You can’t get more “strawberry” than this pie. If there were a contest for desserts with the purest, most “in-your-face” strawberry-ness, this pie would totally win. It’s nothing BUT fresh, juicy, sweet strawberries- no other flavor, no other texture…JUST strawberry. To me, that’s heaven. It’s like Summer/Spring in a pie shell. If you love strawberries like I do, this pie is right up your alley. You’re going to love it.
I served these pies to my family yesterday for Easter and what a treat! Such a beautiful ending to a big, delicious meal! With this recipe, I’ve discovered a new tradition- I intend to make these gorgeous pies every single Spring and Summer! In fact, I can’t wait to make them again! I’m thinking….Memorial Day?? Oh yeah! Bring on the pies!
Fresh Strawberry Pie
1 9-inch pie crust, baked
2 pounds fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
Slice about 3 cups of the strawberries into quarters and place them in a medium bowl. Crush the berries with a potato masher or a fork; you should have about 1 1/2 cups crushed berries. Place them in a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally for about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken slightly.
Soften the gelatin in the cold water and set it aside.
Remove berry mixture from the heat and add the softened gelatin and stir until the gelatin has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Cut the remaining berries into quarters, and gently fold them into the cooled cooked mixture (if you want, you can reserve some of the strawberries to arrange on top of the pie for a more decorative presentation). Pour the filling into the baked pie shell, and chill in the refrigerator until set, at least 2 hours or overnight before serving. Makes 1 pie (I doubled the recipe for 2 pies).
Serve with fresh whipped cream if desired.
Recipe source: adapted from Rustic Garden Bistro
Here’s another winning recipe from my sweet coworker, Janna. She hosted us all for a Christmas party this year and served ALL KINDS of delicious food- including this black bean pie. I have to admit, when she first told me about it, I was a little curious about the ingredients; I wasn’t sure it sounded like something I’d like. However, after one taste, I was hooked! It’s the easiest dish in the world to whip up- canned black beans, salsa, cheese, tortillas and pie crust- that’s it! This is one of those perfect weeknight meals for when you need to feed your family in a hurry. It would be a new and fun alternative to “taco night”! It’s delicious and we both love it! Thanks, Janna, for another delicious recipe!
Black Bean Pie
2 9-inch pie crusts
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa (your favorite store-bought brand or homemade)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 flour tortillas
cilantro (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Press one of the pie crusts in the bottom of a pie plate.
In a large bowl, combine the beans and salsa. Spread 1/3 of the mixture in the bottom of the pie plate. Top with 1/3 of the cheese and a sprinkling of cilantro, then one of the flour tortillas. Repeat with another 1/3 of the bean mixture, cheese and cilantro and tortilla. Finally, spread the last of the bean mixture, cheese and cilantro. Top with the 2nd pie crust and seal the edges. Make 4 small slits in the center of the crust with a small knife.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Serve with sour cream and additional cilantro, if desired.
Recipe source: my friend Janna, who got it from her mother
Continuing with my Thanksgiving-inspired week, I’ll post every man’s favorite: buttermilk pie. It really is man pleasin’. Really. Every male that has ever eaten this pie has gone ape for it. I don’t know if it’s the sugary-sweet filling or the creamy, buttery texture, but men seriously adore buttermilk pie. In fact, the primary reason I’m posting this right now is because my friend Michael recently sent me a text saying, “you need to make buttermilk pie!” Done and DONE, Mikey! It’s a holiday staple in our family, too. There has never been a holiday get-together that didn’t include this pie. In fact, every Thanksgiving and Christmas my mom is sure to make extra so that my dad will be able to have plenty of leftovers. This is one of Baba’s most famous and requested recipes and I’m so proud and happy to post it here for you. Make this part of your Thanksgiving dessert table- trust me.
Baba’s Buttermilk Pie
-old family recipe (really, really old!)
*makes 2 9-inch pies
2 9-inch pie crusts, unbaked
3 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
**a little lemon zest and a squeeze of juice is a nice addition, but my dad hates lemon in his buttermilk pies, so we’ve never really done it. I did this time and it really adds a nice, subtle tartness.
Mix sugar, flour and salt. Add eggs, butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour into two unbaked pie crusts and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees (check them at 50 minutes- if they’re too jiggly put them back in for a few more minutes. They shouldn’t jiggle very much at all when they’re done). If the tops are getting too brown, cover loosely with foil for the remainder of baking time. Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Now, to those of you thinking, “what the heck?! Buttermilk?!” Don’t worry- there isn’t even the slightest hint of buttermilk taste. It’s just sweet, thick, and buttery. A delicious Southern tradition. Man, it’s so great to live in the South. 
