Blood Orange Butterscotch Meringue Pie8 servings 2 hours Adapted from Melissa Clark's Original Recipe on cooking.nytimes.com; Photo by Alex Lvrs |
Ingredients for Crust:
- All-purpose flour, for rolling out dough
- Dough for 1 (9-inch) pie
Method for the Crust:
- Roll pie dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle, about ⅛-inch thick, using a lightly floured rolling pin.
- Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not a deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together.
- Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Wrap crust well if keeping in the freezer for up to a month.
- Heat oven to 425°F.
- Line chilled crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried rice. Bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350°F, and bake until pale golden, 10-16 minutes longer.
- Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling.
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 1 tsp. The Perfect Purée Orange Zest, thawed
- 1 cup of The Perfect Purée Orange Concentrate, thawed (dilute with 2 1/3 cups water)
- egg yolks (save whites for the meringue)
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup / 133 g. granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. / 30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp. / 85 g. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Method for the Filling:
- In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar.
- Stir in the blood orange mixture, lemon juice, Orange Zest and salt.
- Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7-9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180°F.
- Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18-40 minutes. (Chef’s note: Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don’t give up: The curd will eventually set.)
- Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400°F for baking the meringue.
Ingredients for the Meringue:
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 packed cup / 210 g. light brown sugar
- ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
Method for the Meringue:
- As the filling bakes, make the meringue. Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt.
- Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm (160°F on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5-7 minutes.
- Remove bowl from heat.
- Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Spread the meringue over the hot filling, ensuring it meets the crust’s edges. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned about 8-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely, and top with freshly grated orange zest before serving.