Lemon Meringue Pies

This one is for all the lemon lovers out there! These lemon meringue pies are something special. You’ll love the strong taste of lemon that at the same time is intensely sweet and sour. And it goes so well with the fluffy and airy meringue!

You need:

Crust:

• 1 ¼ cups ground almonds
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 tbsp. flaxseed
• 1 tsp Summer Day Naturals’ Vanilla Bean Powder
• ¼ cup pure butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 egg

Filling:

• ½ cup pure butter
• Zest from 3 lemons
• 1 tsp Summer Day Naturals’ Vanilla Bean Powder
• 1 ½ cups honey or palm sugar
• 4 eggs
• Juice from 3 lemons, approximately ½ cup of juice
• A pinch salt

Meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• A pinch sea salt
• 6 tbsp. honey

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. For the crust: combine ground almond, coconut flour, flaxseed and vanilla bean powder in a bowl. Add in the butter and honey. Use a wooden spoon to incorporate the dry mixture into the butter and honey. Lastly add the egg to bind the crust together. It should be slightly tacky. Let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.*
3. For the filling: Beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the lemon zest and beat until well mixed. Next add the honey in 3 stages, ½ cup at a time, mixing after each addition. If using palm sugar, you can mix them in one shot. Next, add in the eggs one by one. Again, mix well after adding each egg. This is to prevent the mixture from splitting. Lastly add the lemon juice and the salt. Give it one last stir and transfer into a pot.
4. Over a low heat, cook the lemon curd for 20-25 minutes, stirring all the while until it is very thick. The mixture will appear curdled at first, but it will become smooth over time. Keep stirring to prevent burning or overcooking the lemon curd. Let cool.**
5. Assembly: flatten the crust dough into a big pie tin or mini pie tins using your hands. Poke holes on the base of the crust using a fork, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.***
6. Meanwhile make the meringue: in a clean metal bowl, pour in the egg whites and add salt. Whisk until thick and foamy. Drizzle in the honey and continue whisking until stiff.
7. When the crust is done, spread the lemon curd on it. You can put as little or as much as you like. Top with the meringue (lots of it). Place it back in the oven for 15 minutes, until the meringue is brown all over. You can also blowtorch the meringue for the torched look.

* You can make the crust and the lemon curd ahead of time. The lemon curd will keep for a long time (about 2 weeks), if kept refrigerated. The crust you can make up to 2 days in advance. The meringue has to be made fresh though.

** The curd will be brownish color because of the honey/palm sugar.

*** When the pies are done, remove them from the mold as soon as it is cool enough to handle. Leave it too long and it’ll be difficult to remove. The crust will be a little flimsy, not hard, so be careful when handling your pie! They break pretty easily if you hold them the wrong way.

Enjoy!