There likely won’t be a shortage of pie options anytime soon around these parts. The 52 Pies Project is in full force and the house has never smelled so good!
When I first tossed around the idea of weekly pies my husband remarked “that’s a lot of pies, are you sure you can come up with that many pies” to which I said “of course, it’s pie- think of all the options. Lemon, Strawberry, Blueberry, Pecan, Chocolate, Chocolate with pecan!…..”. He cut me off right as I was getting warmed up but I made my point that while challenging, I was ready to tackle the pies.
And as if I needed further inspiration, I was asked to recreate one of the recipes from our River Road Recipes cookbooks for the next Junior League newsletter. While flipping through the books and with Spring on the horizon, I choose a pie that reflects all the wonderful things about the return of the upcoming season; family picnics, bbqs, crawfish boils, etc. And of course, I decided to roll it into the pie project. Make the pie, photograph the pie, submit the pie, bring the pie to a meeting to eat.
No brainer.
52 Pies Project: Lemon Cream Pie
I deviated a little bit from the original recipe but not much. I skipped the lemon twists and instead created a little lemon flower to illustrate how easy it is to take an heirloom recipe and make it unique and your own. Simply slice a lemon slice into 3 triangles and use a stem of mint as the flower. Easy peasey.
Doesn’t this pie say Hello, Spring? I could see it gracing wedding shower tables and how adorable would it be at a gender neutral baby shower?
Sweet and dainty.
- 1 cup sugar
- 3½ tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup margarine, melted
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 baked (9 inch) pie shell
- 1 cup whipping cream, whipped
- 4 lemons, thinly sliced and twisted
- Combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest in a saucepan and mix well. Stir in the milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in the margarine until blended. Let stand until room temperature.
- Add the sour cream to the lemon mixture and mix well. Spoon into the pie shell and spread the whipped cream, sealing to the edge. Top with the lemon twists. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Now, the recipe as written simply says to use “1 baked (9 inch) pie shell” but it doesn’t really clarify what type of shell. I took it to mean it was a graham cracker shell, because, well, I like a graham cracker crust with my lemon pie. I didn’t have a pre made shell, so I used the recipe on the side of the graham cracker box, pressed it into my pie dish and baked it.
And if you want to really be fancy, then top each individual slice with a lemon slice. You know…how they do it at Picadilly.
Add a little sprig of mint and you can’t tell me you would pass on a slice of Lemon Cream Pie.
Also, the recipe says to just whip the whipping cream, but I used the whipped cream recipe I always use for desserts: 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tbsp granulated sugar (or confectioners sugar), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Whip until soft peaks form.
It’s light. It’s fluffy. It’s lemon!
And just in time for your Spring time entertaining.
I love lemon desserts in the Spring. This pie looks divine!