I have finally decided to give it a try and make a pie. As you may have read in my previous posts, pies are not my specialty… I didn’t grow up in the United States and my grandma didn’t bake pies, so I never learned how to make them. The first time I saw a pie was in a Tom and Jerry cartoon when I was a kid. I wasn’t sure what it was, I knew it was some kind of desert that you can throw in a person’s face! 😀

The first time I ever tried a pie was when I came to live in the United States. Since then, I’ve made many deserts, but never a good old, classic pie. It took me quite some time to work up the courage to make one and here it is:

Red Currant Meringue Pie

[Printable recipe]

Crust:

• 1 ½ cup (200 g) flour
• 1 stick (115 g) butter
• 2/3 cup (80 g) powdered sugar
• 0.7 oz (20 g) ground almonds
• 1 egg yolk
• A pinch of salt

+  wax or parchment paper (to fit the bottom of the pie dish), dry beans or chick peas

Pie Filling:

• 10 oz (285 g) red currants
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup (100 g) powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites (weighed)
• Sugar (double weight of the egg withes weight)*

* 1 measure of egg whites = 2 measures of sugar

Preparation:

1. For the crust combine flour, powder sugar, ground almonds and a pinch of salt. Add sliced butter and work it into flour, add the egg yolk. Mix and knead until well combined. Form a dough ball, wrap in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Prepare a pie dish, grease it well with butter. Heat the oven to  355 F (180 C).
3. On a floured surface roll out the dough in a circle to fit the pie dish. With the help of the rolling pin transfer the dough from the working surface to the dish, poke the bottom few times with a fork, trim the dough evenly and crimp the edges.
4. Place the wax paper on the bottom, place the dry chick peas on the top of it. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (don’t let it brown).
5. Remove the pie crust from the oven, cool for just a few minutes, then remove chick peas and the wax paper.
6. Place the washed red currants on the top of the crust.
7. In a bowl mix together eggs, powder sugar, heavy cream and corn starch until smooth. Pour over red currants and bake for another 20-25 minutes until pie sets. If desired place a ring of aluminum foil over the edges of the pie to prevent burning.
8. While the pie is baking, weigh the egg whites. Your sugar amount will depend on the weight of the egg whites (egg whites 1 measure = sugar 2 measures).
9. Prepare the meringue: combine egg whites and sugar and mix together until combined using a whisk. Heat it lightly over a hot water dish (bain marie) about 3 minutes mixing constantly. Don’t let the water boil. Transfer the mixture into a mixer bowl and mix on high speed for about 10 minutes or until mixture becomes very shiny and firm.
10. Place the meringue in a cake frosting bag and decorate the pie top. Place in the oven to 250 F (120 C) for 5 minutes and then lower to 200 F (95 C)  for another 10 minutes until nice crust forms.
11. Cool completely and enjoy!

Bon Appetite!