Mile-High Lemon Blueberry Meringue Pie

The tartness of a lemon curd paired with the melt-in-your-mouth sweetness of a pillowy meringue is a tried and true flavour combination. But throw in a layer of luscious blueberry pie filling, a blueberry-flavoured meringue and decorative sugared blueberries, and the traditional lemon meringue pie is elevated to “mile-high” levels.

The Mile-High Lemon Blueberry Meringue Pie was Amanda’s Signature Bake, a tribute to a Prince Edward Island staple dessert and a worthy entry during Pie and Tart Week in Season 5 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Mile-High Lemon Blueberry Meringue Pie

By Amanda Muirhead

Ingredients

Pastry:

• 2¾ cups (391 g) all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup (227 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ¼ cup cold water
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp 35% cream

Blueberry Filling:

• 3 cups (420 g) frozen wild blueberries
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp blueberry juice
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Lemon Filling:

• 1¼ cup (248 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (37 g) cornstarch
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp lemon zest
• 1¼ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 5 egg yolks
• ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter

Blueberry Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• ¾ cup (149 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup wild blueberry juice
• 2 tbsp freeze-dried blueberry powder
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp salt

Plain Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ⅛ tsp salt

Sugared Blueberries

• 1 egg white
• ½ cup (75 g) fresh blueberries
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

Preparation

Pastry:
Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the oil and blend on low speed until combined. Add the butter and mix until the dough is crumbly with small pieces of butter still visible. Stir in the water and lemon juice.

Press the dough together and gently fold it over a few times until it comes together. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Whisk together the egg and cream to make an egg wash and set it aside.

Roll the dough to ⅛-inch thick and press it into a 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim the edges. Use small cookie cutters or a knife to cut the excess dough into small decorative shapes. Refrigerate the pie shell for 30 minutes. Place the decorative dough pieces on a small parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate them until ready to use.

Heat the oven to 425 F. Dock the crust all over with a fork and line it with parchment. Fill it with pie weights, dried beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes before removing the pie weights and parchment. 

Brush the crust with the egg wash, reserving the excess egg wash for later use, and dock it again. Use foil to cover the edges of the pie, return it to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 F and bake until golden, 10 to 20 minutes.

Brush the decorative dough pieces lightly with egg wash and bake them at 375 F until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Blueberry Filling:
Add the blueberries, sugar and blueberry juice to a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to purée the mixture. Return the saucepan to medium-low heat.

Mix together the cornstarch and lemon juice. Whisk it into the blueberry purée and cook the mixture until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool.

Lemon Filling:
Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the lemon zest,  juice and water. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

Place the egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl and whisk to break them up. Slowly add in the lemon juice mixture, whisking constantly. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan. Cook it over medium heat for 2 more minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter until fully combined. Pour the lemon filling into the baked pie crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Gently top the lemon filling with the cooled blueberry filling. Refrigerate the pie for 3 hours or until set.

Blueberry Meringue:
While the fillings set, prepare the meringues. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium-high to soft peaks.

Cook the sugar and blueberry juice together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer reads 250 F. With the mixer on medium-high, slowly add the sugar mixture to the egg whites. Add the freeze-dried blueberry powder, vanilla bean paste, cream of tartar and salt. Whip to stiff peaks. 

Plain Meringue:
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium-high to soft peaks.

Cook the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer reads 250 F. With the stand mixer on medium-high, slowly add the sugar mixture to the egg whites. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Whip to stiff peaks.

Sugared Blueberries:
Whisk the egg white until foamy. Add the blueberries and toss to coat. Transfer the berries to a small bowl, add the sugar and toss to coat. Set the berries aside to dry.

Garnish:
Transfer both meringues into piping bags fitted with tips of your choosing. Pipe a ring of blueberry meringue around the perimeter of the pie. Pipe a slightly smaller ring of plain meringue on top. Use a kitchen torch to toast the plain meringue.

Top the pie with the sugared blueberries and decorative pastry pieces.

Makes one 9-inch pie