Here is one of the yummiest recipes, Lemon Meringue. At the Raw Vegan Culinary School, our students are taught cooked Vegan as well as Raw. We want them to have the most complete training possible, and be able to share this style of eating with all their family and friends. Sometimes cooked Vegan is a wonderful way to transition! As always, we are in awe of what our students create. We know you will love this one created by Ann Sheldon. Enjoy!
Ann said …
I wanted to re-create this classic dish for some time now, and with the subject matter of this week’s assignment, I thought it the perfect time. I used to watch my mother on many occasions in my childhood creating these wonderful tarts, and they tasted like heaven on a plate. I have never actually made one! Neither the standard way nor a vegan version.
So, now is my opportunity to re-create this wonderful classic, and I hope I can do it justice.
The Pastry
My first hurdle was to create a tasty sweet tart pastry shell. I haven’t made any pastry for a while, but wanted to give this a try. I combined light organic biodynamic white flour with some vegan margarine/butter – I used Nuttalex Buttery. I also added some Himalayan pink salt and filtered water. As I wanted this to be a sweet crust, I also added some raw castor sugar.
I pulsed the margarine through the flour in the food processor, as I find this a great piece of equipment for making pastry. I then added the rest of the dry ingredients and slowly added water. The pastry came together beautifully into a ball. I then rolled it out and added it to my tart case and pre-baked it in a moderate oven. Then, I left it out to cool whilst I made the rest of the tart.
The Lemon Custard
I knew the lemon custard would be a challenge as it is traditionally made with egg yolks – a very hard ingredient to replace. I had some beautiful organic lemons, and also added some lemon zest and a little drop or two of lemon flavour. To create a custardy feel, I used arrowroot along with the light white biodynamic flour, and some more of the raw castor sugar. To make it into creamy custard, I used a cup of firm tofu. I started by adding the dry ingredients to the pan – sugar, flour, arrowroot and salt – combining them together. I then added the wet ingredients – lemon juice, water, the essence and the zest. I brought the custard to a boil, and then lowered the heat. When I took it off the heat, I added a tablespoon of margarine to give it sheen.
I then processed the firm tofu in the blender and added the custard mix. It blended together into a really nice custardy blend. I then put it to one side next to the pastry whilst I made up the meringue.
The Egg-less Meringue
This is my favorite part. To replace the egg whites, I use the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, called Aqua Faba. It makes up really well like egg white and is a real buzz to work with. I have used this wonderful juice before to make a lovely marshmallow, which I placed between 2 peanut butter biscuits. It whips up really well. You can use any bean juice, but chickpeas seem to be the favorite.
Before I started, I placed the raw castor sugar in my dry blender, and blended it up to give it a more fine consistency. I placed the bean juice (aqua faba) in a bowl and used a mixer to whisk it up. It whisked up quite quickly and turned to a lovely white. Whilst mixing, I added the sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time. I then mixed until it was getting quite thick. Then, I added the vanilla and a half teaspoon of Xanthan Gum to make it come together more firmly. I didn’t want to add any cream of tartar, so I added a little lemon juice instead. Cream of tartar is acidic to help with the bubbles, and a little lemon juice works just as well.
Bringing It All Together
I then set about creating the tart. Firstly, I added the custard mix to the tart shell, and followed with my wonderful aqua faba meringue. Secondly, I placed in a moderate oven and baked for around 15-20 minutes. Finally, I let it stand on my counter for about 1 hour, and then, placed it in the fridge.
The tart turned out beautifully and was very delicious!
- [b]Pastry[/b]
- 1 ½ cups Light biodynamic flour (plain)
- 3 tablespoons vegan margarine/butter – cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup raw castor sugar
- 1 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt[br][br]
- [b]The Custard[/b]
- Step One (1)
- 1 cup raw castor sugar
- 4 tablespoons Arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons Light biodynamic flour (plain)
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- Step Two (2)
- 1 ½ cups filtered water
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1 tablespoon Agar Agar (to create a firm custard)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1-2 drops lemon essence
- Step Three (3)
- 1 cup firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon vegan margarine/butter[br][br]
- [b]The Egg-Less Meringue[/b]
- 1 cup chickpea juice (bean juice)
- 2/3 cup raw castor sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- Place flour salt and margarine in food processor and process until looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Then add the sugar and mix well.
- Once all dry ingredients have come together add the water slowly through the top until the mixture comes together to form a ball a pastry.
- Roll out to desired shape and place in a greased tart case. Bake in a moderate oven until nicely brown.
- Place to one side to cool down or do this section the day before.[br][br]
- Place the dry ingredients from step one into a saucepan and mix together well – heat the stove to a medium heat – then add the ingredients from step two and mix well.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower to a medium head and cook until the mixture comes together into a thick paste. Then bring off the heat, stir through the vegan margarine and rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Whilst the custard is resting blend up the firm tofu in the blender and then add the custard mix. Blend until it becomes thick smooth lovely custard. Place to one side whilst you make the meringue.[br][br]
- First thing I did was to place the castor sugar in the dry blender and blend into a fine powder.
- I then added the chickpea juice to the mixer and began to mix. As the mixture starts to turn white and thicken slowly add the sugar 1 teaspoon at a time until all combined. The mixture will then become quite thick – at this stage add the vanilla and lemon juice. Mix until these are combined and then add the Xanthan gum. The mixture will then turn quite thick. At this point it will be done, but can still be mixed for a little longer if required.[br][br]
- You then pour the lemon custard into the pre-made pastry – then add the meringue on top and form it into little peaks.
- Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown on the top. It is then advisable to leave on a bench for around 1 hour before putting into the fridge.
- After 2 hours in the fridge, it is safe to slice your tart and serve. I wasn’t able to get some Agar Agar for this project, so the custard came out a little soft – I know next time I make it with the addition of the agar agar, it will turn out better. However, it tasted just like lemon meringue tart and everyone loved it. To correct the softness, I placed the tart in the freezer and that worked really well.
If you want to take your raw food journey to a more advanced level, consider our Raw Vegan Culinary Course.