Lemon Chess Pie
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and King Arthur Baking.
Bright, zesty lemon custard with a lightly crusted golden top, baked in a blind-baked pastry case and finished with strands of zest.
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Method
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Equipment
- 23 cm pie dish (about 4 cm deep)
- rolling pin
- baking paper and baking beans
- mixing bowls
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- baking tray
- zester
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 526 kcal |
| Protein | 6.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 66.1 g |
| of which sugars | 45.7 g |
| of which free sugars | 45.4 g |
| Fat | 27.1 g |
| of which saturates | 16.1 g |
| Fibre | 0.9 g |
| Salt | 0.67 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.3 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 8 servings
Pastry
- 180 g plain flour
- 12 g caster sugar about 1 tbsp
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt about ½ tsp
- 120 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 tbsp ice-cold water plus 1 tbsp more if needed
Filling
- 5 large eggs
- 350 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest from about 3 lemons
- 75 ml lemon juice
- 16 g fine yellow cornmeal
- 8 g cornflour
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or table salt about ¼ tsp
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
To finish
- 1 lemon, for thin zest strips to garnish
- 1
Pastry. Mix the flour, sugar and salt, rub in the butter until crumbly, add iced water to bind and chill the wrapped dough for an hour.
- 2
Blind bake. Line the dish, crimp and chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan), fill the case with paper and beans and bake 10 minutes, then remove them and bake 3-5 minutes until the base looks dry. Turn the oven down to 165 °C (145 °C fan).
- 3
Filling. Whisk the eggs and sugar until well combined, then whisk in the zest, juice, cornmeal, cornflour and salt. Finally stir in the melted butter. Cornmeal gives chess pie its slightly grainy top crust, so do not sieve the mix.
- 4
Bake. Pour the filling into the warm case set on a tray and bake 35-45 minutes, until golden on top and just set with a slight wobble in the middle (71 °C). Shield the edge with foil if it darkens.
- 5
Cool and garnish. Cool on a rack for 2 hours, then scatter over thin strips of lemon zest and slice.
Storage
Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
