Wednesday 21 November 2007

Ohio Shaker lemon pie: A whole lot of lemon and a little bit more

I'm warning you: this pie contains whole lemon slices.
If you're lemon-phobic, do leave now. If not, then this is what you've been waiting for for your whole life.

Who are the Shakers, by the way? They are a religious group, officially named the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming. What's important to me, is that they created this pie, in order to not to waste a bit of lemons.
I first found it mentioned over at Ben bakes a cake.
(The pic's really lousy this time, I know)


Ohio Shaker lemon pie
(adapted from Epicurious)

300-400 g pâte brisée
2 lemons
4 dl sugar
4 big eggs
1/4 tsp salt
  1. Blanch the lemons for 30 seconds in a large saucepan of boiling water, then drain them and rinse under cold water.
  2. Cut off the ends of the lemons, discarding them and then cut the lemons cross-wise into paper-thin slices (I used an electrical slicer, but a lot of patience and a sharp knife can complete the mission, too). Remove the seeds.
  3. Put the lemon slices into a bowl, trying to collect all the juice that has flown out of them. Cover with sugar and let the mixture stand for one whole day, stirring after the 1st hour.
  4. Next day roll out half the dough on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 22-24 cm pie plate, leaving an overhang.
  5. Remove the lemon slices from the liquid that has formed to the bowl and arrange them in the pie shell.
  6. Add the eggs and salt to the sugar, whisk until combined well and pour the mixture uver the lemon slices.
  7. Roll out the remaining dough so that it would also leave an overhang. Cover the pie with it and fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it.
  8. Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and bake for 35 minutes in the middle of the oven at 220C.
  9. Reduce temperature to 175C and bake for 20-25 minutes more, or until the crust is golden.
  10. Let the pie cool and serve it at room temperature. I'd definitely say a heap of ice cream is a must!



A charming idea, if you asked me. By the time the cake is ready, it's filled with creamy lemon curd, although the lemon slices still remain...slices. If you're not the type who likes eating a cake with a fork and a knife...you have to put whole slices into your mouth. It's funny how they really are so delicious, pith and all. At the same time the cake still is a little bit more sour than the usual lemon curd, but in a baffling way.

Do add good vanilla ice cream to the servings! The crunchy crust and the sweet-cold ice cream create such contrasts with the intensively tasting filling that it's simply heavenly. Thin lemon slices slipping out from between the crusts are just waiting to be popped into your mouth!

What if I used limes instead of lemons? Now that would be incredible. A must-try, I guess.

6 comments:

Patricia Scarpin said...

If there's lemon in it, I'm in for some!
It looks great!

Evelin said...

If there'd be lime in it...I'd come running:)

Anonymous said...

Even better to bake it with the peel! Never thought about doing that...

Inne said...

I love lemon pie! Never had one with lemon slices in it though, I'm intrigued.

Evelin said...

Thank you! Impressing food bloggers is quite a challenge;)

Gretchen Noelle said...

I would be interested in a lime version as I hardly see lemons here. Our limes are SOOOO tart, but I am curious how it would turn out?