Let me start off by saying, this pie is delicious. Really, really delicious. Surprisingly delicious. After one taste, I sat there and finished off the entire slice before I was even finished photographing it! But before I go on any further, there’s something you should know about this pie. Here’s an email I recently received from a very, very sweet reader:
Amy, I’m one of your faithful followers and would like to make a request of you. We just recently found out that my dad is suffering from Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of the blood) and one of the side effects is diabetes. My dad loves his sweets and it’s been a little hard for him to make such a drastic adjustment to his diet. I would like to make him a tasty dessert that he would not believe was diabetic friendly. So now my request; sometime in the future could you post a diabetic recipe that I could make for my dad? I know that I can probably find literally thousands of recipes on the internet, but they wouldn’t have the thought and love put into them. Plus, if you make it and post it I know it will be AWESOME! Thanks so much for all the care you put into your blog. You are a very special person. Thanks again, Sheila
After reading Sheila’s touching email, there was absolutely NO way I was going to disappoint her. I immediately set out to find the most delicious, satisfying, ‘never-know-it’s-sugar-free’ recipe. That’s right. This pie is diabetic-friendly. And I am proud to say….YOU’D NEVER KNOW IT. After getting Sheila’s email, I emailed my Aunt Josie and got her best sugar-free recipe. My cousin Travis has diabetes, so Aunt Josie is a rockstar when it comes to flavorful, sugar-free cooking/baking. This pie is her favorite and now I can see why! It’s super easy, takes literally no time to put together and the pumpkin and spices really shine! What a crowd-pleaser! And just in time for Thanksgiving! So Sheila, I really hope your dad enjoys this pie…I sure enjoyed making it for you!
No-Bake Turtle Pumpkin Pie
-my Aunt Josie’s recipe
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar free caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham cracker pie crust
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pecan pieces, divided
1 cup cold 1% milk
2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla sugar-free, fat-free instant pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tub (8 ounce) light whipped topping, thawed, divided
Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.
Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin, and spices with whisk until blended. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cup whipped topping. Spread into crust.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with remaining whipped topping and 2 tablespoons pecans. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons caramel topping.
Nutritional analysis: (per one slice)
Calories – 165
Fiber – 2.7
Protein – 2
Total fat – 7
Carbohydrate – 23
**Josie notes that this pie is still a little high in carbs. So you might not want to go crazy and eat the whole thing yourself.
Mmm, just look at all that caramel oozing out…..*drool* Sheila, I sincerely hope this recipe makes your dad happy! And thank you for challenging me to try something outside of my comfort zone. I’m proud to say this is my very first diabetic-friendly recipe on Sing For Your Supper; hopefully there will be many more to come! Happy baking!
The weather is (slowly) changing from boiling hot to cool and crisp, every Saturday from here until Thanksgiving will be taken up with us either road-tripping to College Station, Tx or glued to the T.V., there’s an obscenely large, menacing maroon and white flag flying proudly in our front yard, and my husband has turned from being a mature, respectable man into a squealing 8 year-old child. This can only mean one thing: it’s Aggie football season, indeed. Yes, friends, my husband and I are Aggies. Big ones. My hubby went to school there and even though I didn’t (there’s no music program to speak of, hardly), I come from a family of proud Aggies. Therefore, every September, we get serious about Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football.
This is our “Aggie shelf” in the living room- these were my granddad’s belongings from his days at A&M – yearbooks, (very old) stuffed animals and lots, lots more. We’re so proud to display his things in our home; Joel, especially.
Football food is SO good (which, by the way, if you love it as much as I do, check out my “Football Food” tag! Lots of game-day goodies in there!). There’s nothing better than having some friends over to watch the game and eat good food – like this pie! It’s an old family favorite that gets made a lot around football season. I love the layer of spicy beef and cheddar cheese- it has SO much flavor! The good news is, this keeps really well in the fridge- just pop the leftovers back in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes and it’s just as moist and flavorful as it was the first day- maybe even better!
Game-Day Mexican Cornbread Skillet Pie
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sour cream
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 can cream style corn
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 small can green chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the first 8 ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a medium pan, saute the onions, garlic and peppers over medium-high heat until soft. Add in the ground beef and cook through. Drain off grease and stir in the tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, salt and cayenne pepper. Remove from heat.
Grease a cast iron skillet (or any oven-safe skillet) and sprinkle the bottom with a little cornmeal. Spread half of the cornbread mixture, followed by the beef mixture. Top with the cheddar cheese, then spread the remaining cornbread mixture over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy in front of the T.V. while cheering for your favorite football team! Serves 4.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original (though technically I guess I can’t take credit since my mom has been making it for years!)
