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Passion Fruit Meringue Pie

by Lorena

Passion fruit is a wonderful fruit. It’s sour but it also has that delicious and characteristic smell. This passion fruit meringue pie is delicious, with the perfect level of acidity, making the perfect bite with the meringue.

top view of a passion fruit meringue pie with a biscuit base, blowtorched italian meringue on top

Passion Fruit

Passion fruit is one of my favourite fruits. I love its flavour and how versatile it is. It’s not hard to use instead of lemon in recipes such as a lime meringue pie. This recipe has more passion fruit juice than my lime meringue pie because it’s sweeter and thus you need a bit more to get the acidity to come through. One of my favourite passion fruit recipes here in my blog is my Passion Fruit Bundt Cake. It’s bright, tangy and highly addictive.

Meringue

I’m usually on team Swiss meringue, but this time I wanted to use an Italian meringue to show you how to make it. You can really make either without any issues, so you’ll see both options in the recipe below. To pipe the meringue I use a St Honoré piping tip which is wider at the bottom and thinner at the top, giving that lace effect. I love to blowtorch my meringue, it adds yet another layer of flavour. If you don’t have a kitchen blowtorch, you can place the passion fruit meringue pie inside the oven on broil for a couple of minutes. It’s never exactly the same but it’s a good substitute.


Slice of a passion fruit meringue pie with a biscuit base, blowtorched italian meringue on top. Spoon on the side with a bite.

The base of the Passion Fruit Meringue Pie

I love to use a cookie / biscuit base for my citrus pies. It’s how I’ve eaten them all my life so I have a nostalgia factor there. If you prefer, you can make my tart dough recipe instead. For the cookie / biscuit base, I used vanilla or butter cookies. You can also use graham crackers, digestives or any other similar type. If you can only get a hold of a not-so-tasty cookie, consider adding sugar, cinnamon and powdered ginger to the base also.

Ingredients

This Passion Fruit Meringue Pie has a cookie / biscuit base that is made from crushed cookies, melted butter and salt. The filling is really easy and consists of condensed milk, passion fruit juice and egg yolks. To get the passion fruit juice from the pulp, you have to briefly blend the pulp to break the seeds. Then you pass it through a sieve/colander and that gets you the juice. You don’t want to blend the pulp too much or the seeds will go through the spaces in the sieve/colander. Finally, for the Italian meringue, you only need egg whites and sugar.

How to make a Passion Fruit Meringue Pie

  • The biscuit base: first, you’re going to mix the crushed cookies/biscuits with melted butter and salt. Make sure that the cookies are nicely ground so that you have a stable base. Then the base is baked for 10 minutes and is left to cool down before filling.
  • The filling: for this Passion Fruit Meringue Pie we use condensed milk, passion fruit juice and egg yolks. It’s the egg yolks that give the filling that silky texture. The filling goes into the base and back into the oven for 20 minutes. After that, we refrigerate overnight.
  • Italian meringue: We make a syrup with water and sugar and heat it up to 116-118C/240-144F (use a cooking thermometer). At that moment we add it to the egg whites which we started to beat when the syrup was at 110C/230F. We add it slowly and down the side of the bowl while on full speed on a mixer. Once it cools down to room temperature, it’s time to decorate our pie.
Side view of a passion fruit meringue pie with a biscuit base, blowtorched italian meringue on top.

How to unmould

To unmould this Passion Fruit Meringue Pie, you’ll first need a tart pan with removable bottom. Once the filling has been refrigerated overnight, you’re good to go on the unmoulding. First, you’ll grab a bowl that’s taller yet less wide than your pan. Place it upside-down on your workspace and put the pan on top. Gently let the sides of the pan drop. To remove the base, go all around with a thin knife, separating the base from the tart. Then you can just slide it onto the dish you’ll be presenting it in. It’s also helpful sometimes to use a pizza peel/cake lifter to transfer it.


