Icebox Pie for the Fourth of July

 

I made lemon icebox pie for the fourth of July,  also the fifth, and sixth, and I deeply regret that I don't have any more left over for the seventh.

It's my new favorite, totally right for any occasion, summer dessert; as creamy as it is cool, refreshingly tart and deceptively rich. This is key lime pie's sophisticated big sister, the one who left town and married up, and rightly so.

To be honest, I never much cared for key lime pie's sickly sweet personality or her bordering on boring ubiquity, but that's just me. That being said, this is basically a key lime pie, but made with lemons. Big difference. Use Meyer lemons if you can get them. They'll give the pie a slightly smoother flavor. But really, any ripe, juicy lemons will do.

And don't stint on the topping. Pile it on. Chantilly Cream, which is just a fancy name for cream whipped with vanilla and confectioners' sugar, provides the perfect airy complement to the burst of citrus below. Some cooks like to spread the whipped cream on top of the pie before freezing, and then freeze the whole thing. (Still others, perish the thought, use Cool Whip. Don't you dare. I will know, and I will hunt you down like a hound.) I prefer to whip the cream fresh at first serving, but have no problem with re-freezing any leftover pie cream topped. Trust me, you won't have any problems with leftover pie at all.

LEMON ICEBOX PIE WITH CHANTILLY CREAM

(Serves 8 to 10)

For the crust: 

2 sleeves graham crackers (about 20)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 (14 ounce) cans condensed milk

Zest of 2 lemons

1 1/4 cups strained lemon juice (from the 2 zested lemons plus 4 to 6 more)

8 large egg yolks

For the Chantilly Cream topping:

2 cups cream

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9" springform pan, (or 9" deep dish pie plate), with baking spray.

Break crackers into pieces and place in the bowl of food processor with the sugar, salt and  cinnamon. Pulse until you have semi-fine (but not powdery) crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and blend until mixture holds its shape when you squeeze it.

Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan, and push and press the crumbs over the bottom and up the sides. (Tip: The bottom of a measuring cup works well to press the crumbs in place.) Place pan on a tin-foil covered, (for ease of clean-up), baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to a wire rack to cool.

Whisk condensed milk with the lemon juice. In a separate bowl, whisk the zest with the egg yolks, beating until pale in color. Then, whisk the egg mixture into the condensed milk mixture.

Place cooled crust back onto the baking sheet and pour in the filling mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center jiggles slightly, like a soft custard. Remove from oven and cool for about an hour.   

Cover loosely with plastic wrap (make sure the wrap doesn't touch the top of the pie) and freeze for at least 6 hours, or, preferably, overnight. 

Remove from freezer about 20 minutes before serving. Remove pie from springform pan (if using) and carefully transfer to serving plate with metal spatula.

Pour the cream into bowl of electric mixer, adding the vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Whip until peaks form. Serve on and with pie. 

We feasted on it for three days, and now it's all gone. (Sigh.)

When Life Gives Me Lemons, I Make Curd

My love affair with lemons began the day my then husband-to-be and I moved into our first apartment together, the first floor of a big, rambling duplex on 6th Street in Los Angeles, with a prolific, full-grown Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard. Our landlady, who lived upstairs, didn't care for the fruits and was content to allow them to mold and rot on the ground. I, on the other hand, had always wanted a lemon tree, if for no reason other than they were quintessentially California, and having one somehow made me feel grounded in my adopted state.

I quickly set about to rescue and use every single one of the baseball sized fruits and discovered, just as quickly, how few lemons it actually takes to make lemon anything (other than, say, lemonade). So I made lemon pies, lemon cakes, lemon cookies, lemon bread and, of course, lemon curd, and still had enough lemons left to fill up my freezer with gallon baggies of lemon juice frozen into cubes. (A trick I recommend highly whenever one has a surfeit of lemons -- fresh lemonade all year long, and what could be better than that?)

Needless to say, along the way I became addicted to lemons. Then, just when I was beginning to take them for granted, we moved away and left the amazing lemon tree behind. Ever since I've tried in vain to grow my own. My current crop of four puny semi-dwarf Meyer Lemon trees struggle along and this year threaten to bear a grand total of seven fruits. (A full seven more than they produced last season.) Fortunately I have friends who have better luck growing lemons than I do, and are happy to share their bounty. So perhaps I should say, when friends give me lemons, I make curd.

Use Meyer Lemons if you can find them. (A Chinese lemon thought to be a hybrid of a lemon and an orange or mandarin, Meyer Lemons have a thin rind and are less acidic and slightly sweeter than regular lemons.) If not, any lemons will do. This lemon curd is extremely rich and exceptionally good with biscuits, croissants, scones (my favorite serving suggestion), or even served over vanilla ice cream, and it's a great filling for pies and tarts as well. Seriously, I think it's why God created lemons.


Meyer Lemon Curd
(Makes 4 cups or half-pint jars)

2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (1 1/2 stick)
7 egg yolks
4 whole eggs

Heat water in the bottom pan of a double boiler to a gentle boil.

While it heats, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together in the top of the double boiler. Whisk in the sugar and lemon zest. Blend until smooth and add lemon juice and butter cubes.

Place the top of the double boiler over the gently boiling water in the bottom pan and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture reaches 170 degrees on a food thermometer.

Remove boiler from heat. Continue to stir until curd thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer. Discard collected zest.

Curd will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for about a week.

If you want to can the curd, pour it into sterilized half-pint jars, and process in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 4 half-pints. (Note: Sources vary as to the shelf life of canned curd from three or four months to up to a year. In our house it never lasts that long anyway, but you takes your chances.)

Because its' the perfect complement to scones, I've included a simple scone recipe, so easy you can whip up a batch in a few minutes and well worth it as a special treat for breakfast or, dare I suggest, afternoon tea. (A great excuse for a party!)

Simple Raisin Scones
(Makes 8 scones)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen (1 stick)
1/2 cup raisins (dried currants, cranberries work too)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degees

Mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Grate butter into the flour mixture and use your fingers to work the butter into the mixture. Stir in the raisins.

In a separate bowl whisk sour cream with the egg until smooth.

Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into four mixture. Using your hands. press the dough against the bowl until it forms a ball. (The dough may be sticky, but as you press it will come together.)

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-to-8-inch circle. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 triangles.

Place triangles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden.

Serve with lemon curd and fresh strawberries! Enjoy!