Paleo Lemon Meringue Pie

Paleo Lemon Meringue Pie

Made by Olivia, age 17, for her mum's birthday! Olivia is a stage 6 homeschool student, who is also studying a Diploma of Hospitality Management at TAFE. She created this recipe by combining and adapting three other recipes.

Original Recipe credit: The lemon curd from Not Enough Cinnamon The pie crust from Bob's Red Mill The honey meringue from A Life of Happenstance

Crust Ingredients

• 2 cups Almond Flour

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil at room temperature

• 1 Egg large

• 1/4 tsp Salt

• Lemon Curd Ingredients

• 4 whole eggs

• 4 egg yolks

• 2/3 cup honey (can also use rice malt syrup)

• the zest of 4 lemons Tip: zest the lemons before juicing them!

• 1 cup lemon juice from fresh lemons – about 4 large lemons

• 2/3 cup coconut oil melted – use refined coconut oil for a neutral taste

• a pinch of salt

Italian Swiss Meringue Ingredients

• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature should equal about 1/4 cup

• 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 cup honey choose a sweet light colored honey

Crust Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 175oC.

2. Add almond flour and salt to a food processor and pulse to mix.

3. Add the coconut oil and egg, then pulse everything together until it forms a ball. It should be about the same consistency as cookie dough.

4. Place the dough into a 9-inch pie pan and gently press the crust into the pie plate and up the sides. Crimp the edges with a fork if preferred.

5. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Curd Instructions

1. While the crust is baking, prepare lemon curd. In a small pot, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, honey, lemon juice, zest, melted coconut oil and a pinch of salt.

2. Cook curd on medium heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.

3. Whisk often and once it starts bubbling (about 5 minutes), start whisking constantly.

4. It's normal if the curd isn't super thick and not curd-like yet. It will thicken when cooling.

5. Place a sieve over a bowl and pour lemon curd to strain it. Use a spatula to help press it through the sieve.

6. Give the curd a stir and pour it onto the prepared crust. Let it cool slightly and refrigerate at least two hours to allow the curd to set.

Meringue Instructions

1. Add the room temperature egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the egg whites become frothy. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking until soft peaks have formed.

2. While the egg whites are being whisked, place the honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The honey will begin to boil and become bubbly. Keep over the heat until a candy thermometer reads 115oC.

3. Remove from the heat and SLOWLY pour the honey down the side of the mixing bowl into the egg whites. The mixer should still be running on high speed while adding the honey!

4. Continue whisking on high speed until the meringue has thickened, doubled in volume, is at room temperature, AND is shiny/glossy. In my mixer this generally takes 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Pipe meringue onto lemon curd filled pie crust.

6. Brown meringue using a brulee torch. Alternatively, meringue topped pie can be baked in the oven 175oC until lightly browned, and allowed to cool completely before serving.