Lemon Ice Box Pie
Author Notes: This is a most unusual pie in that it contains eggs, but the pie is not cooked. We have always believed the lemon juice in the recipe “cooks” the eggs or makes them safe to eat. This is a favorite birthday request of my sister, Leslie Capers, my brother, Scott Edgeworth and our princess, Helena Capers. If Victoria has this pie at a family gathering, Scott and Capers discuss which of them gets to take it home.
There are two recipes shown below – the first is Victoria’s recipe and the second is a very similar recipe from The Best Recipe Cookbook (1999) for Key Lime Pie where I substitute lemons for the limes in their recipe. The second recipe helps me because the amount of juice is quantified, but the first recipe is the much preferred.
Ingredients:
- 1 Graham cracker pie shell
- 3 large eggs
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 3 lemons juiced
Directions:
- Mix together the eggs with condensed milk.
- Add lemon juice and stir well.
- Pour into pie shell and refrigerate until set.
Alternate Lemon Ice Box Pie Recipe – substituting lemon for lime. I always double the recipe below to make two pies – one for Leslie Capers and one for Helena Capers.
Ingredients:
- 1 Graham Cracker Crust
- 4 teaspoons grated zest of lime (lemon)
- ½ cup strained juice of lime (lemon) – approximately 3 to 4 limes
- 4 large egg yolks plus one egg white
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Directions:
- Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl – about 2 minutes.
- Beat in milk, then juice. Set aside to thicken at room temperature a few minutes.
- Pour into crust. Refrigerate until set.
- Optional: can cook in oven after pouring custard into crust. Bake in oven pre-heated to 325 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool to room temp and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.