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.
Special Ingredients for Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
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!
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).
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.
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 Curd
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.
How to make Blueberry Cranberry Meringue
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.
FAQ on Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
There’s two leftover egg whites sam, what shall I do with them?
Make these double chocolate cookies!
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.
Can I make JUST the blueberry cranberry curd?
Of course, just follow the steps up to the point of adding in the butter. You can transfer it to a mason jar, seal it shut and refrigerate it. It’ll keep for a week!
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie Recipe
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Butter Pie Crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¾ cups butter cold and sliced
- 5 tablespoons water cold
Blueberry Cranberry Curd
- 6 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen get juicy ones!
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
- ½ cup butter
Blueberry Cranberry Meringue
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 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 and lime juice to cook for about 10 minutes, 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. Return the berry mixture to the pot (it should be cleaned of any bits) and add the sugar, cook until sugar dissolves. 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. 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 for 15 minutes to set. 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.
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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!)