Grapefruit Meringue Pie Recipe
Though not as strong a flavor or as tart as lemon, grapefruit provides a more delicate flavor that goes well with meringue, and it still goes well with a graham cracker pie crust.
Meringue "jewels" form spontaneously if you don't eat the pie right away—but who doesn't eat it right away?
In the depths of January there's less fresh fruit, except for citrus. My family has been known to order bushels of oranges and grapefruits from Florida to see us through the winter. We enjoy Lemon Meringue Pie, so why not make a Grapefruit Meringue Pie?
9” Baked
Pie Crust or
Graham Cracker Crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups grapefruit juice
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, separated (whites will be used in
meringue)
4 TB butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp grated grapefruit rind
First organize your ingredients:
•
Have all ingredients at hand before you start.
•
Grate the grapefruit rind before squeezing
the grapefruit.
•
Before you start to cook, separate the eggs
and cut up the butter.
Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan, off the heat. Add the grapefruit juice and water and stir with a whisk. Add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture is well blended and of uniform color.
Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The mixture will thicken and start to bubble. It should be thick enough so that it holds its shape when you stir it. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and rind. The mixture will be thick and range in color from yellow to pink, depending on the color of the grapefruits.
Pour the mixture into a baked pie crust and cover it with plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming on top.
Meringue ingredients:
4 egg
whites
1 TB cornstarch
1 TB sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the middle. (Hint—the meringue will be tall, so make sure it won’t hit the top of the oven!)
In a small pan, combine the cornstarch, 1 TB sugar, and water. Cook for several minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken and become translucent. Cool.
Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the vanilla, cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup sugar. Beat until foamy. Add the cornstarch mixture and continue beating until the meringue forms soft peaks; if you lift some with a spoon or spatula, it should form a peak that stands up. The meringue will also look shiny.
Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and spread the meringue over the filling. Start by spreading it around the edges, being sure to seal the edges of the crust. Pile the meringue into the middle of the pie and make some decorative swirls with your spatula. There will be a lot of meringue!
Bake for about 20-25 minutes. The meringue should be lightly browned. Check it frequently for the last 5-10 minutes to make sure the peaks don’t burn.
Tips from Jane
• The number of grapefruits you will need depends on how large and juicy they are. It usually takes me about one and a half.
• Grapefruit skin is softer than lemon skin and harder to grate. If you can’t get a full teaspoon of rind, don’t worry about it—just use what you have. If you don’t have fresh grapefruits but are using packaged juice, just leave out the rind.
• Separating eggs isn’t hard, but you have to be careful. Here's how I do it.
Also try my delicious Orange Meringue Pie.