Lemon Cake PIe

LEMON CAKE PIE

Single pie crust for 9 inch pie pan
My killer French pie crust recipe:
(For smaller pies)
2 and ½ cup pastry flour (pastry flour is 2/3 cp flour and 1/3 cp cake flour)
3 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
½ cp firm butter cut into ½ in cubes
½ cp shortening cut into cubes
5 to 9 T. ice water
Sift flour, sugar and salt. Coat butter and shortening with fork in the flour mixture then blend until you get a coarse pea like consistency. Then add cold water and form into balls, roll out into discs. Wrap saran wrap around it until ready to roll out and place in pie dish. (Lightly coat pie dish with PAM spray). Keep everything very cold – refrigerate often. That’s one of the secrets to great pie crust!
(For larger pies)
3 cp pastry flour
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ cp butter
½ cp shortening
8-11 T. Ice cold water
Follow same instructions as above.
You can put these crusts into the freezer to use within a week.

1 and ½ cp sugar
1/3 cp flour
1 pinch salt
zest of one lemon
juice of 2 lemons
3 large eggs, separated
1 and ¼ cup milk
2 T. unsalted butter, melted.
Instructions:
Place rack on lowest position in oven. Preheat oven to 375.
Line bottom and sides of 9 in pie plate with pie crust. Decorate edges as desired.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar. Stir in flour, salt, lemon peel and lemon juice.
In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with milk until well blended, stir into lemon mixture.
In another medium sized bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold distinct but moist peaks. Gently fold egg whites into lemon mixture. (Don’t mix it too much). Pour filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake until top is browned and the center juggles only slightly when pan is gently shaken. (45 min to 80 min – very variable). If top browns excessively, drape with foil. Let cool before serving.

Recipe from Becky Behrends

Baklava

BAKLAVA-(about 30 squares or diamonds)

3C. Chopped, toasted nuts, (pecans, pistachios, or walnuts, or almonds)
Make sure they are chopped fine or coarsely grind. Set aside
Stir together in a small bowl:
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. grated lemon zest
1 t. ground cinnamon

Melt: 1 C unsalted butter

You need to preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 13X9 in baking dish
Unfold and stack on counter (make sure you have room to work here) one pound of phyllo dough at room temp. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap

Start with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter and add 2 more phyllo sheets to a total of six or eight sheets. Next sprinkle half the nuts and half the sugar. Cover with 2 sheets of phyllo and butter and repeat until there are 6 sheets left. Cover with the remaining nuts and sugar mixture, and repeat the layering 2 sheets with butter until finished, reserving some butter for the top sheet. Cut into diamonds, or squares about 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 inches. for serving in baking cups. Bake 30 minutes, and reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees and continue to bake until it is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

While baking, combine in saucepan

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. water
1/3 C honey
1 T. Lemon zest and the zest of one full orange

Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and reduce to a simmer for 15 min.
When baklava is done, pour the syrup all over the baklava and let cool completely before serving. Best is used within a couple of days. Phew!

Modified from Joy of Cooking Cookbook, by Rombauer, Rombauer Becker, and Becker

Raspberry-Yogurt Cake

Makes 8 serving – serving size: 1 slice

Yogurt gives this simple cake a wonderful tang and tenderness. Fresh raspberries make it
irresistible. Try it with blueberries, too.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
½ c granulated sugar
¾ c plain fat-free yogurt
2 T canola oil
1 large egg
2 t vanilla
1 cup fresh raspberries, or frozen unthawed raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. coat an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to mix well. Set aside.

3. Combine the sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until a moist batter forms.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top evenly with raspberries. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned and the top springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve the cake from the pan, warm or at room temperature. The cake is best on the day it is made.

5. Calories 167, Calories from Fat 40, Total Fat 4 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 28 mg, Sodium 221 mg, Total Carbohydrate 28 g, Dietary Fiber 1 g, Sugars 15 g, Protein 4 g.

Fudgy Chocolate Tart

Makes 10 servings – Serving size: 1 slice

For company, shower this tart with curls of dark and white chocolate for a stunning presentation. It’s bursting with chocolate flavor, so your family won’t mind having it plain.

Crust:
1 c all-purpose flour
½ t salt
½ t baking powder
¼ t baking soda
¼ c canola oil
3 T reduced-fat sour cream

Filling:
2 c fat-free milk
1 large egg
2/3 c granular no-calorie sweetener
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
¼ c granulated sugar
¼ c cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 t vanilla extract

Make crust
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and whisk to mix well. Combine the oil and sour cream in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the oil mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a stiff dough forms. Shape the dough into a disk and place between 2 sheets of waxed paper.
3. Roll the dough to a 12-inch diameter circle. Remove the top layer of waxed paper and place the dough, with waxed paper facing up, into the prepared pan. Starting from the edge of the dough, gently remove the waxed paper. Trim the edges of the crust and prick the bottom all over with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
4. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Make filling
1. Combine the milk, egg, no-calorie sweetener, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk until the cornstarch dissolves. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 6 minutes or until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
2. Transfer to a medium bowl and cover the surface of the filling with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature and stir in the vanilla. Spoon into the prepared crust, cover, and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.