Mockingbird Bakery’s Sweet Tea Pie With Lemon
8-10 servings
Hands on: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes, plus several hours to cool
What could be more Southern than a chess pie made with tea? The top of the pie will darken during baking; don’t be alarmed. Pat the dough in evenly and in a thin layer for more even browning, building up a top crust to hold the filling and discarding excess. Don’t overfill the pie, and if in doubt, place a tray underneath it during baking to catch any spills.
For the crust:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the filling:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup warm, strong orange pekoe tea (standard tea bags)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornmeal
To prepare the crust: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter
until well-combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until dough forms a
ball. Pat dough evenly and thinly into a 9-inch pie pan, building up a
thicker top edge. Place pie shell in freezer while preparing filling.
To prepare the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add
sugar. Add lemon zest and egg yolks a little at a time, allowing each
addition to incorporate, scraping the bowl often. Slowly add the tea,
vanilla, vinegar and lemon juice. Add flour and cornmeal. Don’t be alarmed
if the mixture looks slightly curdled. Scrape the bowl and mix to combine.
Remove crust from the freezer and fill. Bake for 50 minutes, or until just a
quarter-size area in the center jiggles slightly. Cool on a wire rack. Chill
at least 2 hours before serving.
Per serving (based on 8): 682 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 6
grams protein, 68 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 44 grams fat (25 grams
saturated), 317 milligrams cholesterol, 275 milligrams sodium.