This Easy Lavender Citrus Curd Pie is a recipe that uses three different types of citrus . You can make it anytime you crave the warmth of the sun. Perfect for any occasion and any season.
Let’s talk about lemons. And what to do with them when life gives you too many. You have some choices.
Either make a ton of lemonade OR add some limes and oranges to the pile of lemons and make a citrus curd that you can put in a baked pie shell flavored with lemon and lavender.
photo credit :Nick Fewings
Lavender is known for improving a negative mood and also alleviates stress. It is used in small amounts in many beautiful recipes of cookies, baked goods and other desserts.
And boy, I really need some lavender in my life. I need some help here. We are buried in tones of snow this year and it was bitter cold for most of the winter.
If the pattern stays the same as last winter, we might end up with snow again even at the end of April!!
Until then, what to do? Bake, eat soups, carbs and drink hot tea.
During the holidays, my daughter introduced us to Outlander series on Starz channel and we got obsessed with the show. If you watched the show, you know what I am saying, right?
We truly love the story, the adventures and the characters. For the ones who do not know what I am talking about, just Google it, please.
The show is based on Diana Gabaldon’s books and the story starts in Scotland. I never went to Scotland or England, but I always wanted to go.
I am also an avid consumer of PBS television, so I watch lots of British shows. Since last year, I also got more and more interested in British baking, but never looked at Scotland and Ireland cuisines until recently.
In my opinion, one of the best ways to travel mentally and emotionally to a place when you cannot physically do it, is through the cuisine of that country.
Making a traditional recipe or bake something from that part of the world will bring closer to you the flavors and the aromas of that culture.
So, I decided to embrace the library close to my house and look for the history of the food in England, Scotland and Ireland. I spend a lot of time in that library which I truly love.
I love books in general, but as you can imagine, as a food blogger, I love cooking books a lot. The older, the better! You should see my collection at home.
I am happy that the library I go to, has a lot of ethnic cooking books. Many of them are excellent. After all, what better way to get out of the “funk” than to escape into the culinary world of a country you want to visit?
By the way, while I am writing this, the Weather Channel app on my phone sent me a notification that tomorrow we are under winter weather advisory with more snow coming our way! Oh well…
I have three books on hold at the library that I need to pick up, so I am set for the weekend.
Getting back to my recipe for today, this Easy Lavender Citrus Curd Pie is made with a British shortbread crust and a Scottish triple citrus curd. The citrus curd is a beautiful versatile recipe that can be used to fill tart shells, cakes, or just spread on scones and slices of toast.
If you ask me, I would just eat that curd as it is, with a spoon. It is delicious!
By the way, if you are too lazy to make your own crust, you can replace it with some store bought, but you already know that is not going to be as good as the one you make at home.
I honestly never saw a pie crust in the store that is made with lemon and lavender and this is what this recipe is about.
How To Make This Easy Lavender Citrus Curd Pie:
First of all, start with the crust.
The crust needs to sit in the fridge for some time before you bake it. We are going to blind bake it and make the citrus curd separately on the stove.
When you put them together, you are basically done, because there is no baking involved anymore.
I said blind bake the crust, which means that you simply pre-bake the crust, without filling, then add the filling once the crust is baked.
Here is a little tutorial for how to blind bake a crust, if you are interested.
The crust can be made in a food processor, which I really encourage you to buy, as it is one of the best tools to have in the kitchen, if you like to cook.
However, if you do not have a food processor, you can still make the crust by hand, or use an electrical mixer. Before electricity and kitchen gadgets, people used to use their hands for everything! 🙂
While the crust is resting in the fridge, make the curd. The recipe is very simple, the ingredients go all together on the stove and cook until the mixture thickens and becomes creamy and smooth.
The curd is not boiled, just cooked enough until it bubbles . You cannot abandon the curd and play Candy Crush on your phone! You have to constantly stir and make sure the curd doesn’t boil, stick to the pan or makes a mess out of your stove.
After the curd is cooked, place the pot in icy water to cool down fast, then let it rest in the fridge until the crust is baked and cooled.
When both are ready, just pour the citrus curd in the pie shell and decorate with dried lavender, citrus zest or candied orange peel. A dollop of whipped cream on the slice of pie would be nice as well.
As for the citrus juice, I used lemons, limes and oranges, but you can try other fruits, like grapefruit, mandarines etc.
If you prefer mini desserts, you can use mini pie shells, made out of the same dough. This is a rustic pie that is not going to look perfect when you cut into it, because the curd is creamy and not as stiff as a pie filling you bake together with the crust.
However, the flavors of vanilla, lemons, limes and oranges, together with the subtile lavender is absolutely divine. One piece of advice would be to NOT put more lavender in the crust than the recipe is asking for.
You will end up with a soapy lavender taste which is not very pleasant. This is a powerful herb that can overwhelm the taste buds if used too much.
I hope you make it. If you do, let me know what you think.
If you are still not convinced of trying this recipe, then here you have some more dessert ideas that use lemons. Maybe you would like to make some cookies?
Other Dessert Ideas That Use Lemons:
Lemon Lavender Butter Cookies
OLIVE OIL LEMON COOKIES WITH HERBS
CREAM CHEESE LEMON COCONUT CAKE
OLD FASHIONED LEMON BREAD WITH LEMON SYRUP
COCONUT-ALMOND LEMON BARS RECIPE
WHITE CAKE WITH ORANGE OR LEMON VANILLA FRENCH BUTTERCREAM
See you soon, my friends and happy baking!
Easy Lavender Citrus Curd Pie
Ingredients
- Pie Crust:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 stick of unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 fresh lemon -use the zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon dried edible lavender crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Citrus Curd:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- lime zest from 1 lime
- lemon zest from 1 lemon
- orange zest from 1 orange
- 5 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
How To Make The Crust:
To make the crust in the food processor place the sugar, butter, egg, lemon zest, vanilla, flour, salt and dried lavender inside the food processor.Pulse few times until the ingredients come together into a soft dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for an hour, or up to three days.
To make the crust by hand cream together the sugar and the butter until just combined. Add in the egg, vanilla and lemon zest. mix until incorporated. Add flour, lavender and salt. Mix until the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for an hour, or up to three days.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator for 10 minutes to warm up. Roll out on a floured surface to a 12 inch circle, turning the dough once in a while, so it doesn't stick.
Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it into a 10 inches tart pan. Press the dough into the pan and against the rim of the pan to trim the dough. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 350F. Cover the tart with parchment paper or aluminum foil and add pie weights or dried beans.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and the parchment paper and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
How To Make The Citrus Curd:
Use a medium size pot to melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and add sugar, eggs, lemon, orange and lime juice and zest.
Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins to bubble- make sure it doesn't boil.
Cool the citrus curd by setting the pan in a bowl with icy water and stir for few minutes.
Cover and refrigerate. When cool, fill the baked crust. Chill for at least 4 hours.
Serve it with whipped cream. Decorate with lemon or lime zest and lavender.
Notes
The Citrus Curd can also be used for filling cakes, cream puffs, or spread it on scones and toast. A very versatile recipe!
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Breville BFP800XL Sous Chef Food Processor
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 513 Total Fat: 29g Saturated Fat: 16g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 200mg Sodium: 157mg Carbohydrates: 59g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 37g Protein: 8g
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