Gig ‘Em and God Bless!
Fried pies are a very old thing. Old as in, my great-grandmother and her mother before her were making them for their kids’ lunch pails a loooong time ago. Anytime there was leftover fruit or pie crust, you made fried pies. Simple as that. They’re the perfect hand-held size with the perfect fruit-to-pastry ratio. A genius little invention, the fried pie. My mom makes them a lot now, too. She made these, in fact. You can use your favorite pie crust, or if you’re in a hurry you can use a refrigerated one. These are so simple, and since they’re baked instead of fried, you don’t get near as much of the fat (although, they sure taste good fried!). These are flaky, sweet, and full of delicious fruit filling- I love them. And I love their simplicity.
[Baked] Apricot Fried Pies
*the dough and assembly process is taken from The Pastry Queen (seen on Delish); the filling is my mother’s.
For the pastry:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water (for egg wash)
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the ice water and gently form the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into two halves.
For the Filling:
approx. 15 fresh apricots, pitted and cut into halves
1 cup sugar
water
Put the apricots and sugar in a large pot and fill with just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until most of the water has cooked out and you have a thick fruit filling. Let cool.
To assemble the pies:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Flour a smooth surface and roll out each half to 1/16-inch thick (just thicker than a tortilla) and cut into 5-inch rounds. Re-roll the scraps and cut additional rounds. Fill each round with 1 heaping Tablespoon of filling. Fold the dough into a half-circle; wet your fingers and press to seal the edges with water. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the pies. Cut two 1/2-inch slits in each pie. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Makes approx. 12 pies.
For August’s ‘You Want Pies With That?‘ challenge, Branny decided we should create a pie that represents our personality. How fun is that?! As soon as I saw her choice, I immediately started thinking about how I could come up with an A.D.D. pie. However, with us getting ready to go on a trip, and things being so busy and with me being so, well….A.D.D., it just didn’t work out for me to devote the time I needed for my A.D.D. pie (bummer- that would’ve been perfect). So instead, I asked my hubby what he thought was the best way to describe my personality; “sunny and bright”, he said with a smile (isn’t he sweet?). Although I’m not sure about “sunny and bright”….more like, “sunny and bright with a likely chance of severe thunderstorms”; I went to work on a pie that fit the bill. Somehow I ended up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Pie, then I took it a step further and came up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie. Muuuuch better (and really, really delicious!)! So anyway, this is the pie that best fits my personality (according to my husband….who is apparently blinded by love…).
Sunny and Bright Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie with Chambord Whipped Cream
For the pie:
1 graham cracker crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
1 8-oz. block of cream cheese, at room temperature
10-15 strawberries, hulled and sliced
juice of 2 large lemons
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
splash orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
For the Chambord Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Chambord (Raspberry liqueur)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, until the cream cheese is smooth. Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Mix just until combined. Transfer to another bowl and use the mixer bowl to whip the cream. Beat the 1/2 cup heavy cream at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture. Refrigerate until needed.
To make the Chambord Whipped Cream Topping:
Beat the 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup sugar, Chambord and vanilla extract on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until needed.
To assemble:
In the prepared graham cracker crust, place half of the sliced strawberries in a single layer. Top with the cheesecake mixture; add another layer of sliced strawberries, then top with the Chambord whipped cream. Garnish with additional strawberries. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The pie is best served on the day its made.
*The liqueur is optional- it just adds a little extra flavor, but you can certainly leave it out if you want!
I absolutely, positively adore peaches. I can’t get enough of them. I guess it stems from my love of peach cobbler, or maybe it’s just because of their sweet, juicy, slightly tart nature. The best fruit, in my opinion. So naturally, when Erin of Milk and Honey, chose “Summer Fruit” for this month’s ‘You Want Pies With That?’ theme, I knew immediately that I would make a peach pie. No contest. In fact, I’ve been waiting a LONG time to make this pie! I saw this recipe on Taste of Home a loooong time ago, and have been waiting until peaches were in season to make it! Finally, the time came- thank my lucky stars! This is one FABULOUS pie. And I’m not just saying that- WOWEE! One bite and I knew I had a real winner of a recipe on my hands. The filling is thick and rich, but not at all too sweet. The topping is crisp, crumbly and slightly scented with cinnamon- it’s what gives a lot of the sweetness to the pie. YUM. I’ll most definitely be making this over, and over, and over again! I’m absolutely thrilled to submit this to July’s ‘YWPWT’ challenge!
