I recently helped a friend throw a baby shower for my dear friend Kelly. It was a really fun time to socialize and celebrate her little one. And the food was yummy too! This was the first time I'd made this dessert and it won't be the last. It was so good (if I do say so myself). If you're a fan of lemon curd you're going to love this. It was creamy, it was tart, it was supremely lemony! I had recently made a lemon cake (recipe to come) and a friend who tasted both the cake and this dessert said that this was hands down the better of the two. I'd have to agree that it was really delicious (though I still love the cake) and reminded me somewhat of a key lime pie (but better!). It's perfect for a spring gathering or potluck - enjoy!
Lemon Dream Pie
Crust:
10 lemon sandwich cookies
8 whole graham crackers, broken into rough pieces
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Add the cookies and crackers to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until they are finely ground. Add the butter, sugar and lemon zest to the bowl, and continue pulsing until well combined - the mixture should start to clump just a little. Turn the mixture out into a 10-inch springform pan. Press into an even layer and half-way up the sides to form the crust. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the crust to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
For The "Canary Yellow" Layer:
(I didn't use the recipe for the Canary Yellow Layer that is printed here. I would have, but I already had homemade lemon curd on hand and wanted to use that. The recipes seemed very similar, so I wouldn't hesitate to use the recipe here.)
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 cup of lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)
½ cup water
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
8 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch and salt together in a large non-reactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture is translucent and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in yolks until combined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.
Strain through fine mesh strainer into the baked and cooled pie shell and scrape off filling from the bottom of strainer. Reserve about 3 tbsp in a small dish for the decoration. Refrigerate while making creamy layer.
Creamy Filling Layer:
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons) and 1 tablespoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 ¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup sugar
1 (8‑ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14‑ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
⅓ cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir ¼ cup of the lemon juice and gelatin together in a small bowl and let sit to soften.
Process the sugar and lemon zest together in a food processor until the sugar turns bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese and continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the condensed milk and pudding mix and continue to process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl.
Microwave the lemon juice mixed with gelatin until warm (just before bubbling), about 15-30 seconds. Stir to dissolve the gelatin.
With the food processor running, pour the warm gelatin mixture, remaining lemon juice, and vanilla through the feed tube and continue to process until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Pour the creamy filling into the pie shell on top of yellow layer and smooth the top with a spatula.
Transfer the reserved Canary Yellow filling to a small resealable plastic bag and snip one of the corners. Pipe thin, parallel lines of the Yellow filling onto the creamy layer, then drag a knife or toothpick through the lines (perpendicular to them) to create a decorative pattern.
Refrigerate the pie, uncovered, until chilled and set, about 6 hours. Serve chilled with whipped cream (optional - I forgot to get out the whipped cream and we never missed it).
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 cup of lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)
½ cup water
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
8 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch and salt together in a large non-reactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture is translucent and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in yolks until combined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.
Strain through fine mesh strainer into the baked and cooled pie shell and scrape off filling from the bottom of strainer. Reserve about 3 tbsp in a small dish for the decoration. Refrigerate while making creamy layer.
Creamy Filling Layer:
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons) and 1 tablespoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 ¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup sugar
1 (8‑ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14‑ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
⅓ cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir ¼ cup of the lemon juice and gelatin together in a small bowl and let sit to soften.
Process the sugar and lemon zest together in a food processor until the sugar turns bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese and continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the condensed milk and pudding mix and continue to process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl.
Microwave the lemon juice mixed with gelatin until warm (just before bubbling), about 15-30 seconds. Stir to dissolve the gelatin.
With the food processor running, pour the warm gelatin mixture, remaining lemon juice, and vanilla through the feed tube and continue to process until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Pour the creamy filling into the pie shell on top of yellow layer and smooth the top with a spatula.
Transfer the reserved Canary Yellow filling to a small resealable plastic bag and snip one of the corners. Pipe thin, parallel lines of the Yellow filling onto the creamy layer, then drag a knife or toothpick through the lines (perpendicular to them) to create a decorative pattern.
Refrigerate the pie, uncovered, until chilled and set, about 6 hours. Serve chilled with whipped cream (optional - I forgot to get out the whipped cream and we never missed it).
Source: This was adapted slightly from my friend's blog, http://virtualgoodyplate.blogspot.com/, and was called Bill Bryson's Dream-Fulfilling Lemon Pie (after a book - they were having literature night).
