Lemon Pie With Meringue Roses

Looking for a fabulous Spring dessert? Try this reinvention of a classic lemon meringue pie! It's just the right combination of sweet & tart, with fresh lemons and a coconut shortbread crust. I love the combination of lemon and coconut. Add to that a wreath of delicious vanilla meringue roses and you have a real showstopper!

I've been decorating cakes with buttercream flowers for quite awhile when it occurred to me - why should cakes have all the fun? Why not use the same techniques to level up my pie game? This lovely decor is simply meringue that has been colored, piped and baked just like French meringue cookies. Crispy on the outside and chewy and marshmallow-y on the inside. The colorful meringue wreath is then placed atop a lemon pie or tart and voila!!!

Coconut Shortbread Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into small c
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Lemon Filling:

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon zest
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Meringue Roses:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• food coloring

Combine the flour, coconut, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 - 15 pulses. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the dough begins to come together, about 15 more pulses. Do not process to the point where a large ball of dough forms.

Turn out on counter and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 15 minutes. Note: you can make this ahead and store in refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze up to a month.

Remove dough and roll out to a 12 inch circle between 2 pieces of waxed paper. Place into a 10 inch tart pan and trim to fit. Cover with plastic wrap and put in freezer at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until crust is golden brown. Cool.

Zest and juice the lemons. Put the sugar and zest in a food processor and pulse until zest is finely minced. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer. Add eggs one at a time and mix to combine. Add lemon juice and salt and mix. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat until thickened stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Mixture should get to about 170 degrees Fahrenheit and coat the back of a spoon when done. Remove from heat and refrigerate to cool.

Whip the cream. Fold into lemon mixture and pour into pie crust.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Draw a circle on a sheet of parchment paper as a piping guide, approximately 8 inches in diameter. Turn parchment paper upside down and place on a baking sheet.

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium high and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar, slowly pouring about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.

Separate into smaller bowl and color as desired. I used lavender, pink, yellow and green. Put each into a piping bag with tip. I used the Wilton 1M tip for the roses and the Wilton 68 tip for leaves.

To pipe a rose, begin at the center with the piping bag straight up (perpendicular to the parchment surface.) Squeeze the piping bag until the meringue begins to release like a small flower. Now move the bag around the center to make a swirl. Continue to rotate around until you get the size of rose that you like. Slowly release pressure at the end of the swirl. There are lots of videos available online that demonstrate this technique.

Continue piping roses in different colors until you fill in the circle. Add leaves as desired. Have fun & be creative!!

Next, bake for 1 hour. Then turn oven off and let meringues stand in for an additional hour. Do not open the oven.

Once cooled, remove meringue rose wreath from parchment paper and place on top of pie. Pie can be eaten immediately or stored in refrigerator up to 3 days