Not my best pictures, but definitely some of my best pies.
I reverse engineered and adapted this pie from a favorite served at the Rustic Inn Cafe just up the shore in Castle Danger, MN. But don't get the wrong idea here. You still need to go to the Rustic Inn. More than once. You need to see the pie selection, the pie shed, and just...pie. All the pie.
This little creation of mine is really meant to hold us over until we can get the real thing, which is sold (frozen) at a couple local specialty grocery stores. But for those of you far away from the North Shore, and for those who think the combination of meringue crust, sweetened cream cheese layer, and a billow of raspberry-laced whipped cream sounds pretty good, this one's for you. Sometimes called "Angel Pies," meringue crust pies are a thing we should all do more often.
Raspberry Cream Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
For the meringue crust
3 large egg whites, at room temperature for best results
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (I like the crust a bit sweeter since the topping is only sweetened by the berries, but this is flexible!)
For the filling layer
1/2 cup sour cream, set out to come close to room temp. (if it's too cold, it will cause your cream cheese to seize up and make it impossible to blend smoothly)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp (fully soft!)
1 Tbsp. orange OR lemon juice
1 tsp. orange OR lemon zest (optional)
For the raspberry cream
1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds fresh raspberries
1 cup heavy cream
Spray a 9-inch pie pan with non-stick spray, and heat your oven to 275˚. Begin the crust by beating the egg whites in the (spotlessly clean) bowl of a mixer at low speed until good and foamy. Switch to med./med.-high and beat until no more large bubbles form at the edges (this should be just before the "soft peak" stage, maybe 3-5 minutes). With the mixer on, add the sugar a bit at a time and beat until stiff peaks form and the eggs have just lost their gloss. Carefully scoop meringue into pie pan and spread as evenly as possible in the bottom and up the sides, making a sort of well in the center. It won't be perfect, but you're going to cover it with dairy and fruit so who cares. Bake for 45-minutes to 1 hour. Turn oven off, but leave the crust inside for another hour to dry/cool slowly. I tend towards the shorter end of that bake time because I like the texture.
[Notes: this bake time/technique is really flexible! You can do things low and slow at 225˚for 1.5 hours of baking/1 hour in-oven cooling, or you can rush this a bit and bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes and cool right on the counter. Follow your heart. I find that rushing it forms cracks, and it it just doesn't have the soft texture inside that I like, but you do you.]
Once the pie shell is cool, combine filling ingredients in your mixer bowl and beat until well-combined and creamy, scraping the sides as needed. Spread mixture into shell, and toss pie in the fridge for an hour or so to chill and set.
Just before you're ready to serve: you have a decision to make! You should whip your cream into a nice soft billow and then: either fold it into a bowl of your slightly mashed berries (as seen above, with some whole berries reserved for decoration) OR you can layer berries, then whipped cream, then berries into your pie shell. Whatever feels right to you. The mashed-berries-in-cream option you see here freezes really beautifully, but the whole berry version might be a bit more...photogenic perhaps?
Serve! Or freeze! Thaw in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.
Any leftover pie (hahahaha) tastes delicious the second day, but the layers will have seeped and sogged the crust a bit. My husband doesn't mind; you probably won't either.