I am generally not a cake person, so for my birthday I usually opt for brownies, ice cream, or pie. However, it’s always so hard to choose between my favorite flavors. I really love citrus desserts, but I am also a known chocoholic, so this pie is the perfect middle ground. It has my favorite all-butter pie crust, a rich layer of dark chocolate ganache, a tangy Meyer lemon custard filling, whips of sweet meringue, and sliced candied lemons for an added touch of whimsy.

As is fitting for any celebratory dessert, this pie is a process. The most important thing to remember when tackling a project-type bake is to take your time, and spread the process out as much as possible. A little advanced planning can help reduce baking stress and often ensures better results. While you can make the entire pie in a day, I always recommend making the pie dough at least the day before you want to bake. However, you can make the dough as many as five days in advance, and your crust will thank you for the lengthy chill in the fridge. Besides the dough, you can also make the candied lemons the day before. For this particular dessert, you can even the entire pie, except for the meringue the day before you want to eat it. Just store it in the refrigerator, and then whip up the meringue, pipe, torch, top with lemons and serve.

All-Butter Pie Crust

Equipment:

• Food processor

• 10.5 in pie dish

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 TBS. sugar

• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed

• 3-4 TBS. cold water

Method:

1. Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor a couple of times to mix.

2. A few cubes at a time, add the butter to the flour mixture, pulsing in between each addition. Continue until all the butter is added and the mixture takes on a sand-like texture.

3. Add the water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing several times between each addition. Pulse until the dough begins coming together in a ball. Only add the 4th tablespoon if the dough is too dry to come together.

4. Remove the dough, form it into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Store the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight or a couple days before baking.

5. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to warm up for about 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a round that’s slightly larger than your pie dish (about 13in. diameter). Transfer the round to your dish and gently press the dough down evenly along the bottom and walls of the dish. Fold the edges under themselves and crimp or shape the edges in your preferred method.

7. Par bake the crust. Prick the bottom all over with the tines of a fork, line the crust with parchment paper and baking beans, and then bake in the preheated over for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the parchment paper and beans and return the crust to the oven for 10-12 more minutes, unlit lightly browned and the bottom is no longer translucent or puffy. Remove the crust from the oven, and allow it to cool.

Candied Lemons

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 lemons (Meyer or normal), sliced into thin rounds

Method:

1. In a large skillet combine the water and sugar. Bring to a low boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. Add the lemon slices and poach for 25-30 minutes, turning them over occasionally. You will know the lemons are ready when they’re translucent and softened.

3. Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Place the lemon slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them for 1 hour to dry them out. Remove and allow the lemons to cool on the baking sheet before using them as a garnish. Yields about 22 slices

Black Bottom Meyer Lemon Pie

Equipment:

• Fine mesh sieve

• Handheld electric mixer

• Blow torch

• Piping bag and large star tip

• Hand held blow torch

Ingredients:

• All-butter pie crust, par-baked and cooled

• 4oz. dark chocolate (70% cocoa), finely chopped

• 8 candied lemon slices

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

• 4 large eggs

• 1 large egg divided into white and yolk

• 1 1/2 cups sugar + 2 TBS. for the meringue

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt + 1 pinch for the meringue

• 1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)

• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)

• Zest of one Meyer lemon and 1/2 orange

• 1/16 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

1. Make the ganache. Heat 1/4 cup heavy cream until just boiling in a small sauce pan. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. The stir until all the chocolate is melted and the cream is fully incorporated. If the chocolate is not completely melted after stirring several times, heat the bowl over simmering water, stirring constantly, just until the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat immediately. Pour the ganache into the bottom of the cooled pie crust, and chill the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the lemon custard.

2. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

3. Combine the 4 eggs, the 1 egg yolk, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk well for a minute or two until the mixture thickens and the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream, the orange juice, the lemon juice, and the zests and whisk well again.

4. Place the pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the lemon filling through a sieve into the prepared pie crust. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, turning halfway through baking. The edges of the filling will be just set, but the center will still be very jiggly. It will set further as it cools and chills. Do not over bake as the filling can crack. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely for 2 hours. Then chill it in the refrigerator for another 2 hours or overnight before topping with the meringue.

5. When you are ready to serve, make the meringue. In a large mixing bowl, use the handheld electric mixer on low speed to beat the egg white and a pinch of salt until light and frothy, about a minute. Add the cream of tartar and mix on medium until the whites are fluffy and have large foamy bubbles. Continue beating and add the 2 TBS. of sugar a couple teaspoons at a time. Mix for about 20 seconds between each addition, and continue beating continuously until all the sugar is added. Continue beating until firm, glossy peaks form. Add the vanilla and beat again. You should be able to remove your stopped beaters from the meringue and two stiff peaks will remain.

6. Scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe a kiss or dollop around the rim of your chilled and set pie, evenly spaced so that each slice gets meringue. Take your blow torch and quickly torch the circumference all of your piped meringue kisses. Add a candied lemon to each meringue dollop, slice, serve, and enjoy.

Pie recipe adapted from The Four and Twenty Black Birds Pie Book

Candied lemons recipe adapted from Dessarts

Meringue pie topping adapted from The Spruce Eats