Sweet of the Week: Passion Fruit Meringue Pie at Hoosier Mama Pie Company

It seems like just yesterday I was opining about my mad love for passion fruit. Actually it was last week. I am officially the bug-eyed Cookie Monster equivalent of passion fruit, because I'm about to unload another obsessive passion fruit dessert on you all: the passion fruit meringue pie at Hoosier Mama Pie Company. I am aware that this time of year, it's practically sacrilege to enjoy any type of pie outside of pumpkin, pecan, and apple. But I am willing to hold Hoosier Mama's passion fruit meringue against any of these any day. Not only do I love it more than these formulaic holiday requisites, but I am more than willing to put it at the center of any holiday table. 

(Passion fruit meringue, Hoosier Mama-style)

When it comes to meringue pies, lemon typically hogs most of the spotlight. When in actuality, any type of citrusy, acidic fruit can be made into a meringue-type format. The key is in the balance between acidic curd and fluffy-sweet meringue. Altogether, the pie should toe the line between tangy and sugary, with a texture that is velvety soft within a crumbly pastry crust. Hoosier Mama excels on all fronts, filling a buttery pie crust with vivid passion fruit curd and crowning it all with a mile-high mound of toasted meringue. Nothing is too cloying, too dense, or too tough. Instead, each vibrant component stands out as decadent in its own balanced way. But it's that fruity, tangy passion fruit that's the real showstopper, front-and-center where it belongs beneath a bounteous sheath of fluffy meringue. 

- Matt Kirouac