A crispy almond base, zesty creamy chia center, and caramelized fluffy meringue top make this a pie to die for. This dessert is real magic. It’s made without eggs and dairy products, only a few secret ingredients were used.
Can’t wait to try it? You will be surprised, this Lemon Meringue pie recipe ready in about 30 minutes.
Next, you will find a small guide with ingredients that I used in this recipe.
Aquafaba. What is aquafaba? This word is the common name for the cooking liquid of beans and other legumes like chickpeas. It turns into a foaming agent when whipped for long enough, making it an excellent foam such as egg whites. That is perfect for a meringue and a Pavlova Dessert. You can’t find out the taste of chickpeas. You never find a difference, because taste and texture of meringue are perfect crunchy outside and fluffy inside.
Choose canned chickpeas with no salt added. I prefer organic chickpeas from the Ceres brand, It always works great. After many experiments, I came to the conclusion that the chilled aquafaba forms a foam better than room temperature.
Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant and has a tough brown skin and a deep orange flesh. It has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine. Turmeric is one of the Asian cuisine’s major ingredients, both in its fresh root and powdered form.
Turmeric also can be used in cooking to colour dishes a bright yellow. The powder dissolves and activates his beautiful yellow colour in the lukewarm (or hot) liquid only. So make sure that you use lukewarm coconut milk for your chia lemon curd. Turmeric can vary in colour and taste.
Cream of tartar. Tartaric acid, the powdered form of the white crystalline acid that forms on the insides of wine barrels—a natural byproduct of wine fermentation. It stabilizes the aquafaba foam and adds volume. The cream of tartar should be added to the aquafaba just as it begins to become frothy during the beating process.
Xanthan gum is a bacteria-derived product, commonly used as a thickening and stabilizing agent in both food and medicine. Because of its binding properties, xanthan gum can serve as a replacement for gluten in foods designed for people who suffer from celiac disease.
Xanthan gum helps to stabilize and thicken meringue fluff without tons of sugar. Aquafaba meringue with xanthan gum adding is stable enough to hold up to the heat of a torch.
Chia seeds is a great gelling agent and real superfood. This is a good source of omega-3, dietary fibre, and high protein content. I used chia as a gelling agent for my vegan lemon сurd instead of starch.
Ingredients
For crust:
- 5 Big Medjool Dates, pitted (about 80g/3oz)
- 1/2 Cup Almond Meal
- 1/3 Cup Fine desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
+ 12 cm Springform pan, Baking paper, Baking beans, Food Processor or High-Speed Blender
If you’d like to use a bigger cake tin just multiply all ingredients. For example, If you use a 20cm springform, this is three times bigger then simply use three part of ingredient instead of one.
For Lemon Chia Curd:
- 3 Tbsp Chia seeds (I use white chia)
- 1 Cup of warm Coconut milk
- 2 – 3 Tbsp Light Agave syrup (or light coconut syrup/light brown rice syrup)
- 1 Unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
For Aquafaba Meringue:
- 1/2 Cup Chilled Aquafaba or canned chickpea brine (no salt added)
- 3 Tbsp Icing sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Xantham gum
- Pinch of Cream of tartar
- A few drops of vanilla extract
Directions
- For crust. Preheat the oven up to 160C/320F Fan. Place all ingredients in food processor and blitz until sticky dough.
- Line the bottom of springform pan with a circle of baking paper. Press mixture evenly and firmly into the base cake. Bake the crust filled with dry beans about 10 minutes. Note: Baking is optional. You can make raw lemon meringue pie. But I prefer slightly baked crust, that keep the shape better.
- For Lemon Chia Curd. Warm in saucepan 1 cup of the coconut milk until warm but not hot. If coconut milk has too much fat, you can add some water. Mix warm coconut milk with remaining ingredients in the bowl using the whisk. Soak chia seeds for about 20 – 30 minutes.
- For Aquafaba Meringue. Add chilled aquafaba and vanilla to the mixer bowl. I recommend using a stand mixer. Start to whisk. The bowl and beaters should be completely clean and dry. The cream of tartar should be added to the aquafaba just as they begin to become frothy during the beating process. Starting with a low, gradually increase the speed and beat till soft peaks. Reduce the speed to slow, whisk in the sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the meringue looks glossy. Whisk in the xanthan gum. Beat until firm peaks. When the beaters or whisk is lifted out of the aquafaba, the peak will stand erect and not bend over. Usually, the whole beating process takes about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the chia lemon curd into the pastry case and spread evenly. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag. Garnish the pie with the meringue, then caramelize it with a gas cooking torch.
- Keep refrigerated up to 2 days. Enjoy!
For this recipe, I use measure cup 235 ml, Tbsp 15ml, Teaspoon 5ml.
