Pies, Tarts, and Crumbles
20130214-pieoftheweek-meyerlemonchesspie.JPG

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

The humble Chess Pie gets a seasonal update with floral Meyer lemons.

Note: Make sure to use a regular, not a deep dish pie plate for this pie.

About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: serves 8
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes plus 3 hours chilling
Special equipment: electric beater, 9-inch pie plate

Ingredients

  • One half recipe Easy Pie Dough, shaped and chilled in a pie plate
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups (about 10 1/2 ounces) sugar
  • 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice from about 5 Meyer lemons
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) heavy cream, chilled (optional)

Procedures

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat another 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, cornmeal, butter, and salt and beat until well combined. Pour into prepared pie shell.

  2. Bake pie until golden on top and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Check pie halfway through baking: If getting too dark, cover with tinfoil for remaining time. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

  3. When ready to serve, place heavy cream in a small bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Dollop each slice of pie with whipped cream, if desired.