I’m always so sad to see summer end mostly because I’m such a huge lover of fresh fruits. I feel very spoiled when I visit local farmers markets and see the selection of gorgeous produce that we have available to us locally, and always amazed at the variety of items that grow well our climate. Thankfully, citrus fruits are now available year round, which is a good thing because I am such a huge fan, and have been known to eat entire cartons of oranges and grapefruits all by myself.
I was inspired to turn my delicious keylime pie recipe into a lemon – orange citrus pie one day when friends wanted to stop by for a quick visit. I had a few oranges and some lemons, along with some frozen apple, lemon and orange juice concentrates in the freezer. I discovered many years ago that their addition to baked goods imparts a much more intense flavor, so they have a permanent spot in my freezer.
I decided to make my own graham crust, molded and baked it in a 10” stainless steel rim. Fee free to use a pie plate if that is all you have. Grind up your graham crackers and add enough butter so that when you squeeze them together, the crumbs stay in a little mound like this. If you add too much butter, the crust will be impossible to lift out of the pie plate once it has been refrigerated, and you won’t be able to cut a nice slice.
Whether you make the lemon-orange citrus pie or whether you make the traditional key lime version, you definitely will not be disappointed.
Citrus Pie (1 – 9 ½”-10” pie)
1 prepared 9 ½”-10” graham cracker crust (or use recipe for crust below)
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
8 yolks
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons plus zest)
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges plus zest)
1 tablespoon orange concentrate
4 tablespoons corn syrup
Graham Cracker Pie Crust
16 graham wafers (1 pack has 9 large wafer)
1 stick butter melted
Place the 16 crushed wafers into your food processor and grind them into fine crumbs. Place them into a small bowl and set aside. Melt the stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl and add it to your crumbs. Use a spoon to make sure that the butter is combined well with the crumbs.
Pour 2/3 of your crumb mixture into your pie plate or into the bottom of your stainless steel rim that has been placed on a paper lined half sheet tray. Use a spoon to even out the crumbs on the bottom and then use a flat lid to press down the crust.
Spoon the rest of the crumb mixture along the edge of the rim or pie plate as evenly as you can…
Use your spoon to even it out before you pack it tightly with your spoon…take crumbs as needed from the thicker areas and fill in the thinner areas…
Pack it tightly with your spoon…
Lastly, use your flat lid to press crust into the edges, and use your finger to help pack in the crumbs and also prevent them from spilling over…
Make sure you have a nice, thin edge all the way around…
Bake the completed shell in a preheated 350°F for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown, then set aside to cool completely before you begin making your filling…
Making the pie crust ahead of time is very important because the filling begins to thicken right away. This way, you pour it right into the crust as soon as it is ready and then quickly pop it into the oven for a flash bake.
To begin making your filling, separate the yolks from the whites and place in a medium sized bowl. Whisk the citrus juices into the egg yolks and watch the mixture as it begins to thicken. Pour in the condensed milk and corn syrup and continue to whisk. Lastly, add the the zest from both the lemons and the orange and pour the filling into your pre-baked pie shell.
See all of the beautiful lemon and lime zest…
Pour the filling into your cooled graham cracker crust and flash bake it in your oven for 15 minutes until it it is firm. Remove from the oven and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Top this with Italian meringue or slightly sweetened whipped cream.
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