Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
Housed in a flaky, all-butter pie crust is a two berry curd: tart cranberry and sweet blueberry. The curd is silky and lush and atop it sits a naturally fuchsia colored meringue made from pure cranberry juice and blueberry powder.
A mix of cranberry curd and blueberry curd, both tart smooth and creamy – get baked into an all butter pie crust and topped with an amazing cranberry blueberry meringue!
Recipe Origins
The crust is an all butter homemade pie crust that I’ve shared here. The filling is part this cranberry curd, part this blueberry curd (I combined the recipe!). The meringue topping is based off of this apple cider meringue but we’re using pure cranberry juice instead and adding freeze dried blueberries.
Recipe Ingredients
Fresh Cranberries: You may use frozen as well.
Blueberries: Fresh or frozen will do but aim for juicy ones (avoid the wild blueberries that are small and have little juice).
Sugar: fine granulated sugar. It’s for both the curd and the meringue.
Lime Juice: I prefer lime with these two but you can also use lemon juice. Either should be freshly squeezed. Don’t use orange juice or the curd will be very sweet.
Eggs: whole large eggs, egg yolks, and egg whites for the meringue.
Butter: to be stirred into the curd after cooking. If using salted butter, skip the added pinch of salt to the curd filling.
Cranberry juice: This one is important, make sure that the cranberry juice is 100% cranberries juice. There should be no added water or sugar. It will be concentrated and very tart. No substitutes!
Blueberry powder: You’ll make this by grinding freeze dried berries into a powder and then sieving the mixture to remove the larger bits. You’ll want to do at least half a cup of berries to make sure you get enough powder.
How to make Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
The full pie crust recipe instructions are here.
The filling
There’s a few steps to this but basically it comes down to cooking the berries until they burst, straining the juice out of them and cooking the sugar with the juice. Then you’ll temper in the eggs (adding the hot liquid slowly so as not to curdle the eggs) and cook until thick. The butter goes in last, and is whisked in for a silky curd.
Start by adding the berries, sugar, and juice to a pot:
Cook until the berries have burst and are completely soft
Then use an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor) to blend into a puree
Pour it through a sieve to get rid of the berry skins
Beat the eggs then slowly pour them into the sieved curd puree and whisk together
Set this back into the pot and cook until the temperature reaches 165 F, is thick and coats the back of a spoon
When it’s done, pour it (again – sorry!) through a fine mesh sieve and stir in the butter until it melts and the curd is smooth.
You can do this ahead of time if you like and keep it in the fridge for 2 weeks, sealed.
To bake the pie
Roll out the pie crust until it’s 1.5 inches wider than a 9 inch metal pie pan
Press the crust into the pan and trim off any excess from the sides.
Then tuck the edges and pinch them so you have a double layer at the top.
Use your fingers to create a crimped edge
Cover with foil and fill with pie weights, bake for about 30 minutes. You can pop it back into the oven if it still looks raw at the bottom. Basically what we’re going for is a crust that needs only 20 more minutes to bake
Then fill with the cranberry blueberry curd
And bake until the curd is set on the edges and the middle barely wobbles.
The meringue topping
This is an Italian meringue; for this you’ll use a hot sugar syrup which has been cooked to the ‘candy’ point and pour it onto partially whipped egg whites. You’ll use a mixer to then whip the sugar, juice and egg whites until you reach stiff peaks. While it’s mixing the blueberry powder is added.
Start by combining the sugar and cranberry juice in a pot and set it over medium to medium high heat.
Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Cook until the temperature reaches 245-250 F.
While the sugar is cooking, whip the egg whites until they are frothy (best to do this in a stand mixer).
Once the syrup is done cooking, slowly pour it into the mixer with the mixer on (aim for the middle of the bowl)
Then whip to stiff peaks, adding the blueberry powder, salt and vanilla toward the end:
You can dollop the meringue onto the pie or pipe it for a pretty design. And don’t forget to torch it!
FAQ
How do I know when the curd is done cooking?
It should be quite thick, it will thicken on the bottom first so stir constantly to distribute the heat. Once it’s all thick and coats the back of a spoon it’s done.
How do I know when the pie is done cooking?
