passion fruit meringue pie

I decided to give the classic ‘lemon meringue pie’ a repackaging job, deconstruct it a bit, and serve it in individual glasses. I also used granadilla (passion fruit) curd instead of lemon curd which is soft and unctuous, and better suited dolloped into this layered dessert.

This no-bake decadent dessert is very simple to assemble once you have the three components ready. If you are able to buy really good quality ready-made curd, this becomes all the more easy to make.

1. Passion fruit / granadilla curd:

You can find my recipe to make the curd here, or can just as easily make it with lemon curd if you prefer.

2. Biscuit base:

The amount of biscuit crumble you will need will depend on how many desserts you are making and what size your serving glasses are. You can work on a ratio of about 50g of melted butter to 100g (half a packet) of Marie biscuits (tea biscuits). You just want the butter to hold the crushed biscuits together.

Melt the butter in a the microwave briefly and mix with the biscuit crumbs until they start to clump.

3. Italian meringue topping:

As this is a no bake meringue ‘pie’, I opted to use an Italian meringue as the egg white gets partially cooked resulting in lovely firm white peaks. Perfect for this dessert.

• 2 egg whites (free-range)
• 1 cup sugar (200g)
• 1/4 cup water (4T)
• 1t vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff peaks. In a small pot heat the water and the sugar and bring it to the boil. When the sugar has dissolved, boil this for about 5 minutes until a thick syrup forms. Brush the sides of the inside of the pot down with a pastry brush and a little water if crystals form. With the beater running, pour the hot sugar syrup into the beaten egg white very slowly in a thin stream. Continue to mix until you have a firm meringue texture. Stir through the vanilla extract.

To assemble the dessert, add enough biscuit crumb mix to cover the base of your glass. Press down using the back of a muddle or any flat kitchen utensil.

Carefully spoon in the layer of chilled granadilla or lemon curd.

Decant the meringue into a piping bag with a smooth nozzle and pipe a swirl on top. I ran my blow torch lightly over the top to give it a lovely golden caremlised touch.

This is a very decadent dessert, so my suggestion would be to make fairly small servings. This can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge. I quite like  it served at room temperature.

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