Dessert

Lemon Meringue Pie

I have never been a fan of lemon pie. The tartness was too much for me. And then, my sister, Nancy, brought a recipe from a dear old friend, Gracie. She was so gracious to share the recipe. It only has the juice of one lemon which gives the pie a milder lemon flavor that’s just right. Enjoy!

Print

Lemon Meringue Pie

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cream pie, lemon, meringue, pastry
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 9" pie shell, baked See recipe under cream pie post
  • 1 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • pinch salt
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 3 eggs separated
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 lemon for juice and grated rind

Instructions

  • Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Stir in water slowly stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened.
  • Add a small amount of hot mixture to beaten egg yolks to temper. Then add yolks to custard mixture.
  • Cook for approximately 1 more minute.
  • Remove from heat and add lemon rind, juice and butter. Stir until blended.
  • Pour into baked crust, top with meringue and baked until lightly browned.
Print

Swiss Meringue

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cream pie, egg whites, topping
Servings 8

Equipment

  • 1 stainless steel saucepan with 1" water, simmering
  • 1 stainless steel mixing bowl
  • 1 electric mixer

Ingredients

  • 3 each egg whites in bowl with no yolks or added fat
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • dash cream of tartar

Instructions

  • Combine eggs whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a stainless steel mixing bowl and place over simmering water.
  • Stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. Egg white should be barely warm.
  • Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
  • Spread meringue on top of pie filling. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degree F or until meringue is browned. Cool and serve.

Grandma Carrie’s Chocolate Pie

I watched Grandma Carrie make chocolate pie many times but never got her recipe. A recipe from our church cookbook is just like I remember– thickened with flour instead of cornstarch. Tweaking the recipe to include cooking in the microwave does not shorten the time to make it, it just prevents scorching the cream filling.

Print

Chocolate Cream Pie

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate, cream pie, meringue
Servings 2 pies

Equipment

  • 2 pie pans
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 4 tablespoon cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 5 each eggs
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 each baked pie crusts
  • 1 recipe Swiss Meringue
  • 1 teaspoon chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

  • Combine sugar, flour, cocoa and salt in microwave safe bowl. Stir to break up cocoa lumps.
  • Warm milk in microwave for 2 minutes. Add to mixture and stir with a wire whisk to blend.
  • Microwave on high at 2 minute intervals until thickened, stirring well in between.
  • Separate egg yolks from the whites. Slightly beat the yolks then blend in a few spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture to temper the yolks. Add the yolk mixture to the chocolate cream mixture and blend well. Microwave for an additional two minutes then add remaining vanilla and butter stirring until blended.
  • Pour into baked pie shells and top with meringue made from the egg whites. Bake in a 400 degree F. oven until slightly brown. Top with a few chocolate sprinkles to identify it as a chocolate pie.
Print

Pie Crust

A flaky crust made with butter
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword buttermilk, pie crust
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 2 pie plates or pans
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter unsalted
  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

  • Place flour and salt in a bowl.
  • Grate cold butter, a little at a time, over flour. Toss the butter into the flour every few minutes to prevent the butter from sticking together.
  • Sprinkle cold water over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough starts forming a ball.
  • Divide the dough in half and place on floured pastry board or counter. Roll dough into a circle to fit pie plate. Sprinkle a little more flour over pastry if it sticks to the rolling pin.
  • Fold dough over and lift into pan. Press dough to fit pan. Fold top edge under and flute. Prick bottom and sides of shell with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • For a baked pie shell, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Print

Swiss Meringue

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword egg whites, pie
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 1 stainless steel mixing bowl
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 6 each egg whites no yolk or fat can be in whites
  • 12 tablespoons sugar
  • dash cream of tartar

Instructions

  • Add 1 inch of water to saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  • Combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a stainless steel mixing bowl and place over simmering water.
  • Stir constantly with a wire whisk or the beaters of the electric mixer until sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is slightly warm. Test by rubbing mixture between two fingers.
  • Remove from saucepan and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
  • Spread meringue on top of pie filling. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. until meringue is browned.

Notes

“Weeping” is the watery liquid that often collects under the meringue and causes the pie to be soggy.  This is caused by the sugar not dissolving completely.  High humidity also does not help.  The Swiss method of dissolving the sugar in warm egg whites helps to prevent weeping. 

Aunt Mae’s Coconut Pie

Aunt Mae brought two of these pies to any social gathering and we knew we had better get a piece early ’cause if we waited, it was gone.

I am so thankful to my brother and his wife, who called and got her recipe. Of course it was a dab of this and a dollop of that, so they had to test it several times to get a recipe that we all could follow.

I tweaked the recipes to make them user friendly and also used the microwave to make the filling; a process that keeps the filling from scorching. Enjoy!

