Blackberry Meringue Pie

When people ask, "What kind of pie do you like?", lemon meringue pie is going to be mentioned at least a million times. I mean, it's a classic. Right up there with apple pie and pecan pie. 

So I decided to take a classic and put a fruity spin on it. 

It's still tart from a bit of lemon and has mile high fluffy meringue BUT I added some blackberry puree for an entirely new flavor sensation.

It's crazy good (if I do say so myself). 

Give it a try... see for yourself! We would love to hear what you think! You can easily double the recipe to make 2 pies... in case you need to taste test one before bringing it to your next gathering!

Blackberry Meringue Pie

Ingredients

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp cornstarch

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 

1/2 cup blackberry puree

2 Tbsp butter

4 egg yolks

1 8 inch, baked pie crust

Meringue

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

6 Tbsp sugar

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in water, lemon juice, and blackberry puree. 

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in the butter and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Gradually whisk in about 3/4 cup of the hot mixture (do this slowly to temper the eggs so they don't curdle). Whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot mixture. Place back over medium heat and continue stirring until mixture returns to a boil and is thickened. Remove from heat.

Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust.

Set aside while you prepare meringue.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.

Pile meringue on top of pie.

Bake at 350 until meringue is golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it - it can go from golden to burnt in a short time!

Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Once it is room temp you can place it in the fridge to chill.

You can serve it room temp but it won't be quite set up. It needs to chill for a couple of hours, up to overnight, to be fully set.

The color is very vibrant. Soooo purdy. 

You definitely need to taste this to understand how different it is. 

It's one of those things that confuses your taste buds for a second. In a good way, of course!

I'm thinking this would be perfect for a romantic Valentine's dinner dessert OR at Christmas.

A couple of things - I used one lemon to get the 1/4 cup of lemon juice. If you get a bit more from your lemon - throw it in there too - you can always add a little less water to offset. 

For the 1/2 cup blackberry puree - use one heaping cup full of blackberries and press them through a strainer. That should yield about 1/2 cup of puree. 

For something different, if you are not a huge fan of meringue, you could also top this pie with whipped cream.