My neighbor, Esther baked the most wonderful lemon chiffon pie for us last year. I was afraid to ask if she would share her recipe since I believe it's one of those dishes that everybody associates with her.
Still, I screwed up the courage and asked her this year since Art did get me the stand mixer for Christmas. Esther very kindly shared the recipe with me and Art and I decided to make it. Art made the crust since he learned how to bake from his mother.
We have our Hawaiian Meyer lemon tree so we've got a lot of lemon juice and zest. Since we were going through so much trouble, I decided to make two pies. I recently bought that zester at Williams and Sonoma with a gift card from my brother and sister-in-law. It works so well that I've become a zesting fool. I've never used zest until this pie. Who knew it was so much fun?
(This is actually a recipe for one 9 inch pie.)
I first mixed a package of unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water, 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice. I brought it to a boil over medium heat and then added a Tablespoon of lemon zest. I don't feel I can share Esther's recipe with the world, but I found one online that was almost exactly the same thing. It's from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-chiffon-pie/ This website also uses salt which Esther doesn't.
I then cooled the custard and waited until it thickened. I stuck it in the fridge to help it along.
I then whipped the egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar and a little cream of tartar according to Esther's recipe. The website doesn't use cream of tartar.
I actually followed the website's recipe more than I did Esther's in the end.
The mixer did an excellent job! The meringue was beautiful!
I folded the lemon custard into the meringue and poured it into the cooled pie shells.
I thought it turned out pretty darn well. Art thinks I should cut the sugar next time. I think I should add more zest for a stronger flavor.
All in all, it was a good first try.
Mom was quite impressed.
I now have two recipes to use with my stand mixer.
It was a lot of trouble to make this, but what the heck! It was fun!
Still, I screwed up the courage and asked her this year since Art did get me the stand mixer for Christmas. Esther very kindly shared the recipe with me and Art and I decided to make it. Art made the crust since he learned how to bake from his mother.
We have our Hawaiian Meyer lemon tree so we've got a lot of lemon juice and zest. Since we were going through so much trouble, I decided to make two pies. I recently bought that zester at Williams and Sonoma with a gift card from my brother and sister-in-law. It works so well that I've become a zesting fool. I've never used zest until this pie. Who knew it was so much fun?
(This is actually a recipe for one 9 inch pie.)
I first mixed a package of unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water, 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice. I brought it to a boil over medium heat and then added a Tablespoon of lemon zest. I don't feel I can share Esther's recipe with the world, but I found one online that was almost exactly the same thing. It's from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-chiffon-pie/ This website also uses salt which Esther doesn't.
I then cooled the custard and waited until it thickened. I stuck it in the fridge to help it along.
I then whipped the egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar and a little cream of tartar according to Esther's recipe. The website doesn't use cream of tartar.
I actually followed the website's recipe more than I did Esther's in the end.
The mixer did an excellent job! The meringue was beautiful!
I folded the lemon custard into the meringue and poured it into the cooled pie shells.
I thought it turned out pretty darn well. Art thinks I should cut the sugar next time. I think I should add more zest for a stronger flavor.
All in all, it was a good first try.
Mom was quite impressed.
I now have two recipes to use with my stand mixer.
It was a lot of trouble to make this, but what the heck! It was fun!
While taking the series of photos, Art seems to begin flying up into the rafters. What else is in the recipe? Sounds yummy! DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteActually, he was standing on a chair so that he could record all the dishes I dirtied.
DeleteAny waffle or pancake recipe will be great for the mixer too. Yes, those pies look wonderful. Yes, you can use zest on veggie or in salad dressings too. Try some in a honey lemon dressing. :)
ReplyDeleteAhhhh... Pancakes! I haven't made pancakes in such a long time.
DeleteI always put cream of tartar in my meringue. Also, be sure your egg whites are room temperature. Funny, cream needs to be ice cold to whip into peaks, but eggs need to be room temp.
ReplyDeleteYou know what? I've never made whipped cream before. That sounds like so much fun! Hmmm...
DeleteI knew about the room temperature for eggs. I will TRY my best to remember about the cold whipping cream.
DeleteWow, these pies do look delicious. I like that zester; if I had one I would probably become much more zesty myself! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm always wanting to zest something these days, even when I don't need any zest.
DeleteDo you ship? Dianne
ReplyDeleteIt's so cold by you that it could perhaps survive the trip.
Deletethe pies look good
ReplyDeleteThanks Adam. Hey, I like your new profile photo.
Deletewow, looks so yummy! I hvn't tried baking a pie yet..
ReplyDeleteI'm not a real baker, but perhaps I'll try something else now.
DeleteThe pies look wonderful. Yum! You might try some whipped cream on them. More to whip up with your mixer! And yes, more zest! I use lemon and orange zest a lot, and always put in more that the recipe calls for, and even where the recipe doesn't call for it.
ReplyDeleteI've never whipped cream before. I saw some at the market today and I'm really, really wanting to try it next. That would be so much fun! I've been freezing zest. I need to find something to put it into though.
Deletelooks and sounds amazing! I would love a mixer like that and I would love a red one, I just don't think I would get enough use out of it now, Art makes beautiful crust!
ReplyDeleteTo be PERFECTLY honest.... sigh... I probably won't use it much either. Art really does have a way with crust. I think it's from the many years of working in his parents' restaurant.
DeleteKay you look marvelous in those photos! I need to see Luciano........Take Care!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Town Side
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
Thank you, Cloudia. You know what? I actually cut my own hair about a week ago. I just followed the shaping that Luciano did. :- )
DeleteCloudia is right. You look so cute and young here, Kay.
DeleteIt must be so nice to be able to work together in the kitchen and have fun. AND make good food.
Sigh... You are too kind. It's make-up. I admit it. I do love working together in the kitchen.
DeleteI am reminded of when I lived in Yellow Springs, Ohio, home of the notoriously (in the good sense) intellectuaslly argumentative Antioch College. The President gave a disgusted speech to the faculty one day and said, "BEING PRESIDENT OF ANTIOCH IS LIKE TRYING TO NAIL A LEMON CHIFFON PIE TO THE WALL!"
ReplyDeleteToo funny, Hank! Not lemon meringue... But lemon chiffon?
DeleteI only hope your eggs are from free range chickens and not from the grocery store. They are much healthier with lower cholesterol:) That was my unsolicited commercial. Beautiful pies.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that! Thank you for that information. We do try to get free range eggs when we see them.
DeleteThey served these for Meals on Wheels today. (Hubby delivered!) Looks yummy though. (No harm in looking!)
ReplyDeleteHe's off dairy, and fried foods, but his tummy is better. I've lost 5 lb.s!
No kidding? I don't think we've seem them on our Meals on Wheels lunches yet.
DeleteThere is no greater compliment to a cook than to ask for his or her recipe. It is the average person's cooking award. Those pies look wonderful and you have me intrigued also with the zester. I need to check that out.
ReplyDeleteI'd still like to try a lemon meringue some day. The chiffon was good too though.
DeleteYour post inspired me to make a lemon meringue pie on Tuesday. Especially when I stopped at Whole Foods and saw a display of Meyer Lemons. They make THE best lemon meringue pies because they are sweet to begin with so I can use less sugar. I don't zest the rind for these pies as the lemon flavor is so strong in these great little fruits. Our daughter has a tree, but as Terry said, it would cost $60 in gas to go get some "free" lemons from her tree. Instead I paid $2.60 for 4 lemons.
ReplyDeleteWill you show us how, Delaine? :-)
Deleteoh yummy!
ReplyDelete