Cross section of a passion fruit meringue pie with a biscuit base, blowtorched italian meringue on top.

Passion Fruit Meringue Pie

Tangy and flavourful, this Passion Fruit Meringue Pie will become your new favourite dessert. It has a cookie / biscuit base and a delicious Italian meringue on top.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Tea Time
Keyword: biscuit base, cookie base, italian meringue, meringue pie, passion fruit
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Fridge time: 8 hours
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 people, a 25cm/10in diameter pan
Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the cookie base

  • 220 g crushed cookies/biscuits I used vanilla
  • 100 g unsalted butter melted
  • 1 tsp salt

For the passion fruit filling

  • 800 g condensed milk
  • 500 g passion fruit pulp
  • 6 egg yolks

Option 1: Italian meringue

  • 6 egg whites
  • double the weight of the egg whites in sugar
  • 125 ml water

Option 2: Swiss Meringue

  • 6 egg whites
  • double the weight of the egg whites in sugar

Instructions

For the cookie base

  • Process or crush the cookies with the salt until fine and mix with the melted butter.
  • Put the cookies on a pie mould and press down using your fingers first and use the base of a glass to press it down nicely.
  • Take to a preheated oven at 160°C/320°F for 5-10min until it starts to become golden every so slightly. Be careful at this stage because it goes from golden to burnt pretty quickly.
  • Let cool down completely before adding the filling so it doesn't become soggy.

For the passion fruit filling

  • Place the passion fruit pulp in a blender or food processor and use the "pulse" button a few times to free the seeds from the pulp and juice. Don't overdo it or you'll grind up the seeds. Pass the mix through a colander and keep the juice.
  • Mix the juice with the condensed milk.
  • Add the yolks and whisk them together immediately so the yolks don't oxidize with the sugar from the condensed milk or the acidity from the passion fruit.
  • Pour onto the cookie base and take to the oven still at 160°C/320°F for 20min.
  • Let cool down completely and place in the fridge overnight.

Option 1: Italian meringue

  • Make it as close as possible to the moment of serving, it's always nicer freshly made.
  • Make sure that the pot, bowl and whisk are very clean and without any traces of fat. This can avoid the meringue from firming up. If you're doubting yourself, give everything a wash and dry thoroughly.
  • Place the egg whites in the bowl where you'll be making the meringue. The sugar and water go into the pot.
  • Bring the sugar and water to a boil over medium-high heat and let it reach 116-118°C/240-244°F (you'll need a kitchen thermometer). From the moment it goes over 101°C/213°F it increases steadily so keep an eye on it.
  • When the syrup reaches 110°C/230°F, start beating the egg whites at high speed. Once it reaches the temperature we need, remove the pot from the heat and add it slowly down the side of the bowl while still beating at high speed. We make it go down the side of the bowl so that it doesn't impact the whisk of the mixer.
  • Keep beating until it has completely cooled down to room temperature.
  • Spread it out on top of the pie with a spatula or use a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice.
  • You can make the meringue look a bit golden using a blowtorch or place it in an oven at 200°C/400°F on broil for a couple of minutes. You can also just leave it white.

Option 2: Swiss meringue

  • Make it as close as possible to the moment of serving, it's always nicer freshly made.
  • Put the egg whites and sugar in a bowl where you're going to mix them afterwards. Put it on a bain-marie. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the surface of the water. Use a whisk to mix every couple of minutes.
  • Once you don't feel any sugar crystals at the bottom of the bowl (touch the bottom of the bowl with your finger) you can take it off the bain-marie. If you have a thermometer, check that it reaches 79°C/174°F. Immediately beat with a static or hand-held mixer until it cools down to room temperature and is firm.
  • Spread it out on top of the pie with a spatula or use a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice.
  • You can make the meringue look a bit golden using a blowtorch or place it in an oven at 200°C/400°F on broil for a couple of minutes. You can also just leave it white.
Tried this recipe?Mention @CravingsJournal or tag #RecipeCJ!

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