Dinner – 25 minutes flat! Purchased pesto, canned clams and a spritz of lemon make…
Meyer Lemon Shaker Pie
I’m a tad obsessed with Shaker Lemon Pie! I’ve been experimenting with this tangy-sweet pie every which way. Double crust and single crust. Butter crust. Butter-vodka crust. Gluten-free crust. Olive oil crust. Guess what- each variation is perfect as pie (or Pi) and friends have been the happy recipients.
Why is this pie called Shaker Lemon Pie? From what I’ve researched, the heritage is of frugal Shaker ways using the entire fruit (minus the pits). This makes a very lemony pie. The key is to slice the lemons paper thin; a mandolin works best, but be careful with that sharp slicer!
Recipes vary in the amount of lemons to use. The other ingredients are sugar and eggs and sometimes cornstarch. This makes a filling similar to lemon curd, minus the butter. I like a lot of lemon to make a very full pie shell, which works well with the less tart Meyer lemon. I adapted a recipe from Kate McDermott, one of my pie idols, who has written several pie books including Art of the Pie and she hosts pie baking camps. Pie camp sounds like heaven to me! For now I’ll settle for a slice of lemon pie, and always with whipped cream please 🙂
Meyer Lemon Shaker Pie
Meyer lemons usually have a thinner skin than Eureka or other lemon varieties, and also have a slightly sweeter tang. If you make this with another lemon variety, you may need to increase the sugar or reduce the amount of lemon, as I use quite a lot of lemon in this recipe. Macerating the sliced lemons in sugar for at least 12 hours reduces bitterness from the skin and pith. Another method is to blanch the sliced lemons and make the pie right away, but I prefer taking the time to macerate as the the texture of the lemon holds up and the long sugar soak seems to do a better job of reducing the bitter.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 single or double crust pie Either double or single is delicious. I like the single crust that shows the pretty lemon slices on top. Stir-N-Roll Pie Crust – Rosemary Mark
- about 1-1/4 pounds lemons, around 6
- 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar or 1-1/2 cups if you like super tart; 2 cups if you think you lemons are super tart
- 1-2 tsp cornstarch depending on your preference for juiciness
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 4 large eggs
- sweetened whipped cream for serving optional
Instructions
- SLICE lemons paper thin, discarding seeds as best you can. A mandolin is the best tool for this. You should have 2-3/4 to 3 cups sliced lemons plus juice, or 450grams (1lb).
- PLACE sliced lemons in a non-metallic bowl. Stir in all the sugar. Cover and let stand at least 12 hours at room temperature (or refrigerate if kitchen is very warm).
- PREPARE pie dough, either single or double, using your choice of recipe. See notes below. Line a 9-inch pie plate (I always use glass) with dough. I prefer a regular depth pan, but a deep-dish will work if your dough round is rolled large enough. However the filling may be a little short in the dish.
- PREHEAT oven to 425°F.
- In a separate bowl, WHISK cornstarch and salt into one of the eggs, leaving no lumps. Whisk in remaining eggs.
- STIR together the eggs and lemon mixture. Pour into prepared pie shell. If desired, add top pie dough and crimp edges.
- BAKE at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375°F and continue baking 25-35 minutes until top is slightly puffed, lightly browned (single or double crust) and center feels set. It's a little harder to see if the center is set with the double crust, but if the crust is evenly golden brown it should be done.
- COOL pie on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm or cool. With whipped cream is preferred!
Notes
Butter-Vodka crust by Marlene Sorosky can be found here
Many choices of pie crusts including Gluten Free can be found at Kate McDermott’s website Art of the Pie
I happen to have a bunch of Meyer lemons in my fridge right now! And your pie looks and sounds delicious–and easy to make! Perhaps this weekend…. 🙂
Perfect! What type of pie dough do you like to make?
Hi Rosemary!
I’ve made lemon cake with whole Meyer lemons put to use. The lemons are processed smooth in a food processor. I wonder if the same could be done for this pie? I don’t have a mandolin and not too confident on my ability to slice super thin.
This sounds great!
MaryLynne- I think the processor is a great idea. Or if the processor has a thin slicer. Let me know!
This looks delicious! We just bought some lemons, so we will have to give it a try.
Great! Did you find Meyer Lemons? It will be delicious with whatever you have, but might need more sugar if they are not Meyer.
When do I add the salt?
Daisy – thank you for noticing the salt. I add it with the cornstarch and have corrected the recipe. I hope you made it anyway! Thank you so much for notifying me.
Intrigued by this lemon pie variation. As the recipe notes ends up like a lemon curd with chunky texture. I let the lemons and sugar macerate for a day and a half in the fridge, stirring occasionally. Before adding the eggs I tasted the lemon/sugar mix and added more sugar and vanilla until it got it to my liking.Tented the pie midway through baking so crust didn’t burn.
The sweetened whipped cream was a perfect compliment.
Hi Kathi – Thank you so much for sharing your variation and tips! Lemons can vary in tartness, as well as our preference for tart. So glad you adjusted to your liking and the vanilla sounds delicious.
I baked this delicious pie using a single store bought crust and my organic Eureka lemons sliced carefully with a mandolin. I appreciate that Rosemary included the number of pounds of lemons as I only needed three lemons to create a sufficient amount. I used 1.75 c of sugar because Eureka lemons are quite tart and also very juicy so I upped the cornstarch to two tablespoons. I was inspired to add three big sprigs of rosemary to the lemon sugar mixture while it was macerating, removing them before baking. I took care to tile the prettiest lemon slices on top. It took at least 65 minutes total for the pie to completely bake. Served with lightly sweetened whipped cream as the pie was quite tart. And tasty!
Thank you Mary! I’m delighted to hear how you made the pie with Eureka lemons and rosemary sprigs! You’ve reminded me that I need to make this pie with all my lemons. Love the idea of a touch of rosemary. Really appreciate you writing, and sharing the amount of sugar and bake time for your pie.