Shaker Lemon Pie
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus 8 hours' marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2medium lemons
- 1blood orange or navel orange
- 2cups/400 grams granulated sugar
- 5large eggs
- ¼teaspoon salt
- ¾teaspoon ground cardamom
- Cream cheese dough (see recipe), or use regular pie dough
- Cornstarch or tapioca starch, for rolling dough
- 1tablespoon cream
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Preparation
- Step 1
Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice lemons and orange paper-thin, discarding the thick, pithy ends and any seeds. Put in a glass bowl and toss with granulated sugar. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Step 2
Roll out the pie dough: Place one dough disk on a surface lightly dusted with cornstarch or tapioca. Roll dough to ⅛ inch/3 millimeters thick, rolling from the center evenly out in all directions. If the dough is cracking and is not pliable, let it sit at room temperature a little longer to warm up. Dust with additional cornstarch as needed to discourage sticking.
- Step 3
Cut out a circle 2 inches/5 centimeters larger than the pie pan. Carefully lift dough and transfer to pan, easing dough into the bottom and sides but not stretching or pressing too firmly, or it will shrink during baking. If dough tears, patch with a little extra dough, pressing gently to adhere. Trim dough, leaving a ¼-inch overhang. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, and roll second dough disk in the same way.
- Step 4
If any seeds have floated to top of citrus mixture, fish them out. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, salt and cardamom until blended, then add to the lemon mixture, mixing thoroughly.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 350 degrees. If you have a baking stone, place it on the oven floor. Pour lemon filling into chilled shell, evenly distributing citrus pieces, and moisten the edge of the shell with water. Gently transfer upper crust onto the pie. Crimp the dough together using your fingers or a fork, and trim so it is flush with the edge of the pan and there is no overhang.
- Step 6
Brush the top of the dough with the cream and chill for 20 minutes. Cut small vents in the top of the dough with a sharp knife, then place pie on baking stone or directly on the oven floor for 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack in the middle of the oven and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown and cooked through. Let cool before dusting with confectioners' sugar and serving.
Private Notes
Comments
This is shown as baked in a tart pan, not a pi9e pan. The description for rolling and placing the dough are specific to a pie dish. However, it does have a tendency to seep out of a tart pan because the filling has a lot of liquid, causing one to skip or shorten the last refrigeration. I recommend putting parchment paper in the bottom of the tart pan to help a little. This is a very nice recipe.
you could cut down some, but remember the sugar will be mellowing the bitter agents in the peel as well as the natural tartness and acidity of the pulp. Maybe cut out 1/2 c of sugar? Depends on your personal taste how much more you could reduce, I suppose. And if you serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream. Chantilly cream might be nice, less sugar in that. Or creme fraiche.
I can’t place pie dish directly on the oven floor because I have an electric stove, ugh, can I just place the pie dish on the middle rack and for how long? Also, I’m using regular pie dough, do I️ still need to use tapioca starch? Thank you!
I had easily two cups of filling left over. 9" tart pan with tall sides. I didn't miss-measure! At 71, still learning.
Following other’s recs, I froze 4 Meyer lemons before slicing them with my handheld mandoline. They macerated for over 12 hours because I got lazy, and then went into the filling. I used a standard all butter pie crust in a tart pan lined with a round of parchment paper, and wrapped it in foil in case there was any leak. I was nervous about baking it on the floor of the oven, but the crust was PERFECT. The cardamom complemented the Meyer lemon so well that no one even noticed it was there! 10/10
While this citrus pie is undoubtedly delicious, if you would like a true Shaker Lemon Pie experience, the recipe is easily googled. A true Shaker Lemon Pie has few ingredients: thinly sliced lemons, sugar, eggs in a double crust. It is a delight for the sincere lemon lover.