Vegan lemon meringue pie

I think I may have reached the pinnacle of my baking adventures. Right now, I can't think of anything more magical than this lemon meringue pie. It has the requisite crisp base, zesty set centre, and fluffy - so fluffy! - meringue topping. And it is vegan. I wasn't confident going in, but can now say that meringue without eggs really is possible!

I knew I wanted to make a lemon meringue pie for Vegan MoFo, but this wasn't one of the dishes I prepared ahead of time. In fact, I only made it this week. I was worried it wouldn't work, or that I'd be up all night repeating my efforts if the first pie failed.

In the end, it was oddly easy. I made the meringue topping with egg replacer - a hefty 1/3 cup of it - which was whipped for 5 minutes with water while gradually adding sugar. In other words, it was just like making regular meringue. The same was true for the rest of the pie. There is a lot of sugar and the recipe is a little bit time consuming, but the end result is very much worth it. 

For those of you who can remember what we do and don't have in our kitchen, last week I didn't have electric beaters but now I do. This doesn't signal the arrival of our shipment (although it is looking positive for that coming in just over a week). Instead, I remembered that I didn't ship my beaters. I donated them to my sister. Having remembered that, I hastily bought a new set just in time to make this.

It has been a while since I've had lemon meringue pie, but as far as I can recall, this tastes like the non-vegan versions. My 'meringue' component didn't brown on top as egg versions do, and perhaps tasted a little bit different to meringue made with eggs, but you would have to pay a lot of attention to notice. Perhaps the best accolade is that the pie was well received by Mr Bite, who is a big lemon meringue pie fan.

All in all, I am calling this a success and venturing a confident assertion that I'll be making it again.

Vegan lemon meringue pie

A truly magical dessert

Vegan; could be gluten free if you use gluten free flour

Makes 1 pie

Allow time for the lemon filling to set before making the meringue topping, about 2 hours

Author: Bite-Sized Thoughts, adapted from a vegan lemon meringue pie recipe on Guardian Witness

Print recipe

Stage 1 - the pie base

Ingredients

1 cup / 230g plain flour

1/2 cup / 120g non-dairy spread

1 tbsp sugar

Pinch salt

Dash of cold water, as needed to bring the dough together

Method

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, and then rub in the non-dairy spread with your fingers. Add a drizzle of water to bring the dough together, if needed. Roll the dough out to 1-2cm (1/2 inch) thick and arrange in the bottom of a pie tin. Put in the fridge while you heat your oven to 200'C (400'F).

When the oven is ready, prick the pastry at the bottom of the pie tin, and then cover the pastry with baking paper. Fill with enough baking beans, nuts or seeds to hold the paper down. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until just firm and golden.

Set aside while you make the lemon filling.

Stage 2 - the lemon filling

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups (300g) caster sugar

1/2 cup (55g) corn flour

1/4 teaspoon vegan gelatin or agar powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

1 cup water

Zest of 2 lemons (approximately 1-1/2 tbsp)

Juice of 4 lemons (approximately 3/4 cup)

Method

Put all ingredients in a non-stick saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. Once boiling, stir constantly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and very difficult to stir. Pour into the prepared pie base and allow to cool for at least 2 hours (I left mine to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature and then 1-1/2 hours in the fridge).

Stage 3 - the meringue topping

Ingredients

1/3 cup (5 tbsp + 1 tsp) egg replacer (I used the Orgran brand, which is available in the UK and Australia; the Guardian recipe linked to above used the Ener-G brand)

2/3 cup (167ml) ice cold water

3/4 cup (180g) caster sugar

Method

Place the egg replacer and water in a clean mixing bowl and stir to combine. Beat with electric mixers for 5 minutes on high speed, adding the sugar gradually as you go. The mixture is ready when it has formed soft peaks and look like meringue. If you have a stand mixer that does the beating for you, this would be a good time to use it!

Spoon meringue over the lemon filling, covering the base, and then add dollops in heaps around the centre of the pie to form discrete peaks.

Let the pie stand for approximately 15 minutes, while you heat your oven to 100'C (210'F). Bake for 30 minutes until the meringue topping is just crisp on the surface. 

Best served chilled, although you may not be able to wait for it to fully cool before trying some!

Are you a lemon meringue pie fan? Or do you have much experience with vegan meringue?

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This post is part of my participation in the 2014 Vegan Month of Food. This week I have been focusing on dessert options. I'm also sending this recipe to Healthy Vegan Friday.

Previous 2014 Vegan MoFo posts:
Breakfasts-                                                          Snacks-
#1 - Vegan French toast                                                                      #6 - Chocolate coated banana chips
#2 - Apple and strawberry muesli                                                   #7 - Barbecue inspired nori snacks
#3 - Mango coconut buckwheat breakfast pudding                    #8 - Carob latte
#4 - Tips for a vegan breakfast on the go                                      #9 - Tide Tables Café
#5 - Chickpea pancakes with spicy kale and mango                  #10 - Dark chocolate and espresso almonds

Main meal options-                                         Desserts-
#11 - Moroccan tagine                                                                        #16 - Liquorice cake

#12 - Teriyaki tofu                                                                              #17 - Lemon-tahini potato fudge

#13 - Sesame crusted carrot noodles                                              #18 - Fruity chocolate marshmallow dessert 

#14 - Vegan pizza from Pizza Express and Zizzi                          #19 - Montezuma's chocolate & cafe, Kingston

#15 - Injera with spiced red lentils

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