Peach-Blueberry Sour Cream Pie
-adapted from tasteofhome.com
Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
3 cups sliced peeled peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons peach preserves or jam (I used plum)
1 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. In a large bowl, combine peaches, blueberries and jam. Transfer to pastry. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, egg yolks, flour and vanilla. Pour over peaches.
Bake at 425° for 30 minutes (keep an eye on it because it will brown quickly around the edges- you may need to cover them with foil if they’re getting too brown). Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pecans and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over pie.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning if necessary. Cool completely on a wire rack for 3 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 8 servings.
This month over at ‘You Want Pies With That?‘, the theme is “Summery Drinks”, chosen by Suz of You Can’t Eat What? and Sara of Cupcake Muffin. We were supposed to create a pie or a tart inspired by our favorite drink to sip by the pool during the summertime. My kind of theme!! It didn’t take long for me to figure out what kind of drink I’d be inspired by….I *love* piña coladas!! Creamy, smooth and “coconut-y” with a hint of dark rum. Bliss. I knew immediately that I’d use Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for Toasted Coconut Cream Tart as a base- that filling is insanely delicious!!! I sort of played around for awhile, then eventually came up with a delicious piña colada tart; the only thing I’d change for next time is topping it with whipped cream instead of meringue, as well as using canned crushed pineapple instead of fresh, since it’s a little sweeter. My custard was a little runny (I think I probably put in too much rum- oops!) but it still tasted amazing!
Piña Colada Tart
-adapted from Dorie Greenspan
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pineapple juice
3 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped pineapple (fresh or canned- I used fresh, but next time I’ll probably use canned because it’s a little sweeter)
1 9-inch sweet tart shell, baked and cooled (recipe below)
Bring milk to a boil. In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, yolks, cornstarch and salt until well blended. Whisk in 1/4 cup of hot milk to temper the yolks, then whisk in the rest of the milk. Continue whisking over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk an additional 1 or 2 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in rum, pineapple juice and vanilla and let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, stirring until custard is smooth. Stir in the coconut. Transfer to a container, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
Sweet Tart Dough
(makes one 9-inch crust)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
To make the dough: Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely – you’ll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that’s just fine. Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses – about 10 seconds each – until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change – heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface.
Very lightly and sparingly – make that very, very lightly and sparingly – knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
To make a press-in crust: Butter the tart pan and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don’t be stingy – you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it. Also, don’t be too heavy-handed – you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don’t want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
To bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust. Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan.
To assemble: Spread the chopped pineapple on the cooled crust and top with custard. Top with meringue or whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.
Back in 2008 when I first got my copy of Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan (aka: my idol), I took a pile of little sticky notes and went through the whole book marking the recipes I couldn’t wait to try. And of course, Dorie’s Lemon Cream Tart, the one she deems, “The Most Extraordinary Lemon Tart” was among the pages stuck with bright pink sticky notes. Well, here it is 2010 and I’m just now getting around to making this. Shame on me! I guess the reason it took so long is because the recipe calls for 2 1/2 sticks of butter…YIKES! For just hubby and me, that’s waaaaay too much butter! So, this Mother’s Day, I got my chance! We were having my family over for our annual Mother’s Day Brunch (but this year, we just did lunch) and my mom loves lemon desserts, so I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try the recipe out.
Unfortunately, the lemon cream took well over 45 minutes to make…you’re supposed to cook it (stirring constantly, mind you) until it thickens and reaches 180 degrees. I stirred and I stirred, then I stirred some more….then some more. At this point I was thinking one of those ridiculous Robo-stirrers would be ideal, then finally just decided to take it off the heat whether it was ready or not. Turned out fine in the end, but BOY, what a pain! The end result is a thick, creamy, extremely buttery lemon cream that tastes amazing on top of my favorite tart crust. I was really glad I made it, because everyone really liked it, but honestly, I’m not sure this one will be on the list for “go-to, no-fail” recipes. But for a special occasion like Mother’s Day, and a special mom like mine, it was perfect. Anything for Mommy! 
Dorie Greenspan’s Lemon Tart
1 9-inch tart shell, fully baked and cooled (recipe below)
1 cup sugar
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
Getting Ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
Set the bowl over the pan, and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.
As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days and, or tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate ‘until needed.
Sweet Tart Dough
-Dorie Greenspan
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons)
very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
To press the dough into the pan: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy-handed—press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
To bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack (keep it in its pan).
To fully bake the crust: Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. (I dislike lightly baked crusts, so I often keep the crust in the oven just a little longer. If you do that, just make sure to keep a close eye on the crust’s progress—it can go from golden to way too dark in a flash.) Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.
