Lemon meringue is an old English favourite, and for me it is so reminiscent of childhood. As with so many nostalgic recipes, I had it marked down on my list of ‘must veganize’ dishes. Well this one has really surpassed all expectations, and has all those yummy qualities of the original. With the help of egg replacer, I managed to recreate a light meringue, and also the wonderful lemony filling. Once again proving that, although we may eat a wholefood diet in the main, when it comes to a few treats, we don’t have to miss out on anything being vegan !
NOTE : Can also be made gluten-free by using all purpose GF flour (available in the US from here, and in the UK from here)
INGREDIENTS FOR THE PASTRY
1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting (see note above for gluten-free links)
¾ cup Earth Balance, or other vegan butter/margarine of your choice
a little bit of (very) cold water, if needed
the zest of ½ lemon
METHOD FOR THE PASTRY
Place ingredients in a food processor (not the water) and process until a ball is formed, if it is still crumbly add a little bit of water until it forms a ball. Then wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for a half hour.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
3 Tbsp cornflour/corn starch
juice of 3 large lemons (less if you don’t like it both tart and sweet like I do)
the zest of one lemon
2 tsp egg replacer (available from here in the US, and here in the UK/Australia)
½ 350g packet of tofu (I use organic non-GMO Mori-Nu – available in the US from here, and in the UK from here)
½ cup icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
1/8 cup vegan milk (I use Alpro)
¾ tsp turmeric (available from here in the US, and from here in the UK)
METHOD FOR FILLING
Place the ingredients in a food processor and whizz for 2 minutes until totally smooth – taste for sweetness and tartness, and adjust accordingly.
INGREDIENTS FOR MERINGUE
90g (3.17oz) egg replacer (see links for where to purchase above) – double this quantity if you want a high meringue
½ tsp pectin (available from here in the US, and from here in the UK)
250 ml (8.45 fl oz) cold water
5 ml (1.7 fl oz) vanilla extract (available in the US from here, and in the UK from here)
125g (4.4 oz) icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
1 Tbsp soft brown sugar or caster sugar
½ tsp xantham gum (I use Dove’s Farm)
½ tsp agar agar powder (available in the US from here, and from here in the UK)
METHOD
- First preheat your oven to 250ºF (130ºC).
- Blend the egg replacer and pectin together thoroughly in a bowl. When mixed, add to a mixing bowl or your blender, along with the cold water, and mix on high speed for 5 minutes.
- Then add your icing (confectioners’) sugar, vanilla, sugar, xanthan gum and agar powder, and continue to mix on high speed for a further 5 minutes. The foam should start to increase in volume.
METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING THE PIE
- You will need a circular spring-form pan (or similar) around 8” diameter x 2½ deep.
- First pre-heat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Then line the pan with greaseproof paper, and lightly grease the paper with a little sunflower oil.
- Remove your dough from the fridge, and line your pan with it, take the edges up by a couple of inches – and place in your preheated oven until golden. Then remove, and allow it to cool down.
- Next, having mixed the filling, pour it gently into the pie crust and bake for 20 minutes. Test if it has set – it should be semi-solid to the touch.
- Now gently add the meringue on top, and place in the oven for an hour, or until it turns golden on top.
- Remove, allow to cool, and then refrigerate overnight. Enjoy !
All recipes and content © Miriam Sorrell www.mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
Can’t wait to try this, but first a quick two-part question: The egg replacer is by weight and dry (no water added to make an egg)? and 1.7 fluid ounce of vanilla is the correct volume? It just seems like a lot of vanilla:) The Google conversion rate I just checked said 5ml=.167oz
Thanks!
Wow! That looks amazing!
Looks amazing, weird question anyway to make this without tofu?
Ty
Can you clarify the oven temps please… is it 350 for the pastry and the filling and then reduce to the lower one for the meringue?
Maureen Hi, Yes it’s 350ºF (180ºC), then lower it for the meringue, just keep an eye on it so that it does not over brown, just golden is perfect. Hope you enjoy it and let me know how it goes as and when. 🙂
Debbie hi there, have not tried it without tofu, but you can use triple the amount of cornstarch and add 1 cup of unsweetened milk to make a paste of it and then whizz it with 1/4 of a cup of cashew nuts until smooth – am not sure of the result, I am just guessing it might work out.
Thanks and hope you try it out Mia – if so let me know how it goes.
Hi there Holly. The egg replacer being a powder will blend very well with the other ingredients in a food processor, so it will have ample liquid to emulsify in. With the vanilla extract, that’s what I added, but feel free to add less if you wish. Hope you make and enjoy it ! 🙂
Miriam, you are a genius!
Thanks and hope you enjoy this Ruth ! 🙂
Hi Miriam, yes I will try it. My husband says “soon!”. A question – I can’t see in the meringue method when to add the xanthan gum and agar agar powder?
Ditto to what Mia said as I also can’t find when to add the agar agar and xanthan gum. Cheers
In regards to the vanilla and conversion, I believe the amount of 1.7 fl oz is a typing error and it should be 0.17 fl oz. The metric quantity of 5ml = 1 tsp, that might help those using imperial to be more comfortable with the conversion.
Maraika Hi, sorry for the slight delay in replying. It’s a very busy time of year at the moment and in addition I was having problems getting into my post to edit it, still, better late than never. The agar and the xanthan gum are added when you add the icing sugar. I have amended the recipe, so have a quick look. Hope this helps and have a good Christmas and all the Best for the New Year 2015. 🙂
HI
There is an updated meringue recipe with a quarter of the ingredients. Is it Miriam?
Not sure what you mean Joe, but this can be made with the chickpea brine too ! 🙂