Prickly Pear Lemonade Pie
Before moving to the Southwest, I think my only exposure to prickly pear was the reference in “The Bare Necessities” song from Disney’s The Jungle Book. In the song, Baloo warns Mowgli not to pick the prickly pear by the paw or you’ll “prick a raw paw” – very good advice, by the way, although when I was growing up and bopping along to this song, I couldn’t have described what a prickly pear cactus or its fruit looked like, never mind how to go about harvesting it. After moving to the Southwest for college, I was soon exposed to all kinds of prickly pear products – taffy, syrup, gummy candies, jellies, honey, and, of course, lemonade, the flavor inspiration for this pie.
We have an abundance of prickly pear on our property and, about 9 years ago or so, my husband decided to harvest and process some of the ripe fruits. That first time, he provided me with a smallish quantity of diced prickly pear fruit flesh and a bounty of prickly pear juice. Apparently, it is a pain, sometimes literally, to separate out useful flesh from the tough spiny rind and the large number of seeds, but the juice…all that requires and a lot fruit, a blender, and the patience to pass it all through a very fine strainer (we found that t-shirt material works very well).
I used the flesh up in a batch of muffins as I recall, but there was so much juice that I just couldn’t find a use for it all right away. We froze the bulk of the juice in ice cube trays resulting in enough cubes to fill three gallon size freezer bags. This would have been in the late summer/early fall time frame as that is when the fruit is ripe. Between school for the kids and impending holidays, I more or less forgot about the cache of prickly pear juice tucked away in my freezer, that is until March 14th of the following year when my boys came home from school and informed me that we simply had to make a pie for Pi Day.
I’m not sure what made me think of that frozen prickly pear juice, maybe I happened to see one of the bags tucked away in the freezer as I was pulling out ingredients for dinner. Regardless of what sparked my memory, I decided that this would be the perfect time to use up some more of that juice. The concept that was starting to take shape in my head ran along the lines of lemon meringue or key lime pie which suggested a graham cracker crust was the right way to go, layered with a custardy filling and a creamy topping.
I really liked the idea of combining citrus, especially lemon, with prickly pear. Prickly pear lemonade happened to be my favorite of the prickly pear products I encountered; most of the others struck me as being too sweet. By itself prickly pear is a subtle, mild, sweet flavor reminiscent of melon, kiwi, or dragon fruit and I find that the citrus helps brighten the flavor. That made prickly pear lemonade an obvious choice for the flavor profile for this pie. While I did use lemon in the prickly pear custard, it is the creamy, dreamy lemon mousse on top that really brings home that “lemonade” vibe.
That first time I made this pie, I was truly expecting it was going to be a one off thing, something I made up in the moment that fit the criteria of “pie” for Pi Day and used up some of an ingredient I had in abundance. As it turns out, my family, especially my husband, fell in love with this concoction. A year later, again in the spring, my husband convinced me to enter the pie in the county fair, where it earned a first place ribbon, showing it wasn’t just my family that was in love with the Prickly Pear Lemonade Pie.
The only disappointment there for my family was that they didn’t get to eat the pie that I entered in the fair. To make it up to them, I decided to make another pie for Easter that year, and have continued to do so every year since. And that is how a pie made with the juice of a fruit that ripens in the fall made it onto my annual Easter dessert menu. Although prickly pear isn’t ripe in the spring, I have to say the colors of this pie just about scream spring with the bright, vibrant purply-pink tone of the prickly pear providing a lovely visual contrast to the soft, creamy, pale yellow of the lemon mousse, making it one of the prettiest and most spring-like offerings on my Easter table.
Prickly Pear Lemonade Pie
Equipment
- food processor (optional)
- pie plate 9", deep dish
- saucepans small and medium
- fine mesh sieve
- 4 mixing bowls medium, heat safe
- 2 small bowls microwave safe
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.candy thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
~Graham Cracker Crust~
- 200 g graham crackers
- 50 g sugar
- 8 g cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 84 g unsalted butter
~Prickly Pear Filling~
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 300 g sugar
- 240 ml prickly pear juice
- 40 ml lemon juice (or the juice from 1 medium lemon)
- 5 g lemon zest (or the zest from 1 medium lemons)
- 6 g orange zest (or the zest from 1 medium orange)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 sheets gold leaf gelatin (or 9g gelatin powder)
- 168 g unsalted butter
~Lemon Mousse Topping~
- 3 egg yolks
- 150 g sugar divided use
- 80 ml lemon juice (or the juice from 2 medium lemons)
- 10 g lemon zest (or the zest from 2 medium lemons)
- 3 egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 180 ml heavy cream chilled
- 56 g mascarpone cheese
- 1 ½ sheets gold leaf gelatin (or 6g gelatin powder)
~Prickly Pear Whipped Cream Garnish (optional)~
- 180 ml heavy cream chilled
- 56 g mascarpone cheese
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 30-60 ml prickly pear juice to taste
- ½ sheet gold leaf gelatin (or 3g gelatin powder)
Instructions
~Graham Cracker Crust~
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- Crush the graham crackers (pulse in a food processor or place in a bag and use a mallet or rolling pin)200 g graham crackers
- Mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt into the graham cracker crumbs50 g sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 8 g cornstarch
- Using a food processor, pastry cutter or pair of knives blend the 6 tbsp of butter into the graham cracker crumbs until it resembles moist sand. At this point the mixture should hold together when pressed.84 g unsalted butter
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep dish 9” pie plate.
