Thursday, January 26, 2012

Lemon Curd Pie

It was a birthday request from Justin -- and one of my own favorites. Lemon curd, whipped cream, pastry, chocolate -- you know you want some.....
 
Start by making a pie crust (yes, you can use a pre-prepared one but I bet it won't be as good.) I follow a standard recipe (1 1/2 c. flour, 1/4 tsp. salt,  1/2 c. Crisco. 4-5 TB. cold water. I substituted vodka for the water, having read that this made for a flakier crust, and it worked quite well.) 

Bake the empty crust at 425 for 15 minutes ot till the edges begin to brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate drops, return to oven for five more minutes. When you take it back out, the chocolate will be soft. Take a knife and spread chocolate to cover the bottom 0f the crust. Set aside to cool.

For the lemon curd, you'll need a double boiler (or a large and a medium sauce pan.) Also, the grated zest of two large lemons, 6-7 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 pound of butter, 1 cup sugar, and 4 eggs. (No, this isn't health food.)

Put the zest, lemon juice, butter, and sugar in the top of the double boiler over simmering water. Don't let the water boil. Stir now and then till the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs till thoroughly blended.  Stirring constantly, spoon a little of the hot lemon mixture into the eggs.  Add a little more and when it's well blended, pour the egg mixture into the double boiler, still stirring. Continue to cook over simmering water till the curd thickens (10- 20 minutes.)

Remove from heat and let cool.
When the curd is thoroughly cool, pour into the chocolate-coated pastry shell.  Top with whipped cream (I used a cup of heavy cream, a tsp. of vanilla, and a tiny bit of sugar, maybe  
a teaspoon.)
 


Shave some bitter-sweet chocolate on top . . . Chill for a few hours to let the curd firm up a bit.  

The chocolate on the pastry will harden and you'll need a firm hand and maybe a serrated knife to cut the pie. 

Very tart, very sweet, very satisfying.
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18 comments:

Ms. A said...

That crust looks delicious. I could eat it without anything else, however, the fact it has chocolate on it as well... YUM!

Pat in east TN said...

I never heard of putting vodka in the pie crust, but yours sure looks yummy. I'll have to give it a try and also your pie recipe. That looks/sounds out of this world!

Brian Miller said...

nice...def like mine tart...had never heard that about the vodka as wel...nice...

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Um, lemony goodness. I'll have to try the vodka in the crust. I can always use another tip with pie crust.
Sam

June said...

I will be bookmarking this particular post! That lemon curd photo makes my mouth water. A LOT.
Oh myyyyyyy....lemon currrrrrdddd....

Kath said...

Just fine. I drooled all over my keyboard. Nevermind the marks from licking the screen.

Merisi said...

"Sweetheart, where's that bottle of Wodka I bought recently?" "Darling, I used it all up, making pie-crusts!"

Now, may I have a slice of that pie, pleeeease?

Suz said...

be still, my heart

NCmountainwoman said...

Looks and sounds yummy! I'm going to cheat and use my favorite store-bought lemon curd.

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

Hello Vicki

I think you need to write a cookbook--you have so many good recipes!!

Best
Tracy :)

Beth said...

Mmmm...I love lemon curd and butter on toast, so I'm sure I'd love this pie. Lucky Justin to get such a special birthday pie!

Barbara Rogers said...

Lovely sounding, and my taste buds are streaming in empathy...great taste combo. Will probably not try it for myself, but a special time to share! Thanks!

JJM said...

You do realize, I hope, that, if you keep posting recipes like this, and wonderful photographs of how beautiful a home you have, inside and out, one of these days you will wake up to find your faithful readers lining up in front of your door, ready to take up permanent residence. [wicked grin] --Mario

Eliane Zimmermann said...

woooooow! looks great and delicious. just today i bought lemon curd from chivers which is almost as good as homemade. i would love to try the pie but i'm not at all familiar with the measurements (especially cups, no idea how many grams a cup of butter would be - sigh)

JJ Roa Rodriguez said...

Something that I can try this weekend... Thanks for sharing...

JJRod'z

Vagabonde said...

I have not made a pie crust in years but I’ll give it a try using Vodka. I love chocolate orange sticks and my husband does too. I wonder if I could bake the same pie but with orange curd, if there is such a thing? I guess I could use orange juice and zest from the orange? And maybe add some Grand Marnier? My husband’s birthday is Feb 2n, and I bet he would like that.

Vicki Lane said...

The vodka tip came from Cooks Illustrated and there's a scientific reason why it makes flakier pastry -- the alcohol evaporates.

Vagabonde, there are recipes for orange curd on the internet -- most include some lemon juice too.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Well I seriously just gained ten pounds reading the directions and seeing the pictures. It sounds delicious!