Orange Meringue Pie
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
A sunny twist on the lemon classic: a tangy fresh orange curd in a crisp shell under a billowing, golden Swiss meringue.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
Unlock all flavours with Premium
This flavour is part of Premium. You can see the ingredients and nutrition; the quantities and the full method are for members.
Premium: $4.99/month or $39.99/year.
Equipment
- 23 cm pie dish (about 4 cm deep)
- rolling pin
- baking paper and baking beans
- mixing bowls
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water
- instant-read thermometer
- electric hand mixer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 459 kcal |
| Protein | 5.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 68.4 g |
| of which sugars | 44.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 44.4 g |
| Fat | 18.8 g |
| of which saturates | 11.3 g |
| Fibre | 0.8 g |
| Salt | 0.52 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.2 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 8 servings
Pastry
- 180 g plain flour
- 12 g caster sugar about 1 tbsp
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt about ½ tsp
- 120 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 tbsp ice-cold water plus 1 tbsp more if needed
Orange filling
- 500 ml freshly squeezed orange juice from about 6 oranges
- 2 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 200 g caster sugar
- 42 g cornflour
- 1 g fine sea salt or table salt a pinch
- 3 large egg yolks
- 45 g unsalted butter
Meringue
- 3 large egg whites
- 100 g caster sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1
Prepare the pastry. Mix the flour, sugar and salt, rub in the butter until it resembles rough breadcrumbs, then add enough iced water to form a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- 2
Bake the shell. Line the dish with the rolled-out dough, crimp the rim and chill 30 minutes. Bake at 190 °C (170 °C fan) under paper and beans for 20 minutes, then bare for 10-12 minutes until golden. Turn the oven down to 180 °C (160 °C fan).
- 3
Cook the orange curd. Whisk the sugar, cornflour and salt in the saucepan, then whisk in the orange juice, lemon juice and zest. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, whisking, and let it bubble for 1 minute until thick and translucent. Whisk a ladleful into the yolks to warm them, pour back into the pan and cook, still whisking, for 1 minute more (well above 71 °C). Beat in the butter, then pour the hot filling into the baked shell; it needs to be hot when the meringue goes on so the two bond.
- 4
Make a Swiss meringue. Whisk the whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl over barely simmering water until the sugar dissolves and the mix reaches 71 °C, which makes the whites safe to eat. Take off the heat and beat with the hand mixer for 4-5 minutes, adding the vanilla, until stiff, glossy and cooled.
- 5
Top and bake. Spread the meringue over the hot filling, pushing it right onto the pastry rim to seal so it does not shrink or weep, and pull it up into peaks. Bake 12-15 minutes until the peaks are golden.
- 6
Cool. Let the pie cool on a rack for 1 hour, then chill for about 3 hours so the filling sets cleanly for slicing.
Storage
Best eaten on the day. Leftovers keep, uncovered, in the fridge for 1 day; the meringue may bead slightly.
