Blueberry Meringue Pie from Nadine Estero’s “The Anime Chef Cookbook”

This deadly delicious Blueberry Meringue Pie dessert is inspired by the Anime “That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime” (Season 1, Episode 11). This recipe, and 74 others, are all inspired by your favourite Animes! Written by Nadine Estero, this cookbook is like no other – you’ll love the themes, the step-by-step directions, the attention to detail, and the adorable illustrations!

“Shion cooks dinner for the gang and everyone except Rimuru declines the offer to eat it. Rimuru, confused, doesn’t think much of it until Shion brings out the dish: an amorphous blob of blue and purple so foul that waves of evil waft up from it, and he even thinks it’s possessed. I wanted to make my own version of this deadly dish, but deadly delicious!” -Nadine Estero

Blueberry Meringue Pie

Blueberry Meringue Pie

Yield: 6 Minutes
Prep: 25 Minutes
Cook: 40 Minutes

Special Tools:

• 6 x 3-inch (15 x 7.5 cm) round cake pan
• Pie weights or uncooked rice or beans
• Kitchen torch (optional)

Ingredients

Short-Crust Pastry

• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄4-inch (6 mm) cubes
• Pinch salt
• 2 large eggs, 1 cold and
• 1 beaten, divided

Blueberry Lemon Filling

• 3 cups (435 g) blueberries
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Swiss Meringue

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Navy blue gel food colouring

For Decorating

• Silver luster dust (optional)

Directions

1. To make the short-crust pastry: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, pinch of salt, and cubed butter. Squish the butter and flour together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles grainy sand. Crack in the cold egg and use your hands to mix it into a dough. Knead a few times to make it come together. Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and roughly shape it into a circle 1⁄2 inch (12 mm) thick. Refrigerate until hardened, about 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C; gas mark 6). Remove the short-crust pastry from the plastic wrap and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a 9-inch (23 cm) circle. Place the dough circle on the cake pan, then press it into the pan with 2-inch-tall (5 cm) sides. Dock the dough all over with a fork, then place a piece of parchment paper on top and add the pie weights.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Dock areas with a fork where the pastry has puffed, if any. Brush all surfaces of the pie shell with the beaten egg and place back in the oven until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool.

4. Meanwhile, make the blueberry lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, mix the blueberries, 1⁄4 cup (50 g) sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt together. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are soft, about 8 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons of released blueberry juice from the pan to a small bowl. Add the tapioca starch to the bowl and mix to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the saucepan, stir to combine, and let simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter. Let the mixture come to room temperature before pouring it into the cooked pie shell. Once added to the pie shell, refrigerate until set, 3 to 4 hours.

5. Right before serving the pie, make the Swiss meringue: In a large bowl, using a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, mix the egg whites, 1 cup (200 g) sugar, and cream of tartar on medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute.

6. Prepare a double boiler by filling a saucepan slightly larger than the bowl with the egg whites with at least 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) of water and bringing it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and place the bowl on top. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160°F (71°C), measuring with a candy thermometer. Remove the bowl from the heat and, using the hand mixer with a clean, dry whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed, until stiff peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the vanilla and 3 drops of the food colouring and gently fold in using a spatula. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag, cut a 3⁄4-inch (2 cm) hole at the tip, and use immediately.

7. To decorate: Pipe 3 large mountains of swirls on one-half of the pie, and make it messy! You may torch the tops of the meringue with a kitchen torch for colour, or leave the meringue as is. (The egg whites in the meringue have been cooked by the hot sugar, so it is safe to consume without torching or browning). Sprinkle the meringue with luster dust (if using) and serve immediately.

 

 

About Demian Vernieri 525 Articles
Demian is an Argentinian retired musician, avid gamer and editor for the Montréal Guardian, Toronto Guardian, Calgary Guardian and Vancouver Guardian websites.