Mel's Kitchen: Passion PFHruit Meringue Pie Recipe

No soggy bottoms or bitterness with this Valentine’s twist on a classic meringue pie made with PF Carb Only Drink Mix...

Ingredients

Ingredients for 12 servings...

For the pastry:

• 175g Plain/ all-purpose flour
• 100g Cold butter (cut into small pieces)
• 1 tbsp Icing Sugar or PF Carb Only Drink Mix
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 tbsp Cold Water (if required)

For the filling

• 15 Passion Fruits (pulp) (plus Orange Juice) OR ~225ml Passion Fruit Coulis
• 6 tbsp Cornflour
• 210g PF Carb Only Drink Mix
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 300ml Cold Water

For the meringue

• 210g (~ 7 egg whites) Egg White
• 200g PF Carb Only Drink Mix
• 200g Caster Sugar

Method

Step 1: For the pastry, put the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk (save the white for the meringue) and 1 tbsp cold water into a food processor. Pulse until the mix starts to bind – make sure the mix is not overworked.

Step 2: Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, gather together until smooth, then roll out and line a 23 x 2.5cm loose-bottom fluted flan tin. Trim and neaten the edges. Press pastry into the flutes. The pastry is quite rich, so don’t worry if it cracks, just press it back together. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, shiny side down, and chill for 30 mins-1 hr (or overnight).

Step 3: Put a baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the pastry case ‘blind’ (filled with dry beans) for 15 mins, then remove the foil and bake a further 5-8 mins until the pastry is pale golden and cooked. Set aside. Can be done a day ahead. Or you could use shop-bought shortcrust pastry 😬

Step 4: While the pastry bakes, prepare the filling. If using the real deal, cut the passion fruit in half, then scoop the pulp into a measuring jug. Make it up to 225ml with the OJ if need be…or just use Passion Fruit Coulis! Mix the cornflour and PF Carb Only Drink Mix in a medium saucepan. Then gradually stir in 300ml cold water followed by the passion fruit/ coulis. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the pan off the heat and whisk the yolks (again, save the egg whites for the meringue) into the hot mixture. Allow to cool.

Step 5: Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Once cooled slightly, spread the passion fruit filling evenly over the pastry case, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

Step 6: To make the meringue, bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer. Combine the egg whites, sugar and PF Carb Only Drink Mix in a metal or glass bowl and place over the pan making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Gently whisk until the sugar/powder has dissolved and there are no lumps, or a temperature probe reads 80°C (about 8 minutes…to make sure that the eggs are ‘pasteurised’). The mixture should have increased slightly in volume and look opaque and frothy.

Step 7: Remove the bowl from the heat and either transfer to a stand mixer with whisk attachment or use an electric whisk on medium setting to whip up the egg whites into a thick, glossy Swiss meringue.

Step 8: Spoon the meringue onto the top of the cooled lemon pie, and smooth out using an offset spatula.

Step 9: Torch using a blowtorch to toast the meringue. 🔥

Nutritional Information

• Total Calories: 409kcal
• Total Fat: 10g
• Total Carb: 74g (of which sugars: 34g)
• Protein: 5g