Pineapple Meringue Pie

Directions

Crust

1. Pulse the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor, add the cubed butter and blitz a few times until you have small pea sized pieces.
2. Add the egg and pulse for 10 seconds at a time until the dough comes together in large lumps, it will start off like clumpy sand and then the pieces will increase in size. It takes a little longer than you think.
3. Press the dough together, shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
4. On a floured surface roll out the dough into a large disc big enough to cover the bottom of your pan and up the sides. I used a spring form pan because that’s what I had around, you could use a cute fluted tart pan.
5. Gently flop the dough into the pan, work it in pressing with the flat of the back of your finger to get it snug into the edges. If using a tall spring form pan trim the edges of the dough at the top of the form and then fold edge down on itself to create a double layer around the outside rim.
6. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 375F.
8. Grease a piece of tin foil and press it firmly grease side down to the crust.
9. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes, remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until it is golden brown all over.
10. Let the crust cool while you make the filling.

Filling

1. Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large pan, whisk together, add the water and whisk until there are no lumps.
2. Add the cubed pineapple and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally or until the pineapple has softened and you can cut a piece in half with a spoon.
3. Add the lemon juice and puree the mixture with a stick blender. At this point more juice will release and the mixture will loosen a little, it will also bubble and splatter so turn down the heat to low.
4. Temper the egg yolks. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, while whisking the yolks drizzle in large spoonfuls of hot pineapple mixture, repeat until you’ve add about 1 cup of pineapple with the egg yolks.
5. Return the egg mixture to the pot and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes or until the mixture thickens up again.
6. Let cool for about 30 minutes until it’s just warm and spoon into the baked pie crust. Chill for at least 4 hours before topping with meringue.

Swiss meringue

1. Place all of the ingredients for the meringue into the bowl of a stand mixer and place over a pot of simmering water to create a ban marie. Cook the mixture stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the eggs reach a steady 175F, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Move to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until the meringue is glossy and stops growing up the sides of the bowl, it should hold stiff peaks.
3. Turn on the broiler.
4. Remove the pie from the spring form pan and place on a large flat tray. Slather the top of your chilled pie with the meringue making swirls and peaks or you could pipe it on for a fancy design.
5. Broil the pie for about 3 minutes, rotating often or until the top is golden brown all over and the peaks are a little darker.
6. Let the pie cool for about an hour at room temperature before serving… if you can resist.