Print

Aunt Mae’s Coconut Pie

This recipe makes two pies. Never worry, you will need two!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword coconut, cream pie, meringue, pie
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 2 pie pans
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 6 each eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 14 oz bag coconut
  • 2 each pie crusts baked
  • 2 recipes Swiss Meringue

Instructions

  • Combine sugar, flour and salt in microwave safe bowl. Stir to break up lumps.
  • Combine both milks in a microwave safe measuring cup and warm in microwave for 2 minutes.
  • Add milk to flour mixture and stir with a wire whisk to blend.
  • Microwave on high at 2 minute intervals until thickened, stirring well in between.
  • Separate egg yolks from the whites being careful not to break the yolks. Place the whites in a stainless steel mixing bowl to make the meringue later.
  • Slightly beat the yolks, then blend in a few spoonfuls of the hot pudding mixture to temper the yolks. Add the yolk mixture to the hot cream mixture and blend well. Microwave for an additional 2 minutes then add vanilla and butter blending until butter melts.
  • Add approximately two thirds of the coconut stirring until blended. Pour into baked pie shells and top with meringue made from the egg whites then top with the remaining coconut. Bake in a 400 degree oven until slightly brown. Cool and serve at room temperature.
Print

Pie Crust

A flaky crust made with butter
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword buttermilk, pie crust
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 2 pie plates or pans
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter unsalted
  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

  • Place flour and salt in a bowl.
  • Grate cold butter, a little at a time, over flour. Toss the butter into the flour every few minutes to prevent the butter from sticking together.
  • Sprinkle cold water over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough starts forming a ball.
  • Divide the dough in half and place on floured pastry board or counter. Roll dough into a circle to fit pie plate. Sprinkle a little more flour over pastry if it sticks to the rolling pin.
  • Fold dough over and lift into pan. Press dough to fit pan. Fold top edge under and flute. Prick bottom and sides of shell with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • For a baked pie shell, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Print

Swiss Meringue

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword egg whites, pie
Servings 16
Author stevens1951

Equipment

  • 1 stainless steel mixing bowl
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 wire whisk

Ingredients

  • 6 each egg whites no yolk or fat can be in whites
  • 12 tablespoons sugar
  • dash cream of tartar

Instructions

  • Add 1 inch of water to saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  • Combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a stainless steel mixing bowl and place over simmering water.
  • Stir constantly with a wire whisk or the beaters of the electric mixer until sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is slightly warm. Test by rubbing mixture between two fingers.
  • Remove from saucepan and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
  • Spread meringue on top of pie filling. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. until meringue is browned.

Notes

“Weeping” is the watery liquid that often collects under the meringue and causes the pie to be soggy.  This is caused by the sugar not dissolving completely.  High humidity also does not help.  The Swiss method of dissolving the sugar in warm egg whites helps to prevent weeping. 

Bananas Flambe’

Spirited cookery is a favorite of mine. I’ve made a few mistakes. I remember my friend and I making dinner for our boyfriends. We wanted to impress them so we decided to make something to flame. Two Home Ec. majors and we failed to heat the liqueur so it would be hot enough to flame. First try–didn’t flame so we stirred it in. Second try– still didn’t flame so we stirred that it. On the third try it didn’t flame. What the heck, we will serve it anyway. My husband says he got drunk on eating chicken! And it tasted horrible with all that brandy stirred in.

Not to be defeated, I went on to Cherries Jubilee and when they made Bananas Flambe” table-side at Culinary School, I knew I had to make it at the local Charity Ball. It was a hit and very impressive. I always included the recipe at my couples cooking lessons. The men loved flaming it. Guess they always love playing with fire. Don’t be intimidated, it is a easy recipe and worth the try. Enjoy!

Print

Banana Flambe’

A very impressive dessert inspired by Johnson and Wales Culinary School
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword bananas, flaming, ice cream
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • medium skillet

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 bananas peeled, cut in half crosswise, then cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup rum
  • 1/4 cup banana liquer

Instructions

  • Prep all ingredients. Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Add butter and sugar stirring until caramelized. Add bananas and coat with caramel. Remove skillet from flame and add rum away from flame, return to heat tilting pan slightly to flambe'. Let the flames die down. Lower flame, remove pan from heat. Add banana liqueur and return to heat. Cook slightly to reduce sauce. Serve bananas over vanilla ice cream or pound cake and nappe' with sauce.

Notes

Safety Practices:
  • Store liqueurs away from heat.
  • Remove pan from heat before adding liqueur.
  • Tilt pan gently towards flame to ignite, show confidence.
  • Do  not leave unattended
  • Never pour liqueur in a flaming pan
  • For an electric range, heat rum in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil).  Quickly pour rum over banana mixture, and immediately ignite with a long match just above the liquid mixture to light the fumes (not the liquid itself).

    Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

    My daughter, Carrie, called me from college one night at 11:30 pm asking what could she make with buttermilk. I told her “Nothing, throw it away!”, hung up the phone and went back to sleep. Later I asked her what she did with it–she made her favorite pound cake. Enjoy!

    Print

    Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

    From According To Taste, Lufkin Service League, 1985, page 218
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword buttermilk, lemon, pound cake

    Equipment

    • tube pan
    • electric mixer

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup butter softened
    • 1 cup shortening
    • 2 1/2 cups sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 tablespoon lemon extract
    • 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
    • 1 tablespoon boiling water
    • 31/2 cups flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 1 cup finely chopped pecans opt.
    • Glaze:
    • Juice of 2 lemons
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

    Instructions

    • Cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the flavorings and water to the batter. Sift the flour and baking soda together and add add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk. Add optional pecans. Blend well. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. While still hot, brush with glaze.
    • Glaze: In a saucepan, over medium heat bring the lemon juice and sugar to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add lemon extract.

    This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links, at no cost to you. Products are examples of what I own or what I recommend in order to help you make the best choice for you. Thank you for your support.

      %d bloggers like this: