Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Step 1

Place the flour in a food processor along with the salt and sugar. Pulse a few times to combine.

Step 2

Add the coconut oil and pulse again to combine. The flour should begin to clump together slightly in a sandy texture but will be too dry to form a ball of dough.

Step 3

While the processor is running, add the water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just about holds together. Try not to overhydrate the dough. Remove the dough from the processor, wrap in clingfilm or ecowrap and pop in the fridge for a good half hour.

Step 4

Once cool, take the dough out of the fridge and dust a clean surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a circle large enough to overlap your pie tin by a good inch and a half. Lay the pastry over a rolling pin and gently lower it onto the pie tin. Push gently into place making sure there are no air bubbles and crimp the sides. Wrap and refrigerate for another 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180c.

Step 5

Once the Pie Crust is chilled, remove it from the fridge. Prick the base with a fork and line the crust with baking parchment. Fill with baking beads and then cover the edges of the crust with tinfoil to keep them from burning.

Step 6

Bake for 10-15 minutes. If you can, peel under the Pie weights to check that the base is cooked. If it needs an extra 5 minutes then go ahead, if not, remove and allow to cool fully.

Step 7

Combine all the ingredients besides the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium/low heat. Whisk constantly while the temperature raises. If you leave it for too long, the corn flour will curdle or burn, and that’s not good. After about 5 minutes you’ll notice the mixture start to thicken. Once thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and stir in the vegan butter. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

Step 8

Place the aquafaba in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Switch to high speed for around 2 minutes, until the aquafaba is thick and foamy. Turn the speed to low, add the remaining ingredients and gradually turn the speed back up to full for around 5-8 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.

Step 9

Pour the cooled curd into the cooled pie crust. Don’t fill all the way up - leave a bit of space for the meringue. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, spoon the meringue onto the curd, piled high in the centre. Using a kitchen blow torch, blast the peaks of the meringue until they’re lightly browned. If you don’t have a blow torch, place it under a grill on full temperature, rotating frequently and watching constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Step 10

Serve straight away - (the meringue will droop slightly after a few hours but if stored in the fridge it’ll be safe to eat for a few days).