To Bake or Not To Bake?

Grandma had an interesting letter the other day and thought that many of you might also have the same question.  And since eggs, lemons and limes are all pretty cheap at this time of the year, Grandma's answer might be both helpful and tasty!   Here's the question:

I was looking at a recipe for a refrigerated lemon pie (you know made with condensed milk).  Some of the recipes call for 2 and I've seen some that call for 4 egg yolks.  This pie isn't cooked.  Is that OK? I didn't think you were ever supposed to eat raw eggs.  


Remember, newbie cooker.


Jo Ann

Lemon Cream Pie from Eaglebrand

Here's my reply:

Hi Jo Ann -

When I was young that pie and the very similar Key Lime Pie were never cooked.  That was one of the reasons that they were popular in the summer - you didn't have to turn on the oven.  Many older people like me have eaten raw eggs all of their lives with no ill effects.  It used to be quite a common hang over cure to put a raw egg in a glass of beer and of course traditional holiday egg nog contains dozens of raw eggs.

A Scanning electron micrograph of Salmonella bacteria (the red rod shapes)

Then, in the last couple of decades there has been a huge rise in the number of big egg factories.  Egg producing chickens are held in over-crowded conditions, so contamination of the eggs with the salmonella bacteria has become much more common than it once was.  Salmonella can cause, among other things, major intestinal upset and diarrhea. It is particularly dangerous to the very young, the immuno-compromised like people with cancer or diseases like diabetes, and the elderly.  This is why the USDA now pushes the idea of never eating raw eggs.

So - to bake or not to bake?  The unbaked pie is convenient because you don't need to turn on the oven or even have an oven, but if you are going to make the unbaked recipe then be very sure that you get very fresh eggs that have been raised locally - and preferably organically.  Avoid store brand eggs because those are more likely to have come from one of those huge egg factories.

I was leery of the baked recipe and ignored it for many years, thinking that baking the pie would change the taste or texture somehow.  Finally a year or two ago I broke down and tried it, mainly because for some reason the unbaked recipes did not seem to firm up adequately as they once did - at least not without leaving them in the refrigerator overnight.  Frankly, I was surprised - and impressed.  The pie is only in the oven for about 15 minutes, not even long enough to brown on top.  The baking does nothing to the final taste or texture of the product but it does mean that you can cool the pie, chill it and serve it up in neat slices in a couple of hours instead of tomorrow.  These days I mostly bake the pie, not because of the raw egg issue but because the pie is better - or at least quicker.

One last thing about eggs.  You know those "new and improved best eggs" you see at the store for twice the price of any of the other eggs?  My daughter started buying those a few years back and at first they were quite nice, but as time went on they often tasted old to me.  Wasn't I surprised one day to come across the only truly rotten eggs I've seen in many a long year, in a package of those eggs straight from the market.  I haven't bought even one of those since.

Even more famous than those lemon pies is Key Lime Pie, made with Key Limes from Florida.  

Key limes are only available for a short time each year, usually in late winter/early spring. They look just like regular limes, but they are tiny - only an inch or so in diameter.  Grandma found them locally here in Vermont for about $2 a bag.  Each little bag had just about enough key limes to produce juice for one pie.  (The rest of the year Grandma uses regular limes - sshhh!)

Maida Heatter, often called the Queen of Desserts, tells a wonderful story about making Key Lime Pie for a dinner given by President Ronald Reagan in her introduction to her Pies & Tarts (Maida Heatter Classic Library).  At the time key limes were not raised commercially.  Maida and her husband drove all over Florida trading her brownies for whatever few key limes anyone had, then freezing enough juice to make 15 Key Lime Pies for the 1983 Economic Summit.  Maida finished the pies and returned to her hotel room, only to be awakened the next morning by a reporter wanting to know how she felt when the Secret Service dropped all the pies on the floor!

Here's the recipe for Maida Heatter's Key Lime Pie, with instructions for both baked and unbaked versions:

First, the crust:  If you are making a Lemon Cream or Lemon Meringue Pie, those are often and most traditionally made in a single crust regular baked pie shell.  Key Lime Pie is usually made in a graham cracker crust.  You can buy one premade if you like - or don't have an oven handy -but it is far cheaper to make your own.  This is the same graham cracker crust you would use for other desserts.  I've adapted Maida's original recipe slightly to allow for modern equipment and Grandma's laziness.

Ingredients for a Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*

4 tablespoons butter, very soft

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

*Purchased as crumbs or crushed with a rolling pin or crumbed in a food processor.  If you are making your own crumbs, 1 sleeve of a three-sleeve, 1 pound box of graham crackers is about right.

Place all the ingredients in the bowl in the bowl of a small food processor and whirl until the graham crackers are in fine crumbs and everything is well combined.   (Grandma's little food processor shown in the photo is a Cuisinart DLC-2AW Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor)

There are two basic methods to turn the crumbs into a crust.

