Concord Grape Curd & Vegan Meringue Pie Parfaits

Vegan Concord Grape Meringue Pie Parfaits

Tangy grape curd, soft vegan meringue fluff, crunchy cereal crust, it’s all happening here.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 batch Concord grape curd (recipe below)
• 1 batch vegan meringue (recipe below)
• 1/2 to 1 c crushed cereal or cookies, depending on how much of a base you want in each bite

METHOD

Divide crushed crumbs into the bottom of 4 glasses. Spoon in curd, top with meringue.

Drizzle with a bit of reserved grape juice and a few extra crumbs.

COOK’S NOTES

• Meringue does not hold up very well to having things layered on top of it, so keep it as the top layer.

vegan // vegetarian // gluten-free // refined sugar-free // dairy-free

Vegan Meringue

Meringue with no egg whites, no soy, no gelatin, no agar and no coconut – what?? You’ll doubt the reality of this recipe until your flax-seed goo morphs into fluffy clouds of meringue before your eyes. Magic I tell you, magic. (Adapted from Artisan Vegan Life)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 c flax seeds, whole not ground
• 3 cups filtered water

• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch sea salt
• 1/4 c raw sugar

METHOD

Make the goo

Bring flax seeds and water to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 20 – 40 mins (see note below) until mixture is thick like honey.

Strain to remove seeds, reserving goo. Yes goo, it should be a bit like the consistency of Ghostbusters slime. Refrigerate until cool.

Make the meringue

Using an electric hand mixer or bench-top mixer with a whisk attachment, beat 1/2 c cold goo until light, loose and foamy, about 6 mins. Add cream of tartar and salt and beat a further 2 mins or so until mixture is starting to form trails and soft peaks.

Beat in sugar, a Tbsp at a time, allowing it to dissolve before adding more. Add more or less sugar to taste and beat until glossy.

Use immediately to fold through curds and puddings or use as a topping for parfaits or pies.

If you are game, bake it to make little crunchy meringues (I have not tried this yet as I didn’t have time, but the method can be found on this forum)

COOK’S NOTES

• The original recipe said to simmer seeds and water for 20 mins. Some people mentioned in the comments needing less time, however the flax seeds I used had been languishing in Mum’s fridge for ages and were quite old so it took nearly 40 mins before I had a thickish mixture. The goo needs to be liquid enough to strain and will gel-up more as it cools.
• Original recipe stated that it made 1/2 c goo however I ended up with nearly a cup, allowing me to experiment a bit.
• If possible, use a wide flat bowl rather than a tall deep one to beat the goo into fluff. Mixture may start to climb up your beaters once you add the sugar, if necessary beat in two batches.
• Fluff does not react well to heat. I tried to add a warm rice syrup caramel as the sweetener the first time and the whole thing deflated almost instantly. Not sure how cold rice syrup would work…

vegan // vegetarian // gluten-free // refined sugar-free // dairy-free

Vegan Concord Grape Curd

Tangy grape curd as much as home in a meringue topped parfait as it is spread on toast. This is where real grape flavour is at.

Makes: 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups Concord grapes, washed

• Juice or water, if needed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• tiny pinch sea salt
• 3 Tbsp corn flour (corn starch) mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water

METHOD

Place grapes in a medium saucepan and roughly crush with a fork to squeeze pulp from skins. Simmer 10 mins.

Pour mixture into a mesh strainer and stir with a metal spoon to push through all the juice and pulp, leaving skins and seeds. Don’t forget to scrape any extra grapey-goodness off the bottom of the strainer. Discard skin and seed pulp. If necessary, top up grape juice with water, apple juice or white grape juice to make 2 cups.

Bring juice, vanilla and salt to a simmer. Add corn flour/water mixture and whisk vigourously for 3 mins over medium-low heat. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool completely in the refrigerator.

Stir well and use for Meringue Parfaits or use to top yoghurt, ice cream or even toast.

COOK’S NOTES

• Sugar: No, it isn’t a typo, there is no added sugar in this curd – grapes are plenty sweet enough and if you use juice to top up the liquid it will add an extra level of sweetness anyway. Just go with it.
  
• Grapes: if you aren’t in an area where you can get Concord (or Fredonia or Buffalo) Grapes, use the darkest grapes you can find. In Australia look for ‘American Black Grapes’.
• If you’d like, set aside a couple Tbsp of grape juice to drizzle over the meringue before topping up with the extra liquid.

vegan // vegetarian // gluten-free // refined sugar-free // dairy-free