There may be a slight jiggle in the center after the 12-15 minute mark and that’s fine. If you are using a smaller pie pan (mine was 9” round) it could take a little longer. The edges should be set when you take it out of the oven.
How do I know when the meringue is done whipping?
It will start as a dark liquid and gradually lighten in color and thicken. Check it once it looks quite fluffy, test it by removing the whisk attachment and holding it upright: if the meringue doesn’t droop it’s done whipping.
How long will this pie last?
Without the meringue the curd pie can last 3-5 days. With the meringue it should probably be eaten in 48 hours as the meringue tends to weep after that.
I don’t like meringues, what else can I top this pie with?
Whipped cream would do just fine here too. Whip together 1 cup heavy cream a pinch of salt and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. You can also make this in a food processor. And if you like, add the blueberry powder to it as well, it’ll make a pretty color and give it some flavor.
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie Recipe
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Butter Pie Crust
- homemade pie crust you only need half the recipe to make the bottom crust
Blueberry Cranberry Curd
- 200g fresh cranberries
- 200g blueberries fresh or frozen
- 80g or ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
- 113g or ½ cup butter
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue
- 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 120g or ½ cup pure cranberry juice 100% cranberry
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 tablespoons blueberry powder from ground freeze dried blueberries
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method
- Make the pie crust: Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife until kidney-bean sized. Add the water and stir with a spatula then use your hands to gather the dough into a ball (it will take quite a few turns). Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or up to 48.
- Par-bake the pie crust: Roll out the cold crust on a lightly floured surface until it’s at least 3 inches wider than your rimmed pie pan. Lay it over the pan and trim so you have an even edge. Fold the dough over on the edges and use your thumb on one hand and thumb and index finger on the other hand to crimp the crust. Set it to chill until hard, at least an hour in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 400 F and set the pie on a cookie sheet (in case any pastry falls off or butter leaks). Cover the whole pie with foil, wrapping it around the edges to protect the crimped edges. Fill all the way to rim with pie weights (or dried beans). Bake for 25 minutes then remove the weights and foil.
- Make the curd: In a pot set the cranberries, blueberries, sugar, and lime juice to cook until the berries all pop and it’s mostly liquid, you can use an immersion blender here to further get the berries mashed. Press through a fine mesh sieve and discard bits. Set the eggs and yolks in a bowl and add just a bit of the berry mix and whisk. Then slowly add more of the mix and whisk. Now pour all the egg mixture into the berry mix and whisk to combine. This is to temper the eggs. Cook the mixture until thick, stirring as it cooks. When it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s done and will register 160-165 F on a thermometer. Turn the heat off and whisk in the butter.
- Bake the pie: Pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve into the par-baked crust (in case there are any bits). Bake the pie at 350 F until the edges are set but the center may have a slight jiggle, about 15-20 minutes. Chill the pie for at least a few hours before making the meringue.
- Make the meringue: Set the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. In a pot, combine the sugar and cranberry juice and set over medium heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the temperature reaches 250 F “the candy stage”. Begin whipping the egg whites slowly while the liquid cools for a minute or two, then with the mixer on low and whipping, slowly pour in the liquid. Once it’s all in, turn the mixer up to medium speed and whip for 5-10 minutes, until you have a stiff meringue (you can take the whisk out and the meringue holds shape). Toward the end, add the blueberry powder and the vanilla. Dollop the meringue on top of the pie or use a piping tip to make a pretty design. If kept in the fridge, the meringue will hold shape for a day. Torch the pie before serving, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this for Thanksgiving using limes for the curd and it was delicious! Highly recommend making the extra filling, but note that you’ll want to up the sugar (I just estimated, but made it a little on the tart side which I ended up loving!). The meringue was easy to make and looked beautiful. I even bought special piping tips for it. A great showstopper and a nice lighter-feeling dessert for the holiday! Thanks.
