Lemon cream pie

This is an amazing cream pie. It's also a very soft one, so refrigerating between steps and before serving is very important...make it at least 24 hours ahead of time. Even though it's fussy, it's so worth it! Do not make any substitutions in the recipe or mess with the proportions. And for heaven's sake, don't even think about substituting Cool Whip for the real whipped cream!


Lemon Cream Pie

6 large eggs
3/4 c sugar
3 lemons (2 t lemon zest plus 3/4 c fresh lemon juice)
1/2 c butter, cut into tablespoons
1 c heavy or whipping cream, chilled
1 prepared graham crumb crust


Beat the eggs, sugar, and 2 t lemon zest together in a heavy medium-size saucepan until it is smooth. Add the lemon juice and butter; cook the mixture over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until it is thickened, 7 to 9 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Pour the curd through a fine mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.

In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks. Gently fold it into the lemon curd in the large bowl, and scrape the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours. You may be able to get away with a shorter refrigeration time, but this is a very soft creamy pie, so longer is better.