Happy Pi Day! (Azuki Matcha Meringue Pie)

The day isn't over yet, so I can still wish you all a Happy Pi Day!

























I took a chance and made a complete experiment of a pie. Remember the dessert I had in Paris I kept raving about? The azuki matcha duomo from Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki? This pie is inspired by that dessert. The fillings I made went well together, but I have to work on the pie construction and topping. I also hope to find a way to make it look appetizing. It's certainly not an appealing pie, but the flavors worked.

My recipe for Pi Day is a work in progress, but if you're looking for a simple azuki paste recipe or a matcha curd recipe, I've got them below.


Azuki Matcha Meringue Pie

Ingredients:
1 baked pie shell
3/4 cup azuki bean paste
1 recipe warm matcha curd, recipe below
1 recipe meringue

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spread a thin layer of the azuki paste in the baked pie shell.
3. Pour the still warm matcha curd over the azuki paste, completely covering the paste.
4. Top the pie with the meringue, also completely covering matcha curd and making sure it reaches the edge of the crust. Add peaks to the meringue with a rubber spatula as desired.
5. Bake pie for 10-12 minutes or until meringue topping turns golden.
6. Remove from oven and let completely cool before serving.


Azuki (Red Bean) Paste
Ingredients:
1 cup dried azuki beans
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups water

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, cover beans with water and soak overnight.
2. Drain beans. Simmer beans and 3 cups water for an hour or until soft. Continue to simmer until the beans absorbs most of the water. Add sugar and mix beans until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
3. Put beans in food processor and blend until it becomes a smooth paste.
4. Add sugar and continue blending until desired sweetness and consistency.


Matcha Curd
Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/3 cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup matcha powder, sifted

Directions:
1. Whisk egg yolks first in a separate bowl.
2. Whisk together cornstarch, water, sugar, matcha powder, and salt in a saucepan.
3. On medium heat, stir together until brought to a boil.
4. Remove from heat, and gently add hot mixture to egg yolks spoonful at a time, whisking together until at least half of the hot mixture is added.
5. Return egg and cornstarch mixture to saucepan and on low heat, stir mixture together for 1 minute.
6. Remove from heat and gently stir in butter.


Meringue Topping
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 t sugar

Directions:
1. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment.
2. Beat egg whites on medium until soft peaks form and add sugar little at a time.
3. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.