Shaker Lemon Pie

Citrus is in season during the winter months although lemons and oranges are available year round. Out of season fruit comes from farther away. At the moment citrus in Canadian grocery stores is coming from Florida and California.

This traditional pie is a favourite in the Shaker community. An interesting piece of trivia here "shaker your plate" means eat every last crumb. Waste nothing.

This pie is tart like marmalade. Macerate the lemon slices in sugar at room temperature overnight.

I often make pastry in my food processor. It is quick and easy. This butter pastry is the perfect match to the tartness of the lemons.

Form into two disks and then chill for an hour or more.

The juice of the lemons is drawn out by the sugar. The lemons are zested before slicing and the zest is also in the filling. Then add the egg mixture to complete making the filling.

Pour into pastry shell. Top with the second crust and crimp. It's ready to bake.

This pie is very tart but will mellow out if served the day after baking. And the crust is still fresh.


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Shaker Lemon Pie

The Meyer lemon is native to China and is a cross between a lemon and an orange. The result is a sweeter and less acidic fruit. This sweet tart marmalade-like pie mellows after a day or two. 

Filling:

2 c. sugar (500 mL)

1/4 tsp. kosher salt (1 mL)

2 Meyer lemons, zested and thinly sliced, seeds discarded

4 eggs

1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted (60 mL)

3 tbsp. flour (45 mL)

Crust:

1 3/4 c. flour, plus more (415 mL)

3/4 c. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled 175 mL

2 tbsp. vegetable shortening (30 mL)

1 tsp. kosher salt (5 mL)

4 tbsp. ice cold water (60 mL)

Toss sugar, salt and lemon zest and slices in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Pulse flour, cold butter, shortening and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add water and pulse until dough forms. Divide dough in half and make two flattened balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill one hour.

Heat oven to 425 F (220 C). Whisk eggs in a bowl until frothy. Whisk in melted butter and three tablespoons (45 mL) flour. Stir into reserved lemon mixture. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disk of dough into a round and fit into a nine inch (23 cm) pie plate. Trim edges using a knife, leaving one inch (2.5 cm) dough overhanging edge of plate. Pour in filling. Roll remaining disk dough into a round and place over top of pie. Trim and crimp edges and cut steam vents in the top crust. Bake until crust is beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 F (175 C) and bake until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

Lemon Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake

Imagine a life without lemons. No spritz over butter fried sole. No squeeze on a parsley and tomato salad. No marinade on that spatchcocked chicken. No candied rinds. No zest. No slices garnishing your roasted fish. And no lemonade.

It is believed that lemons originated in India over 2500 years ago. From there they travelled around the world and became a culinary necessity. There are over 200 cultivars in America alone. Some are better in arid climates, other in humid, some for lemon oil and others for sweetness, fewer seeds, more seeds and so on. Surprisingly lemons are hand picked. There is no machine that can pick a lemon. They are picked green and cannot be wet. As they cure the colour changes to yellow, the skin thins and the fruit becomes juicier.

Lemon Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake 

This rich, dense and moist lemony cake is almost a cheesecake. Homemade ricotta and ground almonds are bound together with eggs and flavoured with a generous amount of lemon zest. The cake benefits from a couple of days of rest before serving. Lightly dust with powdered sugar and you have a dessert worthy of any dinner party.

 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened 
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/4 c. lemon zest
4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 1/2 c. almond meal
10 1/2 oz. ricotta
Flaked almonds, to decorated
Icing sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 325 F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 8 inch round springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the butter, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the tops with a spatula, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Turn off, open oven door and leave pan in the oven to cool. Allow to cool completely in the cake pan overnight. Dust with icing sugar to serve. (Adapted from Donna Hay)

Saskatoon Berry Madeleines

The day after I made these madeleines I took them to the school where I was the substitute teacher. These 6 children on the Colony were my tasting panel. "What is the secret ingredient?" I asked. Well, they said saskatoons and lemons, which of course, I told them were no secret at all. Those were the bold flavours. They could not taste anything unusual or different. They loved these. That is my proof that the lentil flour was a success in this recipe.

A madeleine is a small French butter cake. They are almost like a little cupcake. They can be mixed up in advance, cooked in just a few minutes and are a sure crowd pleaser for any party. They are very 'fashion forward'. Simple, rich and flavourful desserts are in vogue. I had fresh out of the oven madeleines with a chocolate dipping sauce at a very chi chi restaurant last month. I loved the warm and fresh little cakes. It felt decadent and did not break my budget.

Saskatoon berries are a favourite on the Canadian prairies and northern plains of the United States. They are so unique that they have been added to the Slow Food Ark of Taste. The Ark honours foods and food preparation styles that are unique to an area and something we would never want to lose.

The saskatoons have a unique flavour reminescent of blueberries but less sweet and a 'je ne sais quois' that is impossible to describe. Needless to say they are a strong favourite and a coveted experience for anyone visiting the region. The berry is dry and lends itself to baking in batters.

