Read that how you will– both the Lee Bros. and their sour orange pie are amazing. They (the brothers that is, with or without pie!) actually have a TV show called “Southern Uncovered” starting in June!!!
I mentioned this pie in an earlier post when I was talking Sevilles and making marmalade, but was waiting on getting the recipe widget functional. Well. My saga of the recipe widget is a freaking long story, but suffice to say one outdated plugin + theme upgrade = not worth the hassle. For now, will do it like this.
The Amazing Lee Bros. Sour Orange Pie
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Like Key Lime Pie, but orange. The Lee Bros. recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but I’ve substituted my favorite gluten-free that can replace a graham crust for many pies– it is delicious, does not taste gluten free, and the almonds are great with the orange. NB: The Lee Bros. say if you cannot get sour (Seville) oranges (outside of Florida and California, they can often be found in Hispanic groceries and are also known as “tropicals”), you can replace the sour orange juice with the following: 1 part grapefruit juice, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part orange juice (all must be fresh!!). Find the original recipe in “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook” by Matt Lee and Ted Lee.
Ingredients
- GF CRUST
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal (also called almond flour; I use Bob’s Red Mill)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- Mix almond flour and sugar; add melted butter and mix well. Pat evenly into 9″ pie plate. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn light golden.
- FILLING
- 5 large egg yolks
- One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (my note: I use a total of 2 c. or one pint, take the 2 tblsp. for the filing and the remaining is plenty for the whipped cream)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon strained sour orange juice
- 1 tablespoon sour orange zest
- 1 1/2 tablespoons navel orange zest
- 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
- 8 fresh mint leaves for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Oven: 325°
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks well with a hand mixer or a whisk until they have lightened in color, about 1 minute. Add the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of cream and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate. Add the sour orange juice, sour orange zest, and 4 teaspoons navel orange zest and stir til the filling is consistently creamy and light yellow in color, about 1 minute.
- Pour the filling into the crust and bake on the middle rack til the surface is quivery, like gelatin, 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 30 minutes, by which time the pie will have set firmly. Transfer to the frig to cool completely, about 4 hours (cover in plastic if keeping for more than 24 hours, but the Lee Bros. recommend eating within 24 hours).
- Before serving, whip the remaining 2 cups cream with the confectioners’ sugar. Spread the whipped cream over the pie and sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons navel orange zest over. Slice and serve with a mint leaf stuck on top of each piece, if desired.
- My notes: this actually keeps pretty well, in the unusual event it is not devoured immediately– I had a piece left in the frig for several days and it was fine, the crust does sog a bit but still delicious. But, I don’t spread the entire pie with the whipped cream, that may help it keep.
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