I used regular lemons for this pie, rather than the in-season Meyer lemons, because I sometimes find Meyer lemons a little bit sweet for my taste. This curd is a bright spot–it’s tart and sweet and buttery, and it’s damn good, if I do say so myself. I’d highly recommend that you use those 21 tablespoons because life is short and sometimes hard, but if you simply can’t bear it, feel free to use as little as five tablespoons.
FOR THE CRUST
Ingredients
- 16 graham cracker sheets, cracked into pieces
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick + 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a food processor, pulse your graham cracker pieces with sugar and salt until a fine meal forms.
Add melted butter in a slow stream while pulsing, until the crust comes together. Mold crust evenly into tart pan, being sure to press it hard into the corners. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is fragrant and the edges are golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
FOR THE LEMON CURD
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- zest of 5 lemons
- juice of 4 lemons
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 packet knox powdered gelatin (.35 ounces, 7 grams)
- 21 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see note at top about this ridiculous butter amount)
Directions
Note: because lemons have such high acidity, it’s important to use as little metal as possible while preparing the curd. Use glass bowls instead of metal and a plastic whisk or rubber spatula. This will prevent the metallic flavor that you taste so often in lemon desserts.
Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven halfway with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
In a large glass bowl that will fit on top of your boiling water vessel, rub sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the zest’s oil is released and the mixture becomes fragrant. Mix the zest throughout the sugar.
Add lemon juice, eggs, and gelatin to the sugar/zest mixture and whisk until fully combined.
Heat over double-boiler, whisking constantly, until the temperature of the curd reaches 179 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the curd reaches the temperature, strain it through a fine mesh sieve into another glass vessel. Whisk softened butter into curd and pour the curd into your prepared pie-crust. Set on wire rack while you prepare your meringue.
FOR THE MERINGUE
Ingredients
- 5 large egg-whites at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cups sugar
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add your eggs, cream of tartar, and salt and whip on medium until the eggs hold soft peaks.
Increase the speed to high and add sugar in a slow stream, beating until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks.
TO ASSEMBLE
Spoon meringue onto lemon curd, making sure the meringue touches the edge of the crust on all sides to create a seal.
Bake meringue in the center of the oven until golden-brown, about 15 minutes.
Cool on a rack for 2 hours and in the fridge for an additional hour to be absolutely certain that your curd has set.
– Cara Nicoletti is the creator of Yummy-Books blog where she combines her love of literature with her love of baking. For more great Jewish recipes and many, many others, visit her at yummy-books.com.
