Vegan Pineapple Meringue Pie

Sweet pastry with a pineapple curd filling, topped with aquafaba meringue

📝 Ingredients

• 230 g Plain flour
• 1 tbsp Caster sugar
• 100 g Dairy free butter
• 1-2 tbsp Water
• 325 ml Pineapple juice
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 200 g Caster sugar
• 80 g Cornflour
• 50 ml Almond milk (or other dairy free milk)
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• 200 g Caster sugar
• 55 ml Water
• Water from 400g can of chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum or Cream of Tartar
• 1 tsp Vanilla

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1To make the pastry use a food processor to whizz the dairy free butter, sugar and flour together. Or you can do this by hand in a bowl by rubbing the butter into the plain flour and caster sugar until it resembles bread crumbs
2. 2Add the water and pulse the food processor until it comes together into a dough. You may not need all the water so add it slowly. Again if you're doing this by hand, pour the water into the bowl slowly and mix with a spoon until it comes together into a dough
3. 3Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to an hour if it's a hot day
4. 4Pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6
5. 5Roll the pastry out onto cling film, then lift it up and line the 9" loose bottom pie tin, trimming off the edges
6. 6Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Then using baking paper (scrunch it up first for a better fit) line the pastry and pour in baking beans
7. 7Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and baking beans and bake it for 12-15 minutes until fully baked and not raw on the bottom at all. Leave to cool
8. 8For the pineapple curd, put the pineapple juice, sugar, cornflour, almond milk and coconut milk into a pan and warm it on a low heat until the sugar dissolves
9. 9Bring it up to a simmer and keep stirring, eventually it will thicken into a curd. Add the turmeric and stir it in. Put the curd into a bowl and let it cool down for 10 minutes
10. 10Pour the curd into the pastry base, smooth it out, then put it in the fridge to set
11. 11For the meringue start by whisking up the chickpea water in a stand mixer with the xanthan gum or cream of tartar
12. 12To make the sugar syrup put caster sugar and water in a pan and let it come to the boil with the lid on. If you notice any sugar crystallising around the edges of the pan, brush them away with a wet pastry brush. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature and when it reaches 115C/240°F it's ready
13. 13Once the chickpea water is at a stiff peak stage, keep the mixer running whilst pouring the sugar syrup in, make sure it doesn't hit the side of the bowl. Keep the mixture running for another 5 minutes until the meringue is thick and glossy
14. 14Pipe or spread the meringue over the curd
15. 15Use a kitchen blowtorch to brown the meringue all over
16. 16Serve immediately and store leftovers in the fridge for 2 days