Lemon Icebox Pie

 

This was Mother’s go-to dessert. It was quick and easy and everyone always loved it. She’d made it so many times that she didn’t need a recipe. Maybe one day I won’t need it either.

 

Lemon Icebox Pie

 

Nilla Wafers

½ cup Butter, softened

Juice from 3 lemons (about ¼ cups)

1 14-oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

3 eggs, separated

4 tablespoons sugar

 

Crush 40 Nilla Wafers. I put then in a Ziplock bag, seal it and use a rolling pin. It’s okay to use a food processor.

Melt the butter and mix with the crushed Nilla Wafers. Press into the bottom of a glass pie plate. Place additional Nilla Wafers around the rim of the pie plate to create a crust.

Combine egg yolks, Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk and lemon juice, mixing well. Pour into the crust.

Beat the egg whites on HIGH speed of a mixer until white and frothy. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff, white peaks form. Spread on top of the pie filling.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top begins to lightly brown.

Cool. Then Refrigerate.

Lemon Layer Cake

 

This has become my favorite cake. It began as a quest to find a wonderful Lemon Layer Cake recipe. I never found one. But I did find many recipes and out of that muddle I ended up with this. I love it.

 

Please be sure use real ingredients. Real butter. Crisco shortening. Cake flour. And freshly squeezed lemon juice. All those things do make a difference in how the final product tastes.

 

  Lemon Layer Cake

 

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup solid shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

2 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon cake flour

¾ cup milk

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

¾ teaspoon baking powder

 

Cream together butter and shortening. Add sugar and continue to beat until completely smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one until well blended. Slowly add flour and milk, alternating between the two. the lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Add baking powder last.

 

Line four cake pans with wax paper, using butter generously to coat the bottoms and sides. Divide batter evenly between the four pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a wood toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and let the layers cool.

 

Frosting

 

Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Yellow food coloring

 

Beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Slowly add powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add yellow food coloring to the shade of yellow you prefer. It doesn’t take much.

 

Spread frosting between cake layers and on the top and sides of the cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate. This cake also freezes well.

Citrus Golden Ring Cake

I found this recipe in a insert from American Profile. The magazine gives recipe credit to Crescent Dragonwagon, a writer who lives in Saxtons River, Vermont. She's apparently written several cookbooks. I missed them all. I'm thinking I'll try this recipe and then maybe I'll need to check out her cookbooks. I'm grateful she shared. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

Citrus Golden Ring Cake

Cooking spray
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Dust with flour.

Beat butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Sift 3 cups flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Combine buttermilk, orange juice and lemon juice.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed. Stir in orange rind and lemon rinds. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate. Pour 1/3 of icing over cake while still warm. Let cool completely and spread with remaining icing. Garnish with orange rind, if desired.

Makes 16 servings.

Buttery Citrus Icing

1/4 (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, plus more for garnishing
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine butter and powdered sugar, beating with a mixer until smooth. Add citrus rind and juices. Beat well.

Lemon-Yogurt Crumb Cake

Nothing quite says late spring or early summer to me quite like a lemon cake. It’s just so fresh, like a sunny day. I think this cake will be perfect with a little Blue Bell ice cream. Yum!

Lemon-Yogurt Crumb Cake

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Cake Batter
½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup plan Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¾ cup Quick & Easy Lemon Curd (recipe under separate entry)
¼ cup powdered sugar

Prepare Crumb Topping: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first five ingredients; cut cold butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Prepare Cake Batter: Beat softened butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add 1 ¼-cups granulated sugar, beating 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Stir together flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in lemon zest.

Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy; gradually add remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch square (2-inch deep) pan. Dollop with lemon curd; gently swirl with a knife. Sprinkle Crumb Topping over batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm, or cool on a wire rack 1 hour.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Lemon Curd

Have I mentioned that I love all things lemon? Yeah. I do. Okay. Maybe all things that qualify as dessert. So the February 2013 issue of Southern Living is perfect for me. And you too if you like lemon.

This recipe is a quick and easy way to do something that’s just basic. Quick? Easy? Yeah! There are also lots of lemon recipes -- and other recipes too. Not everyone likes lemon after all.

Quick & Easy Lemon Curd

Step One
Grate zest from 6 lemons to equal 2 tablespoons. Cut lemons in half; squeeze juice into a measuring cup to equal 1 cup.

Step Two
Beat ½ cup butter, softened, and 2 cups sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Gradually add lemon juice to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition; stir in zest. (Mixture will look curdled.) Transfer to a 3-quart microwave-safe bowl.

Step Three
Microwave at HIGH 5 minutes, stirring at 1-minute intervals. Microwave, stirring at 30-second intervals, 1 to 2 more minutes or until mixture thickens, coats the back of a spoon, and starts to mound slightly when stirred.

Step Four
Place heavy-duty plastic wrap directly on warm curd (to prevent a film from forming), and chill 4 hours or until firm. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Makes 2 cups.

Stove-Top Method
Prepare as directed through Step Two, transferring mixture to a heavy 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 14 to 16 minutes. Proceed as directed in Step Four.

Lemon Bundt Cake

The hunt was on. At least for me. My parents have a dear friend who growns the largest lemons I think I’ve ever seen. And he shares them. Which is a very, very good thing.

