Orange Meringue Pie

Orange Meringue Pie is a variation on the all time favourite of Lemon Meringue Pie. The orange curd obviously has an orange flavour and is less tart than its cousin Lemon Curd.  I only experimented  with this recipe this morning and I can highly recommend it if you are looking for a hot sweet with a difference.

ORANGE CURD

INGREDIENTS

4 Navel Oranges.

1 Cup of Castor Sugar

½ Cup of Cornflour

½ Cup of Water

3 Eggs Separated

60G Butter Diced

METHOD

1. Grate  Finely 2 Oranges
2. Juice 4 Oranges to make up a cup of juice.
3. Combine  Castor Sugar and cornflour in a medium Saucepan. 
4. Gradually Add  Orange Juice and water. Whisk Until Smooth.
5. Stir over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until mixture boils and thick.
6. Reduce heat to low and cook. Stir for One minute.
7. Remove from heat and add reserved Orange rind, egg yolks and butter stirring until smooth over low/medium heat.
8. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

ORANGE MERINGUE PIE.

INGREDIENTS

½ Cup of Castor sugar

3 Whites of eggs.

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees.
2. Place orange curd into pie case/s.
3. Beat Whites of eggs until peaks form.
4. Gradually add in sugar one tablespoon at a time until thick and glossy.
5. Place meringue over pie case/s and bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

My tips.

1. I juiced the oranges first  before grating so that I could get the most juice from the oranges.
2. Have oranges at room temperature, but if making the recipe on impulse place oranges in microwave for 20-30 sec to bring to room temperature.
3. Using Butter is best at room temperature but since the butter is going to be placed into hot mixture, it will start to melt quickly.
4. I used pastry tart cases rather than one pie case. Use less orange curd to fill the cases and allow room for the meringue mixture to be placed on top.

Pineapple Flan.

Pineapple Flan is a easy dessert to make if you are having guests since you can make it the day before or even early on the morning, or you can take it if you are asked to take a plate for dessert.

  

Mum and I made Pineapple Flan regularly. Her twist was to garnish with passionfruit pulp (fresh) or canned.  It really is a lovely light dessert and compliments any main menu.

 
Flan Shell Ingredients

180g (6oz) sweet biscuits.

Mixed Spice.( a good sprinkle to give extra flavour.)

90g (3oz) butter.

Add some slivered almonds or favourite nuts if you wish your base to have extra crunch (optional)

Flan Filling Ingredients

1x 400 g can Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk.

1x 450 g can Golden circle Crushed Pineapple (drained)

¾ cup lemon juice.

I teaspoon gelatine.

2 tablespoons warm water.

1 x 225 g can Nestle Reduced cream.

Garnish: Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple and mandarin pieces.

Method

1.        Put crushed pineapple in a calendar with a dish underneath to allow pineapple to 
  drain.  Set aside.  

2.    Squeeze lemon to a make up required quantity and set aside. 

3.    Put biscuits into a blender/food processsor and crush them until you have a fine crumb.  Then add a little spice.  Taste the crumb to see if you need to add more mixed spice.

4.       Add melted butter to the crushed biscuits and mix well. The crumbed mixture should start to come together like wet sand.

5.       When smooth, press mixture into greased 23cm (9in) pie plate and form the shell. 
 Chill  well.  
NB If you are in a hurry you can put in freezer to hurry up process but if not, chill in fridge for an hour. Better, still, if you make this base before you go to bed, it will be chilled well next morning and you will be ready to make the filling.

FILLING

1. .      As the shell chills,  dissolve the gelatine in the warm water.  

2.      Combine condensed milk with drained crushed pineapple, lemon juice and gelatine  dissolved in the warm water.  

3.   Pour mixture into flan shell and refrigerate until set. 

4.   When set, top with either Passionfruit pulp ( fresh or cannedl)  and/orNestle Reduced cream and garnish.  

5.   Leave for 24-48 hours before serving.

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Mum's Tips

The original recipe created the dessert slightly differently.  Mum was always efficient with her time and energy.  She prepared her drained pineapple and lemon juice before she commenced the rest of the recipe.  She told me that she did it this way because those ingredients:

1. were ready when she needed them
2. had allowed enough time for the draining process to occur.
3. should not be wasted. It is important to get the most out of the ingredients for the recipe itself and not to waste money.
4. With the remaining pineapple juice, mum would either give it to dad or myself for a drink.

My Tips:
1. I used to put the biscuits in a plastic bag and using a roller, crush the biscuits until they are fine.  This is how I did it when I was making it with Mum when I was young..   However, I now use a food processor to  create the same result of fine biscuit crumbs.
2. Canned passionfruit pulp to decorate the dessert is very accessible if fresh passionfruit are too expensive. I really like this dessert to be left for the 24 hours-48 hrs so that the flavour of the passionfruit combines with the pineapple to give it a tropical flavour.

3. If you use passionfruit on the topping, you can call the dessert tropical flan rather than pineapple flan.

4. Depending on what type of tin you use, it can be made into a slice and or made in patty pans.