I made this pie today! I used lemons because I didn’t have any limes, but I followed everything else per the recipe. It came out very good. I just had trouble getting the meringue stiff enough to pipe. I did add a little cream of tartar, not sure if I should have. It seemed great and then a few minutes after I was done whipping, it lost some shape so I had to do the traditional swirls with a spoon instead of the piping as in the picture, but it still looked nice. Thank you for the recipe! It makes me curious to try a similar blueberry cranberry curd but with less sugar and a more traditional sweeter meringue without the cranberry juice. It would be helpful to add in the recipe what heat setting to use when cooking the curd.
What piping tip did you use to achieve that look? Thank you it looks beautiful!
I believe it was a wide open star tip. Thank you!
This has gotta be one of the best pies I’ve ever had! The curd is perfectly tart, and I love the blueberry and cranberry combo. The meringue is SO deliciously smooth and dreamy, and it all just makes for one fantastic pie! I made the curd as written, only subbing lemon juice for the recommended lime. I sadly did not have cranberry juice for the meringue, so I substituted grape juice, and it turned out just fine and you couldn’t even tell that it was made with grape! As far as meringue pies go, I actually much prefer Italian meringue over others, so I really enjoyed that part of the pie! I did find that since the meringue was so thick (about 3-4 inches high) it kinda drowned out the flavors of the curd, so I could see how making a 1 1/2 batch of the curd would really help to balance the flavors a bit better. Still though- this quite possibly is the best pie I’ve ever tasted. Run to the kitchen and make this now!
Hi Sam
I would like to know what I could substitute for the cranberry juice in the meringue. This is the one ingredient I can not find.
Thank you
there’s no substitue for that I’m afraid. You could always do a plain italian meringue?
Made this between yesterday and today for a Thanksgiving celebration. The meringue is absolutely delightful. Hubby and I would eat it with a spoon. I could not find freeze dried blueberries anywhere local, and didn’t want to buy an expensive bag for two tbsps just for this recipe, so instead I used (gasp!) red food coloring. It came out a delightful pink. Some day when I’m near a Trader Joe’s I’ll probably stock up on blueberries, but until then, we are quite happy!
Sam, any time I’m needing a dessert for something special, your site is the first thing I check! Your recipes just WORK, and every detail is well thought out and it tastes amazing.
gosh vanessa, thank you so much for this review! you made my day =)
Under Ingredient’s for crust you don’t have water listed so not sure how much and temperature of it
fixed!
This recipe looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it! Is it possible to replace the cranberry juice with lemon juice or a non-carbonated lemonade? I love lemon meringue and was wondering how go about doing it in this recipe.
Thanks 🙂
I think if I were to do a blueberry lemon meringue pie I’d use my blueberry curd as the filling and for the meringue a blueberry juice (not from fresh or frozen blueberries, the kind sold in bottles)
Is there anything else that can be done other than meringue on top? Its not that I dont want to make a meringue or anything but we arent huge dessert people [well my kiddo would disagree but] and when we made your smore pie [which was wonderful btw] we only finished at the end of the week because we lost power [and of course the meringue was a sloppy mess by then]. Is there anyway to enjoy with or without the meringue but can last a little longer than a day?
I’d skip the meringue and just add some whipped cream right before serving. It’ll be a nice balance!
wow, this is so creative and impressive, a blueberry-cranberry curd? Yes my idea of curds starts and ends with lemon, as you write, and paired with cranberry a lovely sweet-tart contrast, and love the meringue with the same flavors but using juice and powders of each, this is wonderful, thank you!
This pie is absolutely stunning, I had to try it! Followed everything exactly per the recipe and it came out perfectly! Thank you!
I made this for dessert for Christmas dinner. It was perfect for after the meal and for my family who doesn’t like things super sweet.
Made this pie for Christmas dinner.. and blew everyone’s mind. The curd is tart and the meringue tastes like a marshmallow.. and then the butter pie crust.. it’s just the best melding of flavors in your mouth. A delicious showstopper (:
Oh my this is so wonderful to hear! I know it’s a finicky one with all the different ingredients so thank you for investing in this one 😀
How much water do you add to the pie crust? I’ve tried all-butter crusts in the past and haven’t always been successful (usually the sides sink to the bottom) so I will have to try your method.
I usually add 4-5 tablespoons of ice cold water. The sides will always shrink a bit but you can stop it from shrinking too much by par-baking it well (see all my instructions in the recipe!)