What are we going to do with all these lemons, came the question. Make a cake, came my reply. Okay. Simple lemon cake recipe. No time for a gazillion layers and complicated frosting? No problem. Try this one.

This recipe comes from the March 2006 Good Housekeeping magazine. It was from the Gothic Café in Belfast. Seriously. That’s what it says. Can’t wait to taste it for myself. My mouth is already watering!

Lemon Bundt Cake

Cake
3 lemons
3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Frosting
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.

Cake
From lemons, grate 2 tablespoons peel and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice. Mix flour, salt and baking soda.

In bowl, with mixer on low speed, blend sugar and butter. On high, beat 3 minutes. On low, beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in peel and juice. Spoon into pan.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then invert onto rack.

Frosting
In bowl, with mixer on low speed, blend sugar, butter and cream cheese. Beat in juice and vanilla. On high, beat until fluffy.

Spread over cake

Makes 16 servings, at 450 calories per serving.

Frozen Lemon Custard Dessert

This comes from an old, yellowed newspaper clipping. I have no idea which newspaper. It does have a note saying it is a favorite contest winner for Oct. 15 (no year listed) for Betty Current. That’s what I don’t know.

That I do know is that in the Deep South -- and much of the country this year -- it is really hot and this sounds like just the thing for a summer afternoon treat!

Frozen Lemon Custard Dessert

1 package honey graham crackers (11 double crackers), crushed (1 ½ to 2 cups; set aside 2  tablespoons crumbs for garnish)
¼ cup sugar or 1 to 2 packets sugar substitute
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup melted butter or margarine
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 pints lemon custard frozen yogurt
Grated rind of 3 lemons
Raspberries or raspberry sauce

While preparing the crust, remove ice cream and frozen yogurt from freezer and let it soften.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, pecans and melted margarine. Mix and pat into the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish.

Combine ice cream and frozen yogurt. Mix with lemon rind. Spread on top of crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs and return to freezer until frozen.

Remove from freezer 15 to 20 minutes before serving and let stand at room temperature. Slice in 2-inch squares and serve with raspberry sauce or pureed raspberries sweetened to taste with sugar substitute. Garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves, if desired.

Lemon Dream Bars

This recipe comes from the ReaLemon Lemon Juice folks. I love lemon. I love simple. This fits both.

Lemon Dream Bars

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, plus 3 egg yolks
1 (14-oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1/2 cup ReaLemon Juice from concentrate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and lightly beaten egg until combined. Reserve one cup of the mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly toasted.

With mixer or wire whisk, beat 3 eggs together. Add Eagle Brand milk, then lemon juice. Spread over pressed crumb mixture. Top with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 25 minutes longer or until set. Cool. Refrigerate 2 hours. Cut into bars. Store leftovers, covered, in refrigerator.

Coconut-Lemon Mousse Cake

I love coconut. I love lemons. Add the two together and you get an absolutely wondeful dessert!

Coconut-Lemon Mousse Cake

1 can (15 oz) cream of coconut (not coconut milk), stirred well in can
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 frozen family-size poundcake ( 16 oz), not thawed
1 tub (12 oz) frozen whipped topping
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut; chop 1/2 cup
2/3 cup bottled lemon curd
Garnish: lemon slices

Coat an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with nonstick spray.

Scrape cream of coconut into a bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a medium saucepan. Let stand 1 minute, then stir with a heat-proof plastic spatula over medium-low heat until gelatin completely dissolves and liquid begins to steam. Stir in  1/2 of the cream of coconut. Heat until warm, then stir into cream of coconut left in bowl. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until the consistency of egg whites.

While that mixture is chilling, cut the crust off of the poundcake. Cut cake crosswise in 18 equal slices. Cut each slice diagonally to form 36 triangles. Cover bottom of pan with 1/2 the triangles, trimming to fit as needed.

To make the mousse, stir in a large spoonful of the whipped topping into the gelatin mixture. Fold in the remaining topping until blended. Spoon 1 cup of this mixture into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until later. Fold chopped coconut and lemon curd into remaining mousse mixture.

Spoon 1/2 the mousse onto cake that is already in the pan. Spread evenly. Top with remainig cake, cut to fit, then remaining mousse. Cover pan and refrigerate at least 5 hours or until mousse is firm.

When you're ready to serve the cake, remove the pan sides. Using broad spatulas, lift cake off pan base onto serving platter. Stir reserved mousse to soften. Spread in a thin layer over cake. Press remaining coconut on sides and sprinkle on top. Garnish with lemon slices.

This makes 12 servings.

Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup (6 oz) Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (Land O'Lakes butter recommended)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 to 4 tablespoons grated lemon peel (about 3 medium lemons)
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan.

Melt morsels in medium, uncovered microwave-safe bowl on Medium High for 1 minute. Stir. If morsels aren't fully melted, microwave an additional 10 to 15 seconds, stirring every 5 seconds, until morsels are fully melted. Don't overcook. Cool slightly.

Combine flour, baking power and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and melted morsels. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternating with buttermilk. Pour into prepared Bundt pan.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick insert in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl. Make holes in cake with wooden pick; pour half of lemon glaze over cake. Let stand 5 minutes. Invert onto plate. Make holes in top of cake; pour remaining glaze over cake. Cool completely before serving.

Note: It's okay to substitute 3 bars (6 oz) Nestle Toll House Premier White Baking Bars for the morsels.