Old-Fashioned Lemon Pie
This easy lemon pie is made without condensed milk. The custard base is made with fresh lemons, egg yolks, milk and cream. It’s rich and tangy and full of bright fresh lemon flavor.
This is a great recipe for lemon lovers.
About this real lemon pie recipe
- The creamy lemon filling – The tangy filling in this lemon pie is similar to lemon curd in flavor, but it’s richer and creamier. It has the addition of heavy cream and milk, and it’s thickened with cornstarch. Top it with whipped cream, and you’ve got yourself the perfect lemon pie. This recipe is made without sweetened condensed milk so it’s not cloyingly sweet.
- The pie crust – I like using a homemade all-butter pie crust for this recipe. It’s buttery, flaky and delicious. The pastry is fully baked before the filling goes in. If you want, you can use a homemade graham cracker crust instead. Bake it for 10 minutes before adding the filling. For an extra easy recipe, use a store-bought crust or a premade graham cracker crust.
- The topping – Billowy whipped cream is on top of the lemon pie. It’s super simple and makes the perfect topping for the zesty filling. It makes the pie look similar to a lemon meringue pie, but the cream is less sweet than meringue. I think this complements the sweet filling better.
Ingredients
Find the full measurements and full recipe for this old fashioned lemon pie written in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.
- An unbaked 9-inch pie crust or graham cracker crust. I have a whole homemade pie crust post written here on making one and all the tips you need. If you want, you can use a graham cracker crust instead.
- Fresh lemons – Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest bring all the tang and fresh lemon taste.
- Egg yolks (use egg whites to make macarons, raspberry eton mess or meringues!)
- Heavy cream/whipping cream
- Milk
- Granulated sugar
- Corn starch
- Vanilla
- Butter
- Salt
Method
Blind bake pastry
Make the pie dough at least 2 hours ahead of time so it can chill before being rolled out.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out into a 12-inch/30cm circle using a rolling pin.
Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then gently roll it up the rolling pin like a spiral. Transfer it to a pie dish and carefully unroll it from the rolling pin until it’s draped over the pie plate and overhangs the sides. Dust off any excess flour.
If your circle is a bit uneven, cut off any excess dough around the pie dish to make it even, but leave a bit of an overhang. Roll the overhanging dough under the edge to make a thick border.
Push an index finger from one hand into the dough edge in between the thumb and index finger of the opposite hand. Continue this all around the dough edges. Chill the pastry for at least 20 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Prick the bottom of the pie crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights. Bake it at 400°F/205°C for around 15-20 minutes until the edges of the pie crust are lightly browned.
Remove it from the oven and lift off the parchment paper and weights. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C)
Place the pastry back in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes until it’s golden brown and crisp looking. Let the pie shell cool down completely. You can do this step up to 2 days ahead of time.
Another option – Graham cracker crust
Preheat the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C.
Add the graham crackers to a food processor and blend them into fine crumbs.
Add in the sugar and the softened butter and blend them together into a thick mixture.
Press the mixture into an un-greased 9-inch pie pan.
Use your fingers first to press it in and around the edges, then use a glass or the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth it out, but don’t press down too hard.
Bake the crust for around 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.
The lemon pie filling
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined. Set this aside.
In a medium saucepan combine milk, cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch, vanilla and salt.
Whisk it all together until smooth. Place the mixture on the stove over medium-high heat and keep whisking as it warms.
Once it gets hot and just begins to bubble, remove the mixture from the stove and pour it slowly into the egg yolk mixture, whisking the egg yolks as you do.
Once it’s all incorporated in the egg yolks, tip everything back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat.
Continually whisk as the mixture begins to bubble and thicken so that the milk doesn’t burn at the bottom of the saucepan. Once boiling, let it bubble while whisking for a full minute until nice and thick.
Remove it from the heat and whisk through the cold butter.
Assembling
For an extra smooth filling, push the lemon mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lemon zest. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
You can cover the lemon custard filling with a piece of plastic wrap, and gently press it onto the filling. This stops a skin from forming. It’s not a necessity though.
Let the pie cool to room temperature, then chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours until firm.
When ready to serve, layer whipped cream on top of the pie.
Whipped cream
In a bowl combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip it with an electric mixer on medium high speed until soft peaks form but take care not to over-whip it.
Dollop the cream or pipe it around the edge of the pie.
Storing
Leftover lemon pie can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More lemon recipes
Old-Fashioned Lemon Pie
A creamy, tangy and bright lemon pie.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch unbaked flaky pie crust
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 5 Tbsp cornstarch
- 300g (1 1/4 cup) milk
- 180g (3/4 cup) heavy cream
- 120g (1/2 cup) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cold butter
Whipped cream
- 180g (3/4 cup) heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- On a lightly floured surface, roll cold pie dough into a 12-inch/30cm circle. Drape it into a 9-inch pie plate. Cut off any excess dough around the pie dish to make it even, but leave a bit of an overhang. Roll the overhanging dough under the edge to make a thick border.
- Flute the edges, then chill the pastry for at least 20 minutes while preheating the oven to 400°F/205°C.
- Prick the bottom of the pie crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights. Bake for around 15-20 minutes until the edges of the pie crust are lightly browned.
- Remove it from the oven and lift off the parchment paper and weights. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C)
- Place the pastry back in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes until it's golden brown and crisp looking. Let the pie shell cool down completely.
Filling
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until combined. Set this aside.
- In a medium saucepan combine milk, cream, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and salt. Whisk it all together until smooth.
- Place the mixture on the stove over medium-high heat and keep whisking as it warms.
- Once it gets hot and just begins to bubble, remove the mixture from the stove and pour it slowly into the egg yolk mixture, whisking the egg yolks as you do.
- Once it's all incorporated in the egg yolks, tip everything back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat.
- Continually whisk as the mixture begins to bubble and thicken so that the milk doesn't burn at the bottom of the saucepan.
- Once boiling, let it bubble while whisking for a full minute until nice and thick. (this step is important or the filling won't set)
- Remove it from the heat and whisk through the cold butter.
- For an extra smooth filling, push the lemon mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lemon zest.
- Pour the filling into the pie crust. You can cover the lemon custard filling with a piece of plastic wrap, and gently press it onto the filling. This stops a skin from forming. It's not a necessity though.
- Let the pie cool to room temperature, then chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours until firm.
Whipped cream
- When ready to serve, layer whipped cream on top of the pie.
- In a bowl combine ½ cup heavy cream, a tablespoon of powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract. Whip it with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form but take care not to over-whip it.
- Dollop the cream or pipe it around the edge of the pie.
Notes
Graham Cracker Crust
This pie can also be made with a graham cracker crust.
- 165g (10 ½ sheets) graham crackers
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 85g (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, very soft
Preheat the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C.
Add the graham crackers to a food processor and blend them into fine crumbs. Add in the sugar and the softened butter and blend them into a thick mixture.
Press the mixture into an un-greased 9-inch pie pan. Use your fingers to press it in and around the edges, then use a glass or the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth it out.
Bake the crust for around 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 360Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 6g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
