In late Spring/early Summer, there's nothing nicer than tucking into some lovely roasted rhubarb; and if you can mix it into a cake even better! This Rhubarb Meringue Pie is the perfect combination of sweet and tart which I adore. I hope you like it too!
For this pie, you will need a 23cm tart dish and a baking sheet. You will also need a piping bag if you wish to pipe on your meringue for a nice finish.
Ingredients:
For the pastry
200g Plain Flour
125g Unsalted, Cold Butter (cubed)
50g Icing Sugar (sifted)
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Large Egg (beaten)
For the Rhubarb filling
1kg trimmed Rhubarb cut into 2-3cm lengths
125g Caster Sugar
For the meringue
4 Large Egg Whites (roughly 120g)
200g Golden Caster Sugar
2 Tsp Cornflour
How I make my Rhubarb Meringue Pie:
First make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles wet sand. Then add in the icing sugar and ginger until we mixed. Finally, add in the egg, incorporating with a round bladed knife and then using your hands on a floured work surface. When the dough is soft and smooth wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to chill and become more firm for 20 minutes.
When firm but not too stiff, roll out the pastry to fit your dish. Don't make it too thin or too thick. Place the pastry in the tart dish and, using a fork, dock the pastry. Put it back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill.
While the pastry is chilling, prepare your Rhubarb by cleaning and cutting into 2-3cm long pieces. Place in a roasting tin and sprinkle over the sugar and, using your hands, ensure the rhubarb is well coated in the sugar. Bake at 150ºC Fan for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Make sure you drain the rhubarb thoroughly as it can contain a lot of juice and you don't want your tart to get soggy. This is important. I recommend putting the Rhubarb on a roasting rack and gently pressing down on the pieces to remove extra liquid but take care not to let the Rhubarb lose its shape. Set aside.
Now it's time to blind bake your pastry. Increase the oven temperature to 180ºC Fan. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the pastry and fill the tart dish with baking beans, rice or normal beans. Blind bake for an initial 13-15 minutes, then remove the beans and baking paper and bake for a further 5-7 minutes.
While the pastry is doing its initial blind bake, place your golden caster sugar for the meringue on top of some baking parchment in a roasting tin. During the second half of the blind baking process, pop your sugar onto the bottom rack of your oven along with the pastry.
Once the pastry is blind baked, set aside while you focus on your meringue. But first, pop a baking sheet into the turned on oven so it can come to temperature. First, whisk your egg whites until they form a soft peak. This means that when you turn your bowl upside down, the whisked egg white does not move! When you have reached this stage, you can then add your sugar in large spoonfuls. With each addition, bring back the meringue to soft peak stage. With the final sugar addition, also add in the corn flour.
Now it's time to assemble. Place the Rhubarb on top of the pastry in whatever pattern you choose. Then add a few spoonfuls of the meringue on top so you have full coverage. Transfer the remaining meringue into a piping bag and, using your favourite nozzle (I used a plain 1cm nozzle) pipe the remaining meringue on top of the tart.
Bake at 180ºC Fan for c.30 minutes, depending on your oven temperature. Mine took 25 minutes.
Let the tart cool completely before you cut it. I found that the first cut was a little messy but after that I got smooth edges to each slice! if you find extra liquid in your tart dish bottom, do drain it out so that the pastry does not become soggy. I poured my extra liquid into a glass and it was a delicious Rhubarb drink!
Goes well with a cup of tea!
Sustainable tips:
I use sustainable baking parchment which you can buy from any good baking supplier store.
Rather than be faced with loads of egg yolks after making meringues, I use Two Chicks - which is pure egg whites in a carton. It keeps well in the fridge and is perfect for this type of bake. Not a paid advert just advice on what I find useful.
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