November 29, 2012

Lemon Cream Pie

Posted by HI Cookery under 11 November | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Lemon Cream Pie

Lemon Cream Pie

November 29: National Lemon Cream Pie Day

Islander loves the lemon fresh taste in cakes. So naturally she likes them in pies, too. Although pumpkin, pecan, apple and sweet potato pies are popular during the current season, lemon cream pie is a nice alternative. The sweet-tart citrus flavor, smooth velvety texture and fluffy whipped cream topping bring to mind sunny and warm days. Make someone’s upcoming holidays happy with a pie and make lemon cream pie on National Lemon Cream Pie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

For the lemon pie

  • ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 pie crust (we used a graham cracker crust)

Directions

Juice the lemons and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Stir in the sour cream. Add the lemon juice.

Lemon Cream Pie

Mix in the salt and blend well. Pour into the pie crust. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. The middle of the filling will still jiggle slightly. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely. Prepare the cream topping.

Lemon Cream Pie

For the whipped cream topping

  • 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • lemon peel curls (optional garnish)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, whip the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of the lemon cream pie. Or fill a pastry bag with a decorating tip and pipe designs on top of the pie. Garnish with lemon peel curls (optional). Chill the pie for at least another hour before slicing and serving.

Lemon Cream Pie

Notes

  • If using a frozen pre-made pie shell, bake it in the oven according to the directions on the package until golden brown. Cool before filling.
  • Do not worry if the lemon filling cracks during baking. They will be covered in cream and still taste delicious.
  • The cream topping ingredients yield a generous amount. Feel free to half the recipe to cover/decorate the lemon cream pie.
 

March 29, 2012

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Posted by HI Cookery under 03 March | Tags: , , , , , |
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Lemon Chiffon Cake

Lemon Chiffon Cake

March 29: National Lemon Chifffon Cake Day

We recently blogged about lemon macarons to welcome the spring season. Their sunshine yellow color and fresh lemon scent brighten up our days when it is cloudy or when there are spring showers. Likewise, during Lent, we like to eat a light dessert, such as lemon chiffon cake. The zesty glaze enhances the fruit’s flavor of this simple, citrusy treat.

Make lemon chiffon cake with lemon butter glaze to celebrate spring, a love for lemons and National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

For the lemon chiffon cake

  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 6 eggs, divided use
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Zest and juice one lemon. Separate the eggs, reserving the yolks and whites. In a bowl, combine the cake flour, salt, baking powder and ½ cup of sugar. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks. Add the vegetable oil, water and lemon zest and mix well.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Stir the lemon extract in the batter. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and peaks form. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup sugar and continue beating until stiff.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Fold a portion of the egg whites into the batter and gently blend well. Continue folding in the egg whites until the batter is evenly mixed. Put the batter in an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Remove the cake from the oven and invert the tube pan with the cake still in it. Allow it to cool completely. Loosen the edges with a spatula to remove the cake. Brush away any crumbs and place on a wire rack. Prepare the glaze.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

For the lemon butter glaze

(Adapted from Wilton)

  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon grate lemon zest
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Mix in the lemon zest. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Mix in the fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Use immediately on the cake before it hardens.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Pour the glaze on the top of the cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Quickly spread the glaze around the sides of the cake (optional). Allow the glaze to set/harden before slicing the cake.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Notes

  • We love the lemony butter glaze a lot! So in addition to drizzling it on top of the cake, we iced the sides as well to get the full flavor of the citrus all over.
  • Look for more lemon recipes on our blog.

 

March 20, 2012

Lemon Macarons

Posted by HI Cookery under 03 March | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Lemon Macarons

 Lemon Macarons

March 20: World Macaron Day and First Day of Spring

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When Mum gives you homemade lemon curd, make macarons! That is exactly what we did to observe World Macaron Day. So we added lemon flavoring and a sunny shade of yellow to basic macaron shells and filled them with Mum’s homemade lemon curd. Take the opportunity to make lemon macarons as they are a wonderful way to welcome the spring season.

Recipe

(Adapted from TeaTime magazine – January/February 2010)

For the lemon macarons (Italian meringue method)

  • 1 cup almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
  • 1 cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • yellow food coloring (we used AmeriFoods brand lemon yellow food paste gel color)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form.

Lemon Macarons

Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage). Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar mixture until the consistency “flows like magma.” Stir in the lemon extract.

Lemon Macarons

Tint the macaronage with yellow to make a sunny shade of lemon. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs. Make the lemon curd filling.

Lemon Macarons

For the lemon curd

Lemon Curd

Directions

To complete the macarons, spread lemon curd between two shells. Sandwich them together and repeat the process for the rest of the shells. Refrigerate the macarons to set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Macarons

Notes

  • Search our site for more macaron recipes. Or click on our MacAttack page to see our macaron gallery. Happy World Macaron Day!
  • Dale Carnegie coined the famous quote: “When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make a lemonade” (see variations of the phrase at the Innocent English website). With this statement, he meant to encourage others to turn a negative into a positive position and to take the opportunity to change a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one.
  • Thanks to Highlander’s Mum for the lemon curd and recipe.  Store-bought instead of homemade lemon curd may be substituted for the lemon macaron filling.
  • Thanks to Lisa L. for the ground almonds from Germany.
  • See our Food Flops page for our lemon macaron mess.
  • This post is our entry into the MacTweets monthly challenge #27 for World Macaron Day. Take a look at all the lovely macs on the site!
  • HI Cookery is proud to partner with M5 Cake to make macarons this month. See our lemon macarons paired with the strawberry macarons that we made together below and on their site.

macarons

 

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