When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Pie! Recipe included.

Have any of you been watching ‘Julia’ on HBO Max? Streaming now, it is the story of how legendary chef Julia Child (played brilliantly by Sarah Lancashire) first got started on television. It is quite the story of how Child’s love of French cooking and desire to share that passion propelled her to fame and fortune, one recipe at a time. Her larger than life personality and sense of humor made intimidating and complex French recipes seem attainable to the general public. Julia came onto the American culinary arts scene in the early 1960s when TV dinners and convenience foods were popular and easy to prepare. The fact that she influenced people who were getting increasingly busy and dependent on microwaves is astounding to think about!

I love to cook but consider myself a kind of “fly by the seat of your pants” type of personality in the kitchen. With exotic spices like sumac, turmeric and herbes de Provence readily available, experimenting is fun and easy to do. Over the years I’ve learned to rely more on intuition and will hardly ever stay the course of a recipe. I also take into account the tastes of my loved ones — Kevin loves a lot of flavor in his food, so I usually amp up the seasonings. Betsy and I are fans of cheese, so on our servings I might add a little (who am I kidding, a lot) of extra parmesan. But when it comes to certain recipes, I stick to them like glue and follow directions verbatim. The step by careful step of whipping up a Lemon Cream Pie is one such example.

Pictured above is my most recent labor of love. This recipe takes time and patience; I don’t make it more than once or twice a year because I am a little impatient in the baking arena. I have made it a total of three or four times. One time I rushed a bit and the pie filling did not solidify. There is nothing less aesthetic than lemon slime! So when I say this is a labor of love and you will need to take it slow, I speak from bitter experience. I also have endeavored to make my own pie crust. My pie crust recipe and technique is a work in progress and only so-so; for that reason I am not including that part of the recipe here. You can find pie crust recipes galore online — or go pre-made to save time and effort. Perhaps some of you are already pie crust mavens? I envy you!

The recipe I prefer is officially called, “Grammy’s Lemon Cream Pie” and I found it on the website: Well Plated by Erin. It’s old school and worth the effort. Here goes nothing!

Grammy’s Lemon Cream Pie Recipe

• Pie crust recipe of your choice (baked and ready for filling)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 3 large lemons
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest from about 1 lemon
• 12 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature

For the Homemade Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Make and bake your pie crust as directed and set aside.
2. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water to create a double boiler. Add the eggs into the bowl, then with a hand mixer on medium speed (or a whisk and some serious arm power), beat the eggs until thick and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes if using a mixer. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, then the lemon juice and lemon zest. Once incorporated, switch from a mixer (or whisk) to a rubber spatula. Continue to cook the mixture over the simmering water, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the bowl with your spatula, until it forms a thick, smooth custard, about 8 additional minutes. When you dip your spatula into the custard, the custard should easily coat the spatula’s back, and if you draw a line through the custard on the back of the spatula with your finger, the sides of the custard should stay separated. (THIS IS IMPERATIVE TO THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY OF THE FILLING.) Remove the bowl from the water and let cool to almost room temperature
3. In a large mixing bowl or a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until it is completely soft and smooth, about 3 full minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, then gradually add the cooled lemon custard to the cream cheese, beating until smooth and fully combined so that no white streaks remain. Pour the cream cheese into the baked pastry shell. Refrigerate the pie until fully chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Up to 4 hours before serving, prepare the homemade whipped cream. (Pro tip from a non pro: Put your bowl and whipping blades in the freezer prior to whipping — it helps speed up the process.) In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment over medium speed. When it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, increase the mixer speed to high, and continue to beat until soft peaks form. (Do not overbeat or the cream will separate.) Spread over the chilled pie, slice, and serve cold.
5. EAT!

(Please note: you do not need any fancy gadgets or Williams-Sonoma pots or pans to make this pie. I use a small hand-held electric beater that is probably 35 years old and only has medium and high settings working. I also use a glass bowl and put it on top of a pot of boiling water to make the custard.)

Here are pictures of my pie baking prowess in action:

There you have it! This is a great spring/summer addition to any gathering or as an offering of love to your family members. I have to admit, this recipe made me crave lemons on everything! Tonight, in fact, I will be baking chicken with lemons. If pie making is not in your future, rest easy as there are numerous other ways to enjoy this plentiful citrus fruit:

Kitchen favorites: Lemon candle with citrus theme dish towel.

And this, our favorite serving plate ever: