The Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge is all about baking and making sweets. Every month we are given two required ingredients to work with. This month it was Blueberries and Lemon. Two awesome fruits that pair so well. Lemon desserts are so summery and refreshing. Blueberries are gorgeous little blue gems that I adore. I wanted to showcase them separately but in one dessert. So I did sort of a half-half stacked pie with my creation: a Blueberry and Shaker Lemon Pie.
Pasta frolla is a fabulous recipe used to make pie crusts or shortbread-like cookies. It is a sweet and rich crust which I find makes it perfect for a tart filling, hence it often being used with marmalade like it was suggested in the challenge. This is not your boring pie crust. I think one of the reasons I don’t make pies a lot is because I usually care more for the filling. Not the case with the pasta frolla.
I had a friend who was crazy about lemons. She would eat them raw. I always teased her it was bad for her teeth but always bought her knick-knacks with lemons on them. One day I came across a pie recipe tht was made with whole thinnly sliced lemons. I made the pie for her and it was a huge success. The trick is to leave them for some time all sliced with a lot of sugar for a few hours. I letf them overnight so I choose to drain out some of the liquid, there was too much. I reserved this syrup for a later use.
In Quebec there is a region famous for its sweet wild small blueberries, it is called Lac Saint-Jean. The season is short so when they are ready we stuff our faces. Blueberry pie is one of my favorite pies, in the top 5 I would say. The Saint-Jean blueberries are not in season yet but I got a great deal at the for a crazy amount of blueberries.
Wanting both fruits to shine, I put a separator in the pie shell (cut out cardboard) filled with one half of each filling, turned the plate 180 degrees and put the other filling on top of the other. Cool right? The well macerated lemons were nicely tart, but not to bitter from the rind. The swet blueberries tempered the nice acidic notes, as did the sweeter pie crust. All that tried it really loved it.
Blueberry and Shaker Lemon Pie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
- 1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk lightly beaten in a small bowl
- 2 lemons sliced as thinly as possible
- 1 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
- Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs and vanilla into it. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap it. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Use 3/4 of the dough and keep the rest for a lattice top or freeze it.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough into a circle, about 1/6 inch thick. Gently transfer the circle of dough to a 10-inch pie plate. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
- In a non-reactive bowl combine the sliced lemons and sugar, mix thoroughly to coat all the slices.
- Let rest in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Whisk together 4 eggs and kosher salt. Mix into the lemons thoroughly.
- In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice until evenly mixed.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Use a cardboard cut out or a lid of a square plastic container to create a separation while you fill the pie. On one side put half the lemon filling and on the other place half the blueberry filling. Turn the pie plate 180 degrees and repeat. Remove the separator.
- Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake another 25-30 minutes. Let pie cool on a wire rack.
Notes
With the extra 1/4 portion of dough left I was able to make a second little loaf pie with blueberries and a bit of the lemon syrup that I reserved mixed in with an egg.
Wow… you always inspired me to be creative when it comes to creating recipes. I love that you added the lemon in the pies and the abundant blueberries captured my attention. Looks absolutely delicious!
What a fun pie! It looks gorgeous, and so delicious.
Not only is this pairing delicious, it’s also very pretty to look at!
Beautiful pie and the way the lemons have caramelized makes it even more attractive Evelyne!
This pie looks amazing, Evelyne! Love the combination of flavors….Great summer dessert!
You just took two of my favorite pies and put them together.
What a beautiful recipe! I love how the lemons and blueberries are arranged on your pie. Delicious!
What a wonderful and creative pie recipe.
I love that you used pasta frolla instead of the usual pie crust and the pairing of lemon and blueberry is a brillant idea!
I must taste this pie and soon! The pastry sounds really good and just looking at your gorgeous pie makes my mouth water. Can’t wait to see what you do with the leftover lemon syrup.:)
An awesome recipe. Love the look of it and the pairing of flavors. Great post indeed.
just mouthwatering….looks delicious!
I always loved the flavour pairing of lemon and bluberries. Your pie, two ways is a celebration of the pairing. Both sound and look fantastic!
That looks like a great summer treat. I haven’t had pie for a long time now…
A buttery melt-in-mouth crust covered with sweet and tangy fruits…seriously, how could one not fall in love with it!
Hi Evelyne,
Thanks so much for participating in this months Behind The Curtain Dessert Challenge. Your recipe looks delicious! See you next month for Peaches and Cream! YUM! 🙂
My goodness, this pie looks SO enticing–thanks for sharing at Dessert Challenge!
G’day! What an interesting pie, true!
Wanted to come through the screen and taste a slice or two! 🙂
Cheers! Joanne
I have never seen a pie with sliced lemons like this. The pie looks great. I will have to give it a try.
Your crust sounds very delicious.
Almost 2 for the price of 1:) Never seen pies with whole lemon, why not
Of course, you found a way to make the most unusual, yet delicious pie! Your crust sounds amazing…I’m one who goes for the filling, too, but need to try your recipe.
What an interesting pie! I love lemon and blueberry together so I’d definitely try it. The crust sounds great too – I love the addition of egg to make it richer than a regular crust.
Evelyne the lemons are like orange marmalade with the rinds included, how wonderful!