This easy-to-make Raspberry Meringue Pie has a filling made with light as air sweet meringue mixed with ruby red raspberries baked in a cookie crust until it’s crisp and golden brown.
Are you a Downton Abbey fan? My daughter got me interested in watching the PBS series about a year after it started and I was hooked. Did you know that there’s a Downton Abbey movie coming out this month, September 2019? I’m excited to see the movie–apparently they are expecting royal visitors.
This recipe is from a fun cookbook, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook. The new expanded edition is:
Perfect for fans of the show and just in time for the release of the movie, The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook gives you the opportunity to experience Mrs. Patmore’s cooking for yourself by dining like the Earl and Countess of Grantham or seeing what food was like for the maids and butlers in the servant’s quarters. With all the recipes, photographs, and dashes of historical insight, this cookbook is essential to any Downton fan’s collection.
I especially love the charming tidbits about times gone by, etiquette lessons, as well as suggested pairings sprinkled throughout the book. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll love the cookbook and this luscious recipe.
The cookbook is divided into two sections. Part 1 Dining with the Crawleys and Part 2 Sustenance for the Staff. The recipes in part 1 are elegant recipes like this pie, that would be served to the Crawleys and their guests.
I was particularly fond of the recipes in part 2. More hearty meals that would have been enjoyed by the staff, similar to the kind of homestyle meals and desserts I grew up eating.
Photo from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, Expanded Edition by Emily Ansara Baines. Copyright © 2012, 2014, 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
The intro for the Raspberry Meringue Pie in the cookbook explains that this pie is a twist on Mrs. Patmore’s ill-fated raspberry meringues, a light and fluffy dessert with a nearly shortbread-like crust, sure to engage even the pickiest of eaters…just be sure to leave off the salt toping!
The recipe also includes this fun tidbit about Times Gone By:
Although Downton Abbey portrays the servants as all sleeping “downstairs,” in real stately houses–such as Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey is filmed–the maids would sleep in the high floors above everyone else. In the event of a fire, it was the maids who faced the most peril, as there weren’t any fire escapes.
How To Make a Raspberry Meringue Pie
This pie has a simple raspberry meringue filling and an easy-to-make cookie crust. You bake the cookie crust at the same time that you brown and bake the meringue, so it comes together quickly.
The only tricky part is that the cookie crust is sticky and a little bit difficult to spread in the pie pan. I used a bench scraper to thinly spread the cookie dough, and that worked well.
Once you have the crust made, you’ll need to whip the egg whites. If you’ve never separated eggs, Sugar Hero has a great post with tips on separating egg whites from the egg yolks.
Do I Need to Use Room Temperature Eggs Whites
It’s important to use room temperature egg whites when making the meringue. Cold egg whites will not whip as well. You can bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes. Put the eggs in the warm water before you start making the crust and they’ll be ready to whip when it’s time to make the filling.
Be sure and gradually add the sugar while beating the egg whites so the sugar can dissolve and won’t clump together.
Also, gently fold the raspberries into the meringue, trying to keep the raspberries whole if possible.
My meringue browned more evenly than the gorgeous pie pictured above from the cookbook. I also didn’t get a chance to serve my pie the day I made it and the meringue did get a little weepy. So, I recommend serving the pie as soon as it cools to room temperature.
My husband and I loved this Raspberry Meringue Pie. It was an upstairs recipe, that I would love to serve next time we have guests. It’s an easy-to-make pie that is sure to impress.
Disclosure: I received The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook for my review, but the opinions expressed are always my own.
Raspberry Meringue Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt I used ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cold butter
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Filling
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare crust: In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter, until it resembles bread crumbs.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla extract, and whole milk. Stir into flour mixture (mixture will be sticky). Press dough into the bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch pie tin and set aside.
- Prepare filling: In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Depending on the temperature of the egg whites, this may take a while. Gradually beat in sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold raspberries into merginue, then spoon mixture over the crust.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Cool to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
More pie recipes you might like:
Key Lime Pie, Barbara Bakes
Lemon Blackberry Chess Pie, Barbara Bakes
Cranberry Pecan Pie, Barbara Bakes
Raspberry Pie, Crazy for Crust
Fresh Peach Pie, Mel’s Kitchen
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Natasha
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is so easy to make and the result is wonderful. My whole family loved this dessert and I will surely make it again!
Melissa Griffiths
So glad you enjoyed it Natasha!
Belmera fernandes
❤️ the Rasberry pie can I try it with strawberries
Carol
I didn’t watch the Downton Abbey series…..but your pie looks delicious! 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Thanks so much Carol!