Wednesday 21 December 2011

Paleo Lemon Meringue Pie

INGREDIENTS
CRUST
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup ground macadamia nuts1/2 cup ground hazelnuts2 tbsp butter/coconut oil1 egg1/4 tsp salt
Rind of 1 lemon
LEMON FILLING
1 cup lemon juice (around  4 lemons) 
Rind from 4 lemons
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut milk
4tbsp arrowroot flour
5 egg yolks
MERINGUE
5 egg whites
2 tbsp maple syrup


PROCESS
CRUST
1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F)
2. If using whole nuts, grind to a fine flour in a food processor. Personally I like it a little crunchy so I didn't make the nuts too fine
3. Mix in butter, salt, lemon rind and egg
4. Press into pie tin so that it evenly covers the base and sides
5. Bake for 10 minutes
FILLING
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius
2. Place lemon juice, lemon rind and maple syrup in a small pot on the stove on a low heat
3. Mix the coconut milk with the arrowroot and then add to the pot
4. Beat the egg yolks and add to the simmering lemon mixture in the pot. Stir until the lemon mixture thickens up to a Lemon Curd consistency.
5. Let the lemon mixture cool down in the fridge for 1-3hrs and then pour into a pie dish
6. Beat the egg whites with syrup until the soft peaks form. Spread the meringue over the lemon mixture
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned

11 comments:

  1. I have tried this recipe twice now and its delicious! But i cant seem to get it to set enough to be like a pie. It turns out like soup. What is your secret to get it really thick so you can cut it like a pie?

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  2. Hi there - glad you like it :-) When I make it, it is also a little runny - although it is possible to cut into slices once it's chilled. Did you make sure to add the arrowroot powder? Another thing I sometimes do is to add a couple tablespoons of coconut butter (coconut cream concentrate). This solidifies at room temperature and so is great as a thickener. I have also made it with whole eggs before - see the recipe for the lemon squares - you could use the recipe for the topping since these are more solid (http://paleorecipequeen.blogspot.com/2011/12/paleo-lemon-squares.html).
    Hope this works for you!

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  3. Would it help thicken the consistency if the coconut milk was chilled? If its chilled, it separates from all of the extra liquid leaving it more cream like... Just a thought since I have some chilling in the fridge now. I'm hoping to make this for dessert tonight :)

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  4. Yes it would probably help just to use the thick creamy part. Let me know how it works out! :-)

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  5. Made this today. It's delicious!! I used half Meyer lemons, half regular. And reduced the maple syrup in the filling because I like it really tart. I think the key to setting the filling is cooking it slowly on the stovetop until it is very thick and curd-like, constantly stirring. This took a while but was worth it! It was very thick when I spread it in the pie shell.

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    Replies
    1. So glad it turned out great for you Caroline :)

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    2. Thanks! Have you tried it with key limes? I may try that next.

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    3. I haven't tried this particular recipe with key limes but I would imagine it would work great :) Let me know if you do!
      I do have this recipe using limes which is pretty good. It's a raw "cheese-cake" type pie http://paleorecipequeen.blogspot.com/2011/07/paleo-avocado-coconut-key-lime-pie.html Completely different texture etc but a fun alternative and a good way to get some healthy fats into the diet :)

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  7. I am sorry to say but when you make a pie that is as tedious to make as a lemon meringue pie, it ought to turn out a lot better than this one. First, the Lenin custard never did thicken in the pan but I cooked and stirred it so long that it reduced in volume by a lot. I got tired and shoved it in the fridge. When I came back it was nicely thick from chilling and I spooned it into the crust. It was not even 3/4 of an inch deep! And it was very very sour. The meringue went on fine and I baked it. Not long after, I went to serve it up and it was less deep, still. When I cut into it, it was all watery..the lemon custard had liquefied. It tasted okay, if sour, but there was almost no custard at all, and a lot of lemon juice. We ate it from bowls with a glass of milk to neutralize the acidity.

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  8. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just made it today and just ate some. It is quite tart, but I will adjust the sweetness next time bit set up really well. The crust was good too. After I took it out of the oven it started "leaking" into my counter. Not sure why. I put it in the refrigerator to hopefully stop the runny-ness. Will definitely make it again and add some liquid Stevia to the lemon. I found this recipe on Pinterest.

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