Method 1:  Use something round and flat-bottomed to press the crumbs into the bottom .  This works well for  a cheesecake crust but as you can see, it is a bit messy when making a pie crust.  Bake the crust as shown in Step 3 below.

Method 2:

Step 1:  Put the crumbs into the bottom of a pie tin and distribute them across the bottom so that you have a bit more crumb mixture near the edges of the pan than you do in the center.

Step 2:  Place a second (identical) pie pan on top of the crumb mixture and press hard to force the crumbs up the sides of the pan.  You may need to check and redistribute the crumbs a bit.

Step 3:  Bake the crust at 350 for 8 minutes. Watch carefully so that it does not brown!

Set the crust aside to cool thoroughly.  Crusts may be tightly wrapped and frozen at this point.

The Filling:

Use a rubber spatula to get every drop of sweetened condensed milk.  Save the egg whites to make  something else.

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk*

4 egg yolks (Save the whites in a covered container, refrigerated.  They'll keep about 4 days or freeze)

1/2 cup Key Lime juice

about 1 tablespoon of freshly grated lime zest, green parts only

Use a wire whisk to whisk together the condensed milk and egg yolks.  Stir in the lime zest and then add the juice, a bit at a time, whisking between each addition.  Pour the filling into the cold crust.  (Still frozen is just fine.)

Prefer Lemon?  Substitute lemon juice for the lime juice

Unbaked:  Cover the pie carefully - Grandma suggests that you put a tight aluminum foil cover over the filling,  then place the entire pie inside a 2 gallon ziplock bag.  Refrigerate overnight.

Baked:  Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 350F, then cool completely.  Watch carefully to insure the edges don't get too brown.  Cover as above and chill several hours until very cold.

The Topping:  Traditionally, Key Lime Pie is not served with a topping, but Maida and Grandma like it with Whipped Cream.

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, Grandma forgot the cream to go on top of the Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving and so she sent her hubby, the intrepid scout, out into the dark of night seeking cream to whip.  Eventually he showed back up, dragging a carton of light cream.  Grandma looked at the carton, told him that light cream doesn't whip and sent him back out into the dark to seek whipping cream.  Eventually, back he came, dragging a carton of medium cream behind him.  "Still won't whip" says Grandma.  "Only whipping cream and heavy cream whip!"  The third time is the charm they say and he did finally get it right, but 30 years on Grandma still wonders how he missed that Whipping Cream right on the front of the container!

Grandma had the devil of a time getting a decent picture of this glorious pie.
On  Try #13 (this one)  she gave up and ate the pie!  YUM!

If you are going to serve most of the pie at one time, then whip an entire half-pint of heavy or whipping cream.  You can use an electric mixer if you want to (a hand held and a small bowl is more than adequate for the job)  or just do as Grandma often does and beat the cold cream in a cold metal bowl with a wire whip.  (It actually takes less time than using a mixer and doesn't splatter everywhere - only a minute or two.)  When the cream forms soft peaks add a tablespoon or two of confectioner's sugar and a few drops of real vanilla, beat another few seconds, then frost the pie with the cream and serve immediately.

If you intend to serve only a piece or two, whip only part of the container and keep any leftovers in a closed container.  Make sure you don't remove all the air from the container or you will deflate the cream!

About Those Egg Whites

Store the egg whites, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze them.  Tomorrow Grandma will show you a couple of neat tricks that will use them up!

*****

Most of Maida Heatter's books are out of print these days, though if you are lucky you can find a used copy on Amazon.   Three, however, have been re-released:

Maida Heatter's Cakes

First published in 1997, Maida Heatter's Cakes is a "best of" compilation of 175 of Maida's classic, most beloved cake recipes originally published in her nine baking books. From an ever-so-lighter take on her legendary Queen Mother's Cake, Maida's self-proclaimed favorite, to cakes, sticky buns, homemade doughnuts, cheesecakes, muffins, ice creams, and sauces, Maida Heatter's Cakes offers foolproof recipes for novice and experienced bakers alike presented alongside charming two-color, line-drawn illustrated interiors.




Maida Heatter's Cookies

Inside Maida Heatter's Cookies--now available for the first time in paperback--the "Queen of Desserts" offers 225 classic cookie recipes for drop cookies, bar cookies, icebox cookies, rolled cookies, hand-formed cookies, dessert crackers, ice creams, sauces, and more, accompanied by two-color, line-drawn illustrated pages. This classic cookie collection is certain to inspire a new generation of bakers with its timeless, flavorful recipes that are as delightful to create as they are to taste and enjoy.




Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts

Maida is justifiably famous for her respected series of cookbooks, ranging from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts to Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies. But it was always her Book of Great Chocolate Desserts that inspired the highest praise, admiration, and following from home and restaurant dessert cooks around the world. Chocolate creators know they can turn to Maida for tantalizing confections, cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, and sauces that transcend the ordinary and make for memorable dining experiences.
Also available in a Kindle Edition

Here's a little Retro Sound in honor of a Retro Pie! 

Stay Cool!