Canadian Lentils has a recipe challenge until April 7.  Pop on over to view all the interesting recipes and 'like' mine so I have a better chance to win some prizes. This is my entry in the Dessert category. I am incorporating the lentils in the flour ingredients. This is my final entry for this contest. I have been cooking with and eating lentils for the past month, and you know what, I like them. I had no idea how many adaptations I could make to incorporate lentils into my recipes.

Green lentils grind easily in a blender to produce a cornmeal textured flour. I have a VitaMix blender and it ground a cup of lentils in less than a minute. Sieve it if you would like a finer flour.

I can see many applications for this flour.

Lentils are naturally gluten-free.  They add a raft of nutrients and dietary fibre. The flavour of green lentils is peppery and works well in many recipes.

This recipe is almost gluten free! These are best served right out of the oven. Rich and delicious. The tart lemon glaze is perfect to compliment the rich and intense flavour of saskatoon berries.

Saskatoon Berry Madeleines

3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup lentil flour, sieved
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
zest of one lemon
2/3 cup saskatoon berries
3/4 cup melted butter, cooled to room temperature plus more to grease pans
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
water

Brush madeleine pan with melted butter. Dust with flour and tap out excess. Refrigerate. I tried both all purpose flour and lentil flour for dusting the pan and I prefer the lentil flour. It is easiest to use a sieve and dust it over the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip eggs, sugar and salt for 5 minutes until frothy.

Whisk flour with baking powder. Fold egg mixture into flour with spatula.

Add lemon zest to cooled butter and slowly pour butter into batter while gently folding the batter. Fold just until all butter is incorporated.

Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. These were in the refrigerator overnight.

To bake, preheat oven to 425F. Fill indentations in madeleine pan about 3/4 full, approximately 1 large tablespoon. Don't spread out the batter. Just leave it in a clump. I found that a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop was the perfect size.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cakes feel set. While cakes are baking make the glaze by stirring together icing sugar, lemon juice and enough water to make it smooth.

Remove from oven. Carefully loosen each cake with a table knife while still hot. Cool for a couple of minutes and empty pan onto a cooling rack. The berries can stick to the pan so be gentle. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, dip each cake into the glaze. I only dipped the bottom side but you can do both sides if you wish.  Scrape off excess glaze. Place on rack to cool and let glaze set.

Best served immediately. Can be kept in a container up to 3 days. Do not freeze with the glaze. The glaze will melt.

Triple Lemon Layer Cake

It is Valentines Day this week and everything should be red and hearts. But here I am with a lemon layer cake! Just think of lemons as puckery food!

Lemon on lemon on lemon. How can it get any better? This is the ultimate cake for the lemon lover. Follow it step by step for your Lemon Dream. I candied lemon peel to use as a garnish but I didn't feel it was showy enough so I bought a yellow rose to add as a garnish with the candied peel. I like the look.

Triple Lemon Layer Cake

For cake

2 1/3 c. cake flour            550 mL

2 3/4 tsp. baking powder      13 mL

1/4 tsp. salt                           1 mL

1 3/4 c. sugar                   430 mL

2 tbsp. grated lemon zest      30 mL

3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature       180 mL

1 c. whole milk, room temperature                 250 mL

5 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar                           1 mL

For filling

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened            45 mL

1 c. sugar                                               250 mL

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2/3 c. fresh lemon juice                            160 mL

1 tsp. grated lemon zest                              5 mL

For frosting

1 c. unsalted butter, softened                       250 mL

2 tbsp. grated lemon zest                               30 mL

3 1/2 c. sifted confections sugar                   875 mL

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice                                  45 mL

Make the lemon curd first so it can chill. Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in eggs and yolks. Beat 1 minute more, then stir in lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled but don’t worry.

Cook in a double boiler until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest. Press plastic wrap on surface of the lemon curd to prevent a skin from forming and chill thoroughly.

Make cake by preheating oven to 350F(180C) and place a rack in the middle of oven. Butter and flour two 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pans. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Pulse 1/4 of the sugar with lemon zest in food processor.

In large bowl, beat butter and lemon sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in 1/4 of the milk just until blended. On low speed, add flour mixture alternatively with milk in three batches, scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat until just blended.

In another bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer until whites are foamy and add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until the whites form stiff peaks. Add one quarter of the whites to batter and gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Continue to fold in the whites one quarter at a time, being careful not to deflate the mixture.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centres comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Loosen edges of cake along sides of pan and invert onto a rack. Flip right side up and let cool completely.

Carefully remove cake from pans and cut horizontally, using a long serrated knife.

Place one layer on serving plate, cut side up and spread a generous 1/3 cup of lemon curd (160 mL) filling on it. Add each layer in the same manner until the final layer is placed and do not top with filling.

Make frosting

In a medium bowl, beat butter and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar in batches until light and fluffy. Add lemon juice and beat for one minute.

Frost cake

Up to a few hours ahead, spread thin layer of frosting on cake. Chill about 1/2 hour. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over the top and sides of cake. Scatter with bits of lemon zest and silver dragees, or garnish as you like. (Adapted from Fine Cooking)