This orange pie is so summery with a creamy orange filling and meringue topping! The orange pie recipe dates back to the 1920s, and the puff paste recipe is even older, it’s from the Victorian era!

Ingredients:

Puff Paste

• 9 1/2oz / 275g flour
• 4oz / 115g butter
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Orange Filling

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar (I used just 1/2 cup)
• grated rind of one orange

Meringue Topping

• 3 egg whites
• 7 tbsp sugar

Puff paste: Preheat the oven to 356°F/ 180°C. ‘Mix the salt and sugar with the flour. With the hands, rub one-third of the butter into the flour. Add the water, stirring with a knife. Stir quickly and vigorously until the paste is a smooth ball. […] Roll from you and to one side […] When it is about one-fourth of an inch thick, wipe the remaining butter, break it in bits and spread these on the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold the paste, one-third from each side, so that the edges meet. Now fold from the ends, but do not have these meet. Double the paste, pound lightly and roll down to about one-third of an inch in thickness. Fold as before and roll down again.

Repeat this three times if for pies and six times if for vol-au-vents, patties, tarts, etc. Place on the ice to harden, when it has been rolled the last time. It should be in the ice chest at least an hour before being used. In hot weather, if the paste sticks when being rolled down, put it on a tin sheet and place on ice. As soon as it is chilled, it will roll easily. The less flour you use in rolling out the paste, the tenderer it will be.’ (The Whitehouse Cookbook, 1887, p. 323)

Orange filling: Whisk all ingredients together. ‘Line medium pie plate with pastry. Pour in orange filling’. (Brewster Book Of Recipes, 1921) Bake for 30 minutes.

Meringue topping: ‘Beat whites of eggs with 7 tablespoons of sugar until very stiff. Spread on top of pie and return to oven until slightly browned.’ (Brewster Book Of Recipes, 1921) Bake for another 10 minutes. ‘To ascertain when the cake is done, run a broom straw into the middle of it; if it comes out clean and smooth, the cake will do to take out.’ (The Whitehouse Cookbook, 1887, p. 283)