Lemon Custard Filling Recipes

MOM'S LEMON CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until well blended. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk, flour and salt; mix well. Stir in lemon juice and zest; set aside. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; gently fold into lemon mixture., Pour into crust. Bake until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, garnish with whipped cream, lemon and mint. Store in the refrigerator.

LEMON CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• Roll out the pie dough to an 11″ circle and line a 9" pie plate with the pastry, crimping the edges as desired. Place in the freezer to firm up for 10-20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF and place one oven rack in the second to lowest spot and one in the middle.
• Line the pie dough with a parchment round piece of paper and then add pie weights to fill (such as dry rice, bean or lentils), making sure to push the pie weights to the edges. Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack, then remove from the oven and remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the pastry is fully baked through.
• While the crust is still hot, crack one egg and separate the yolk from the white. Set the yolk aside. Whisk together the egg white with a teaspoon of water and brush a thin layer of the mixture on the hot pie crust all over. The heat from the crust should turn the brushed egg white and cook it. If your pie has cooled down too quickly, you can place it back in the oven for a few minutes until the egg white is set. Set aside the prepared crust until ready to use.
• Lower the heat to 325º.
• Whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Add in the remaining 4 eggs, the leftover egg yolk, and the lemon juice, and whisk together.
• Heat the milk in a medium pot over medium heat until small bubbles form along the edges, about 120ºF.
• Next, temper the egg mixture: Slowly pour in 1 cup of the warmed milk to the eggs, while gently whisking. Then, pour the whole egg mixture slowly back into the pot of milk while gently whisking. Continue to cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture has just barely thickened and reached 170-180ºF. To double-check the custard has formed, take a wooden spoon and coat it with the milk. Draw a horizontal line on the back of the spoon with your finger. If the line "holds" then your custard is set. If the line collapses right away, the custard needs another minute or so. However do not bring the mixture to a boil, this will overcook the custard.
• Strain the mixture to catch any bits of cooked eggs. Add in the lemon extract, vanilla extract and the zest and then slowly pour the filling into the baked crust.
• Place the pie onto your oven's middle rack and bake it for 50-55 minutes, or until the custard has puffed up and set nearly throughout, but still slightly wobbly in the middle. The pie should have a temperature of 190ºF in the middle.
• Remove the pie from the oven, and place it on a rack to cool.
• Once the pie has come to room temperature, move the pie to the refrigerator to finish setting up, at least 4 hours.
• Add all the ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer and whip on medium speed until the cream has reached soft stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Keep a close eye though because it will go from perfectly whipped to over-whipped in a matter of seconds.

LEMON CUSTARD FILLING

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or double boiler combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Mix well. Beat the egg yolks and water together, then whisk into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter. Cover with plastic wrap until completely cooled.

LEMON FILLING

Steps:

• Sift sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a medium saucepan. Gradually blend in 1/2 cup cold water and lemon juice. Place saucepan over medium-low heat, and whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks and 2 tablespoons butter, and blend thoroughly. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened, and add 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Continue stirring until mixture reaches desired thickness, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat, and stir in lemon peel; rub surface lightly with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent a skin from forming. Can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

WHITE LAYER CAKE WITH LEMON CURD FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
• In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining whites.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; peel off parchment. Reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.
• Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to make level. Place one layer on a serving plate, cut side up. Using a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, pipe frosting around the perimeter. This dam will prevent the lemon curd filling from seeping out. Fill cake with lemon curd. Place other cake layer on top, cut side down. Spread entire cake with frosting, swirling to cover.

SIMPLE LIGHT LEMON CUSTARD

Steps:

• Combine eggs, lemon rind and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat.
• Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent clumping, until mixture becomes well combined and light yellow.
• Add in light margarine and lemon juice, keep whisking and cooking for about 5 minutes.
• Set aside, let cool before serving.
• Mixture will thicken even more when cold.
• Enjoy on top of cakes, pies, fruit, ice cream -- or on its own!

LEMON FILLING

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat mix the white sugar, flour, orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and the egg. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely before folding in the whipped cream. Makes enough to fill one 2 layer 9 inch round layer cake.