- Bake for 12 minutes, set aside on a rack to cool.
~Prickly Pear Filling~
- Thoroughly whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, prickly pear juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, orange zest and salt in a medium saucepan.4 egg yolks, 3 eggs, 300 g sugar, 240 ml prickly pear juice, 40 ml lemon juice, 5 g lemon zest, 6 g orange zest, 1/4 tsp salt, 10 g lemon zest
- Bloom the gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and place it in a medium heat safe bowl. Place the butter on top of the bloomed gelatin and put a fine mesh sieve over the bowl. Set aside, but keep it near the stove2 sheets gold leaf gelatin, 168 g unsalted butter
- Heat the egg/juice mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly
- The mixture will start out thin, translucent and may form a fine white foam over the surface, as it heats up the curd will thicken, become more opaque and the foam will disappear.
- Cook until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. The mixture should only come to a simmer, about 195°F – 205°F, don't allow it to come to a full boil.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the sieve over the butter and gelatin. (You can skip straining the curd if you are certain there are no bits of cooked egg and you like the bits of zest in the curd which can provide additional color and flavor.)
- Stir until the butter and gelatin are melted and thoroughly incorporated. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes before pouring the mixture into the prepared and cooled crust. Cover with plastic wrap, ensuring that the plastic is in contact with the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming, and place in the refrigerator to set (at least an hour, it needs to set enough to support the layer of lemon mousse).
~Lemon Mousse Topping~
- Combine the egg yolks, 100g sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium low heat and cook, whisking constantly, for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.3 egg yolks, 150 g sugar, 80 ml lemon juice
- Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof bowl to remove the lemon zest (this step is optional if you like the additional color, texture and flavor of the zest). Let stand until cool.
- Beat the egg whites, 50g sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the lemon curd until no streaks of egg white remain, being careful not to knock out the air. Chill for at least 2 hours.3 egg whites, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 150 g sugar
- Bloom the gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and place it in a small microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave in 10 second intervals until clear, set aside to cool slightly1 1/2 sheets gold leaf gelatin
- Beat the whipping cream in a chilled medium mixing bowl just until it starts to thicken.180 ml heavy cream
- Quickly mix a small amount of the soft whipped cream into the melted gelatin.
- Resume beating on low speed while gradually adding in the melted gelatin and cream mixture. Add the mascarpone cheese and continue beating until soft peaks form.56 g mascarpone cheese
- Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the lemon mixture until evenly combined.
- Spread over the top of the prickly pear filling and return to the refrigerator.
~Prickly Pear Whipped Cream (optional)~
- Bloom the gelatin sheet in cold water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and place it in a small microwave safe bowl, melt in the microwave in 10 second intervals until clear.1/2 sheet gold leaf gelatin
- Whisk 30ml (2 tbsp) of prickly pear juice into the melted gelatin. Set aside.30-60 ml prickly pear juice
- Use an electric mixer to beat heavy cream just until it starts to thicken. Slowly, with the mixer on low speed, stream in the prickly pear juice and gelatin mixture. Keep the mixture on low speed and add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it is all incorporated.180 ml heavy cream, 30 g powdered sugar
- Add the mascarpone cheese and continue beating until medium peaks form.56 g mascarpone cheese
- If color or flavor of the whipped cream is not intense enough at this point, continue to mix in the additional juice 1 tbsp at a time. Be careful at this stage not to overwhip the cream mixture – you are looking for a consistency that will hold its shape when piped, so medium to firm peaks.30-60 ml prickly pear juice
- Place the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe a decorative border around the edge of the pie. Chill until ready to serve.
Notes
- If there is any concern about the raw egg whites in the lemon mousse component you can use pasteurized eggs. However, you will need to make a slight adjustment as the pasteurization process alters the proteins in the egg whites.
- Beat the egg whites, sugar and salt on low to medium-low speed until foamy (about 1-2 minutes)
- Add 3/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue whipping, gradually increasing the speed of the mixer until stiff peaks form. This may take a bit longer than with fresh egg whites, just be patient and continue whipping.
- TIP: Starting at a low speed helps create a more stable foam, composed of more and smaller bubbles. Starting immediately at a high speed results in fewer, larger bubbles and an overall less stable foam.
Nutrition
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