Blood Orange Butterscotch Meringue Pie
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- All-purpose flour, for rolling out dough
- Dough for 1 (9-inch) pie
- 4egg yolks (save whites for the meringue)
- 1large egg
- ⅔cup/133 grams granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons/30 milliliters freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾cup/177 milliliters freshly squeezed blood orange juice (from 3 to 5 oranges)
- 1tablespoon finely grated blood orange zest, plus more for garnish
- Pinch of salt
- 6tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 4egg whites, at room temperature
- 1packed cup/210 grams light brown sugar
- ¼teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
For the Crust
For the Filling
For the Meringue
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
368 calories; 12 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 46 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 256 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about ⅛-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
- Step 2
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
- Step 3
In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juices, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Step 4
Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
- Step 5
As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
- Step 6
Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick, fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Step 7
Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Step 8
Allow to cool completely and top with more orange zest before serving.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
LK
This non-baker asks: Can you make this with a graham cracker crust?
Melissa
We've updated the recipe to address the filling not setting. Pies baked in ceramic and glass pans can take longer to set, so don't give up! It will get there. And note that the filling will continue to firm up after the pie cools completely. Cornstarch isn't necessary for this filling, which is based on a lemon curd. Hope this helps!
Lisa
You had me at butterscotch. Such a Melissa Clark flavor combo!
Barbara Gerson
Experienced baker, made it for Valentines to avoid chocolate, berry cliche. Too much crust for 9 inch pie, filling didn’t set and oozed out when cut. Taste “meh” but the meringue worked fine (first time with this). Melissa, I have 3 of your books and usually choose your version of dishes over others as a rule when searching, but this did not make the cut for a repeat. It’s a good thing my marriage of almost 50 years will survive this. Ps there’s a big diff between 18 mins and 40 (your update).
Tacos and Tequila
Yes, and it will be quite tasty.
Janet
After reading the comments, I worried about the filling not setting but I didn't have a problem. I did take care to use my instant thermometer when the recipe called for it. Yes, it was perhaps a bit more jiggly than I expected at first, but when we ate it several hours later, it was just perfect, and the butterscotch meringue, piled high, was divine. Highly recommend, but beware it is VERY sweet.
Scott
Followed this recipe and came out with inedible split garbage what a waste of time and ingredients, pie was in the oven for over an hour and still never set.
Georgann
Made a mistake with baking the filling. I didn't catch that I should turn the oven temperature down to 350 for the second bake on the pie crust. The filling was bubbling like crazy and splitting - makes me wonder if others made that mistake?? Just took it out now, and will see what happens.
Sherry B
I loved this pie! I’m not sure if I cooked it too long though - the filling seemed to split, and a lot of butter/sugar melted into the crust, rendering it difficult to cut and chew. I baked it in a glass pie plate - maybe should have used metal. Anyhow it was a wonderful pie and I will definitely make it again!!
Kelly C.
My local store did not have blood oranges, so I had to substitute cara cara oranges. This pie was so delicious! The brown sugar meringue with the orange was such a great flavor combo. As the author has written, it DOES set, it's a beautiful curd. I am planning on making this again for New Year's, and I'm hoping to locate some blood oranges this time!
Setrak
Ran into same problem with filling setting up, as others mentioned. I only had a glass pie pan available. At 40 minutes it was nowhere close, and (perhaps mistakenly) I pushed it to 60. I eventually called it and removed it from the oven. Prepped meringue & pie looked great, but time wasn't my friend. Finished baking ~noon, and by 4pm the meringue had settled down into the liquidy filling, pulling away from crust. Great flavors, but not the prettiest pie! Should I have adjusted temp for glass?
Adam R
Followed recipe to the gram. Did not set, in a metal pan, even after 40 minutes :(
Sandy
You could always make a half batch of the meringue -- 2 egg whites and 1/2 cup of brown sugar to 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar and a small pinch of salt -- rather than changing the proportion of sugar in the whole recipe, which might alter its stability or keeping quality. With a smaller layer of meringue on top, the overall sweetness of the pie would seem less, I'd think. Of course, then you'd have a couple of spare egg whites to use up somewhere else.
Mark E. Smith
What a shame. I made this recipe exactly as indicated. The orange curd came out beautifully on the stove and reached 180F as directed. Poured into shell and it never set after 35 minutes— and this was in a metal pan! Instead, the curd split and the butter separated and in general was a disaster. So disappointed and lost a lot of time and energy ingredients to boot. Very disappointing.
non setting pie
In the oven for 60 minutes and pie has yet to set
Ricardo
Stunning dessert! Approached with trepidation based on reviews but guests thought it magical. Indeed curd didn’t set fully in oven but set once cooled. It is all about the butterscotch meringue combined with the curd & crisp pie crust.
caroistaa
I used a graham cracker crust and made it dairy free with vegan butter. The meringue was incredible- the curd was meh. Will not make again. I usually love everything that Melissa Clark develops, but this ain’t it.
Patrick
This was never going to set up. The filling was boiling like a witch’s cauldron. Nice flavor, though. Will add corn starch if I try again.
Eleanora
What a gorgeous pie this turned into. We ended up baking the curd for about 40 minutes, then with the added meringue baking time and letting it cool to room temperature, everything was set perfectly. The meringues with brown sugar were a lot of fun to make. As an added bonus the uncooked meringue I sampled tasted just like Mary Jane candy!
Caitlin
I, too, struggled with a slow-to-set filling. After about 30 minutes in a metal dish, it was bubbling and fluid, but I was fairly sure it would set after a nice long rest on the counter top--and it did. My only complaint here is that the whole pie was so sweet that some folks weren't' able to eat more than a bite or two. I'm not sure if the sugar could be reduced in the filling and/or meringue without impacting the chemistry. The flavors were wonderful, but next time I'd go with something else
burnoutbakes
The end result tasted ok, but I would not bake it again. The filling was good, but it took forever to set and it wasn't as tangy as I expected. I think the recipe would have worked better if it was baked with a tart crust like the NYT's chocolate raspberry meringue tart or cranberry curd tart.
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