Jeni Britton Bauer's Baked Alaska Pie

Ingredients

• For pie crust:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 batch ice cream or sorbet of your choice, slightly softened if necessary
• For italian meringue:
• 4 large egg white
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved, optional

Directions

1. For the pie crust, add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and oats to a food processor, then run it until the oats are broken into small pieces. Add the sugar and salt, and pulse to mix. Scatter in the butter and pulse only until the mixture starts holding together while still looking crumbly.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the half-and-half. Whisk in the vanilla, then pour this into the flour mixture and pulse until a dough forms. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, bring it together into a ball, and flatten it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for a few minutes so it softens slightly. Roll it on a lightly floured surface into a circle just under 14 inch thick.
4. Drape the dough gently over the rolling pin, then transfer it into a 9-inch pie pan. Ease it into the pan, then trim the border to a 12-inch overhang. Turn the edge under itself, then tuck and pinch it into a fluted rim; if you prefer, press the edge with a fork for a simple pattern. Chill for 30 minutes.
5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use a fork to pierce the bottom of the crust all over. Cover the dough with a square of parchment paper and add pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 12 minutes.
6. Remove the parchment and weights, then return the crust to the oven for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottom is baked through and the shell has a pale golden color. Cool it completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Spoon the ice cream into the crust, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
7. For the meringue, place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt, then bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice to help the sugar dissolve. After the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan. When the syrup reaches 215 degrees F, start beating the egg whites on medium speed; the goal is to have them at soft peaks when the syrup is done. As soon as the egg whites turn foamy, add the cream of tartar.
8. When the syrup reaches 238 degrees F, take the pan off the heat. With the mixer running on medium, slowly and carefully stream the syrup down the inside of the mixer bowl, making sure it does not hit the whisk. After all the syrup is in, add the vanilla seeds, if using, increase the mixer to high, and beat until the meringue is cool and holds big, soft peaks.
9. Take the ice cream pie out of the freezer and pile spoonfuls of meringue over the top. Freeze it uncovered until you are ready to serve. The assembled pie can stay in the freezer for up to a month; after the meringue is frozen, cover the whole pie with plastic wrap.
10. Heat the oven to 475 degrees F. Pull the pie from the freezer and bake for about 5 minutes, just long enough for the meringue to brown on top and the ice cream to soften a bit at the edges. Cut into slices and serve.