Veganised Lemon Meringue Pie (Recipe from Sylvia Plath Society mailing list)

This recipe is one I wrote for The Sylvia Plath Society newsletter, the whole content of which can be accessed here. I veganised as many of the recipes as I could as I want Plath to be as accessible as possible and for more people to recognise her as the multifaceted, multitalented woman that she was. Join the SPS mailing list here or contact us at plathsoc@gmail.com for more info.

Sylvia Plath’s trusty angel-topped lemon meringue pie Ⓥ

The full menu Plath serves at this particular dinner party is roast beef, onion potatoes, corn & mushrooms, green salad, white wine & red & the pie – she finishes the meal with coffees for that sophisticated 50s edge. We recommend the pie with your coffee for a decadent breakfast – you’ll sleep badly with all that sugar and caffeine in your system. This recipe is adapted from Plath’s favourite cookery book, ‘Joy of Cooking’ by Irma S. Rombauer. The vegan pie is also good made with limes instead of lemons, to pair with the natural coconutty flavour of the mixture.

For the meringue crust

• 200ml aquafaba (chickpea water)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp cream of tartar or potash (this can be left out but your meringue will lose its chewiness and be very short and crispy)
• ½ cup of caster sugar
• 1 cup icing sugar

Grease a pie dish well, then chill in the fridge or freezer whilst you make the mixture.

Beat the aquafarba, vanilla and lemon juice vigorously until they go frothy – if using a mixer, start on a low speed and push it to medium after roughly one minute. Keep everything very cold – do not be afraid to stop the process, put everything in the fridge for 1/2 hour, and start again. Add the tartar/potash and one large spoon of sugar and continue to whip the ‘eggs’. Each minute add another spoonful of sugar and keep going until all the sugar is incorporated and your mixture is in ‘stiff peaks’ – the way to test this is to hold the bowl upside down and your mixture will not slide at all.

Retrieve your pie dish, and spread the meringue mixture along the bottom and sides to make a pie crust. Do not put too much pressure on the meringues as they need to stay airy. Bake in an oven at a low temperature – 110℃ or 200℉ should do it – for roughly two and a half hours. The meringue should be crispy but not too dark in colour – you are essentially drying out the mixture rather than cooking it. To prevent cracks in the meringue do not open the oven during or after cooking, leaving the mixture to come to room temperature without being shocked by cold air. If your mixture does crack, though, don’t worry – just serve directly from the pie dish.

For a vegan filling we used Minimalist Baker’s recipe

• 1 can coconut cream (14oz)
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp arrowroot
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup

Dissolve the arrowroot in the lemon juice and whisk to thoroughly combine. Whisk the coconut cream and lemon zest in a saucepan. Add the arrowroot/lemon mix and continue whisking on a low setting for two minutes. Add the maple syrup, taste, and add more if more sweetness is required.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Once the sauce starts boiling you should begin to see it thicken. Reduce the heat and keep cooking until it is a thick but pourable consistency, stirring well to ensure an even texture and that it does not stick to the sides. Remove from the heat and taste – adjust flavours as necessary. Once it has cooled for 15 minutes, check the texture. If it is too thin and soupy, bring to the boil once again as before and cook on low for another 10 minutes, then repeat the cooling step. Once your curd is a spreadable, gloopy texture when cool, whisk once more then cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours before using in your pie.

Once you have your cooled meringue pie case and curd, pour in the curd three-quarters of the way up the meringue.

For the ‘angel’ topping

• 2 cups coconut cream
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Zest of two lemons
• 50g lotus cookies (if you cannot get these, cook some of the excess meringue mixture for longer until caramel coloured and crispy)

Combine the cream, sugar and zest in a bowl and whip until roughly doubled in size. Simply spoon onto the ready-assembled pie, ensuring all the curd filling is covered, then use a fork to shape the cream into aesthetically pleasing peaks.

Crush the biscuits into crumbs and drizzle over your pie for a contrast in texture or flavour.

The trick with this topping, as with the rest of the pie, is to keep everything very cold – don’t be afraid to pause for a refrigeration break if you feel like you’re not getting anywhere.