue from aquafaba according to your recipe. Spoon or pipe the meringue atop the set pie evenly.
- Finish: Using a kitchen blow torch, lightly brown the meringue topping until golden. Serve immediately.
Notes
- The pie crust recipe yields extra dough; use about ¾ for this pie and freeze the remainder for later use or adjust quantities to make less.
- Frozen cranberries can replace fresh ones; no need to defrost prior to use.
