70 Years Later, This Is Still the Best Summer Dessert - WSJ

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Food & Drink

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Make the crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, combine crushed saltines, sugar and melted butter, and mix until uniform. Press dough evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan to form a crust.Bake crust at 400 degrees until lightly golden, 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat egg whites and vinegar to soft peaks. Add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.Spoon filling into pie shell and smooth the top. Bake at 325 degrees until meringue turns a golden brown, 40-50 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before preparing topping. Make the topping: Thoroughly drain the crushed pineapple, spread it on a bed of paper towels and further pat dry. It is paramount that the pineapple is as dry as possible. Evenly spread pineapple over cooled meringue.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, combine heavy cream, sugar, and cream of tartar. Begin whisking slowly, then increase to high speed. Whip until smooth, stiff peaks form, but don’t mix beyond this point.Evenly dollop whipped cream over pineapple-laden meringue, spreading carefully so as to not mix pineapple with cream. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.