MMMMMMMM, Lemon Curd Pie. I so wish I had more of this sweet deliciousness right now. Seriously, so good! I loooove lemon curd so when the hubby was asking what I wanted for Mother’s Day dinner and dessert the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Lemon Curd Pie”. Yes, you can make it with a graham cracker crust, which is also delicious, but I wanted a regular pie crust. Unfortunately this happened to be one of those times that you make the worst pie crust (even though normally the recipe is one of our favorites) and the hubby got started late so it didn’t set up as long, but guess what, STILL DELICIOUS! Summer is here, berries are finally going on sale and this is what you should make for next Sunday dessert!
Is Lemon Curd and Lemon Pudding The Same?
Lemon curd is similar to lemon pudding, but there are differences.
With lemon curd, the texture is smoother and the flavor more intense.
Pudding is thickened with flour or cornstarch, but lemon curd is thickened with egg yolks and natural pectin in the zest and juice of the lemon.
Can Pie Dough Be Frozen?
You can freeze pie dough with a couple of methods.
You can form the dough into a ball and place in a heavy duty freezer bag.
Thaw the dough completely and roll out as you would fresh dough.
Or, roll the dough, place it in a pie pan, and wrap well in plastic or foil and freeze.
Thaw completely before adding filling, or baking.
Pie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can Lemon Curd Be Frozen?
Lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year.
Cool the lemon curd completely and pour it into an airtight container to freeze.
Lemon Curd Pie
Lemon Curd Pie
Description
Ingredients
Pie crust by ATK
- 1 1/4 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Sortening, Vegetable, chilled
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, 1/2 Stick Cold, Unsalted
- 4-5 Tablespoons Water, Ice
Lemon Curd
- 1 Cup Lemon Juice, fresh, about 6-8 large lemons
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest, fresh
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 6 Eggs, large
- 1.5 Sticks Butter, 12 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into bits
Instructions
For the Crust
- Process the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor or in a bowl with a fork.
- Add the shortening and mix until the mixture reaches the texture of coarse sand.
- Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter no bigger than peas.
- Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over mixture and with a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix.
- Press down the dough with the broad side of the spatula until it sticks together.
- Flatten the dough into a 4-inch disc.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Remove dough from fridge and let stand at room temp until malleable.
- Roll the dough out flat and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Make sure not to stretch the dough. Trim the edges and do whatever design you want for the edge.
- Refrigerate 40 min and then freeze for 20.
- Place foil and beans in the pie or metal pie weights, bake at 375 for 25-30 min.
- Remove foil and bake an additional 10-12 min.
Lemon Curd
- Zest lemons and set aside.
- Halve lemons and juice.
- Whisk together juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan.
- Cook over medium low heat for about one minute. Then slowly add bits of chilled butter, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of a whisk and the first bubble appears on the surface (about 5-6 minutes).
- Press curd through a large sieve into your prepared pie crust.
- Cover the surface with plastic wrap to keep a film from forming on the surface of the curd.
- Chill overnight or for 8 hours before serving.
- Top with Strawberries!
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
Bob
Why is the lemon curd being poured into a rectangular ‘shallow casserole dish’ and then topped with strawberries? I suppose that would be an good dessert in its own right, but why not put the curd into the prepared pie shell that was made in the first half of the recipe?
Sweet Basil
Hi Bob! You are 100% correct. That doesn’t make much sense at all! I have updated the recipe card. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. That must have been a remnant of another recipe I had used in the past.
Melissa
How many cups of filing does the curd recipe make?
Sweet Basil
It makes about 4 cups…maybe a little more.
Melissa
Awesome, thank you!
ariel
question:
i have an enormous bottle of lemon juice that i need to use. how terrible would it be to use bottled lemon juice instead of fresh?
Megan
Looks like something i should make for my girls night this weekend! Berries are perfect right now!
Sarah
I love lemon curd, on a spoon. But in a tart covered with strawberries?! even better.