Pumpkin Meringue Pie

The time of Thanksgiving is upon us. For me, that means two things: first one is – I get a day off. The second one: I get to make dessert and have a great homemade dinner with my fiancé Léa. So, for this year’s dinner, I chose to make a pumpkin pie (for the first time ever). Being a huge fan of lemon meringue pie, I decided to lift up the humble pumpkin pie to a new level : Pumpkin Meringue Pie Level.

That’s right, this is no ordinary pie, and this is no ordinary day. This is Canadian thanksgiving, eh ?

Canadian vs American Thanksgiving :

Here is the deal. Canadians and Americans both claim that their Thanksgiving is the ”real” one. I landed in Canada almost 10 years ago and this got me really confused. Why does one country celebrate it in October and the other one in November ? I did my research and learned the origin and history of this awesome holiday.

I realized that the whole argument is completely futile. All I know is on Canadian thanksgiving I get a day off, eat pie and spend some time with my loved ones. And on American Thanksgiving, I eat some turkey, and some pie again while watching the Dallas Cowboys game.

So here is what I am thankful for: The existence of two Thanksgivings. And pie.

This is not your usual pumpkin pie:

Let’s talk pie now. The classic pumpkin pie is usually oven baked, and texture of it resembles one of a mousse cake. That’s an awesome pie right there.

However for this one I wanted to make something a little different. So I started by reducing the pumpkin puree with some spices and honey to make this dense pumpkin spice mixture. Once I achieved that consistency I let it cool and mixed it with some whipped cream to lighten it up. And let me tell you this, It Was Phenomenal.

This pumpkin meringue pie’s filling is very close in consistency to that of a classic tiramisu.  And it’s easy to see why; it’s the exact same technique to make that awesome fluffy cream that is the heart and soul a tiramisu.

What you end up with is a fluffy creamy texture that just gets better (More firm and therefore easier to cut) once you let it sit for a few hours in the fridge. It really is divine, Léa went crazy over it.

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Your filling

The cherry on top of the sundae is really that awesome meringue on top of the pie. It’s like marshmallows on your hot chocolate, the icing on top of your cupcake, that nice breeze on a hot summer day … It’s legit.

It takes it pumpkin pie … to Pumpkin Meringue Pie !

Once you burn it with a blow torch, the meringue adopts that stick texture and burnt taste of S’mores.

I’m running out words to tell you how awesome this is. But you know what ? Make it and tell me what you tasted.

Whether it is for Canadian or American Thanksgiving, I hope you will give this recipe a go. As always, feel free to put your own spin on and tell me how it went for you !

Happy Thanksgiving,

Idriss

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4.84 from 6 votes

Pumpkin Meringue Pie

A delicious pumpkin meringue pie !

Course Dessert

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 8

Author Idriss

Ingredients

Pie Dough :

• 200 g of white unbleached organic flour.
• 100 g of cold organic butter.
• 1 Large free range egg.
• 2 Tablespoons of room temperature water.
• 1 Tablespoon of honey.

Vegan Pastry Dough:

• 2 Flax eggs
• 2 Cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup of cold vegan butter.
• ¼ Cup of room temp water.
• 1 tsp salt

Filling:

• 1 15 oz Can of pumpkin puree
• 1 Tsp of Cinnamon.
• 1/4 Tsp of Ginger.
• 1 Tbsp of Honey.
• VEGAN Swap for Agave or maple syrup.
• 1 Tbsp of Coconut oil. You can substitute it with butter if you don't have this ingredient.
• 2 Tbsp of Coconut sugar. You can also use brown sugar.
• 1 Dash of salt.
• 1 Tbsp of Vanilla extract.
• 1/4 Cup of sugar.
• 1 Cup of Whipping cream.
• Vegan You can replace with coconut whipped cream.

For the meringue:

• 4-6 egg whites depending on how tall you want your meringue to be.
• 1- 1 and 1/2 Cups of sugar. Depending on how many egg whites you use.

The rule here is : 4 egg whites = 1 Cup of sugar.

(VEGAN) Meringue:

• Aquafaba from 1 15 oz can of chickpeas.
• 1 Cup of sugar.
• 1/4 tsp of cream of taratar essential as it gives stability to your meringue.

Instructions

Let's start with the crust :

• In a large bowl, cut the butter into the flour until you get a grainy texture.
• Make a well in the middle of your mixture and add your egg and water.
• Mix in slowly, and bring the dough together. Rather than kneading, just bring it together with your hands and form a ball.
• Once that is done, wrap your dough in some film paper and store it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• Preheat Your oven to 350ºF. Roll your chilled dough and transfer to a greased a dusted pie dish. Cover your crust with some foil and weigh down with some dried beans or rice.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Let your pie crust rest and let's get started the filling :

• Combine your pumpkin puree, ginger powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, coconut sugar, honey and coconut oil. Transfer everything to a pot and cooking down until you reach a thick glossy consistency (Look at the picture above to get an idea). This process takes about 30 minutes on medium to low heat. Once done, transfer the pumpkin mixture to your fridge and let it completely cool down.
• Start whipping your cream with the vanilla and the 1/4 cup of sugar until you get a firm whipped cream.
• (Vegan) You can use coconut cream. I will post a link for it at the bottom of the post.
• Now fold your whipped cream with the pumpkin filling until you reach a consistent creamy like texture.
• Pour your filling into the chilled pie crust.

Now the meringue:

• Combine granulated sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar completely dissolves. Transfer the mixture to your stand mixer's bowl, and whisk on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Raise speed to high, and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5-7 minutes more. Drop your meringue into the pie and shape it anyway you want.

(Vegan Meringue) Combine your aquafaba and 2 cups of sugar in a bowl. Using a hand mixer whip your aquafaba and add your cream of tartar. While mixing start adding slowly the rest of your sugar.Raise speed to high, and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5-7 minutes more. Drop your meringue into the pie and shape it anyway you want.

• And now the fun part. Using a blow torch, move your flame back and forth until meringue starts to brown. Slice and serve.