RecipeFrom A Past Edition Of
The New Orleans Menu Daily
By Tom Fitzmorris
Orange Ice Box Pie

Lemon ice box pie is wonderful. This is the same idea using oranges, which lack the necessary tartness to make it on their own. That's easy to solve: just add lemon juice, and cut back on the sugar. I make this when I get a batch of oranges that seem unusually sour.

I have a recipe here for making your own pie shell, but you can buy a pre-baked one if you're not so disposed.

Crust:
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 5 Tbs. butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed, strained orange juice
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice, strained
  • Zest of three oranges and one lemon
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 2 1/2 Tbs. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. orange flower water, or 1/4 tsp. orange extract (optional)
To make the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Combine dry ingredients for the crust in a bowl. Beat in the butter. Beat the egg with vanilla and salt, and blend in. Form the dough into a 10-inch pie pan.

2. Line the crust dough with aluminum foil and fill it with dry red beans. Place the crust in the preheated 350-degree oven and blind-bake it with the beans for 10 minutes. (The beans keep the sides from caving in and the bottom from bubbling up.) Remove foil and beans and bake another five minutes. Remove and cool the crust. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.

3. With an electric mixer, blend condensed milk, cream, and egg yolks. Add orange and lemon juices and half of the zest. Blend well.

4. Pour this mixture into the pie shell and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and cool.

5. When the pie is warm room temperature, beat the egg whites in a grease-free bowl with the cream of tartar until peaks begin to form. Add sugar a little at a time, until completely blended, then add orange flower water or orange extract. Beat until stuff but not dry. Carefully fold in the remaining zest with a rubber spatula to distribute evenly. Spread the meringue on top of pie.

5. Return the pie to the oven at 350 degrees for five minutes, or until top is lightly brown. Chill several hours before serving.

Serves eight.

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© 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com