I love pie. They are so tasty and gorgeous. But I hate making them. Hate. It. Mine may taste good but won’t win any beauty pageant awards. Sometimes, they look pretty mangled, like a little kid made them or a wild animal ravaged it. Pies are my mortal enemy in the kitchen. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I lack great pie-making skills, although I am a master at eating them.
When I was going through my recipes for an Easter dessert, this pie caught my eye. Given my lack of pie-making skills, I regretfully filed it away, thinking I should focus on something more tried and true. And something that will also look good. I can still enjoy an ugly pie myself, but it’s hard to take good pictures of something that looks inedible, even if it tastes delicious.
But this pie … this pie with its tart, lemony custard … kept calling my name.
Tanya, oh Tanya … why are you ignoring me? Please make me. I am delicious.
I kept coming back, again and again. Finally, I had enough and decided to make it, although I cheated just a little bit. My pie struggles mainly deal with the crust. It’s either undercooked, overcooked or a mangled mess. Because I wanted this to look as pretty as it tasted, I used a pre-made frozen crust.
I don’t feel an ounce of guilt either.
Some day I will master pie crust. But today is not that day and I accept that!
And yes, my pie-cutting and serving skills are on par with my pie-making skills. Pies: thy mortal enemy. But oh, so tasty! Do not let these less than gorgeous photos deter you. This pie is amazing!
This pie is actually very easy to make, if you use a pre-made frozen crust or are a master pie crust maker and let someone other than me serve it. 🙂 The lemon custard has just the perfect amount of bite — your lips pucker and your nose scrunches up a bit, just as it should. This pie will be a huge hit on Easter or any time you make it.
Ingredients
- 1 9” regular pie shell, baked and cooled
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
- 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch, then stir in the milk and lemon juice until thoroughly combined.
- Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly, otherwise it will burn and brown on the bottom, until mixture has thickened.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes. Now it's time to temper your eggs. This is less scary then it appears. Add a small spoonful of the lemon mixture into the beaten egg yolks and stir well. Repeat this process 2-3 times. Assuming you haven't scrambled the eggs, go ahead and add your tempered eggs to the lemon mixture. Stir well.
- Bring mixture to a gentle boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Add softened butter and lemon zest, stirring until butter melts completely.
- Let the custard cool, then stir in the sour cream. Add the lemon custard to your pie shell and spread in an even layer.
- In a mixing bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer. Carefully, add sugar while still beating the heavy cream. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pie filling. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Notes
This pie is heaven on a plate. Some day I will master making an equally delicious pie crust, but a store-bought pie-crust works fine too.
Recipe is from Tastes Better from Scratch.
Enjoy!
Tanya
P.S. For those of you thinking a pie is a little calorie-heavy for someone trying to get healthy, you’re not wrong. But I’m trying to balance, not eliminate completely. So one piece of pie is acceptable. The rest was frozen. 🙂
This recipe looks so good! I am more of an apple pie kind of girl, but I would definitely try this 🙂
It is delicious, Mackenzie. I love lemons, so it definitely put a big smile on my face! I like apple pie too. Growing up, there was a period where we ate apple pie quite frequently because our apple trees were going bonkers. I got a little tired of them eventually. But now, I really enjoy apple pie again, especially with a slice of melted cheddar cheese. Sounds weird, but so yummy!
Hey there Tanya!
OMGEEE, this looks so good. I love anything with lemon, especially a pie, hehe. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe with us! I’m definitely hanging on to this one!
Hope all is well. Have a great week!
Take care,
Cori
Hey Cori! I love lemon too and this pie is a real keeper too! I could actually go for a slice right now. It’s probably a good thing that there isn’t any in my fridge. LOL! I hope all is well with you too, my friend!
That pie looks so good!
Thank you! It is really, really good. Dangerously good. 🙂