Lemon, lime and bitters pie

This is the recipe for lemon, lime and bitters pie, I made it yesterday and it is great, but very rich. There are two different ways to do the topping, I will write both. The first one would be better I think because it uses less cream so it is probably a bit less stodgy.

For the crust: You need to either buy a pie shell or make a basic pie shortcrust such as this one (in my recipe book at home the replace one tablespoon of water with white vinegar. Not sure if it makes any difference.). Prebake the pie shell completely as it will not go back into the oven with the filling.

For the filling:
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tbsp orange bitters
• zest from 1 lemon
• zest from one lime
• 75 grams butter, cubed
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method:

1. Place eggs and sugar in a double boiler and whisk until the sugar dissolves
2. Add butter, juices and zest and whisk until the mixture is thick enough for you to leave a trail with a whisk that closes over only very slowly. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
3. Add the bitters and whisk in for around five more minutes. Put in fridge until completely cool.
4. Add to the prebaked pie crust and put on topping.
5. If you are short on eggs or don't want to use so many, you can substitute in some cornflour for the eggs. This is basically just a modified lemon curd so you can look up how much you will need to substitute. You will have to cook it a bit different if you do it that way because cornflour in cooking needs a bit of care.

For the topping (version 1 - this one must be put onto the pie immediately after making):
Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp bitters
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• double cream or similar
• a bit of lime zest (a teaspoon or so)

Method:

1. Sprinkle lime zest onto the filling in the tart shell.
2. Combine sugar, juices and bitters in a small saucepan over low heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
3. Cook until the mixture reaches the hard crack stage ( approx. 143 C, or when it forms brittle threads when drizzled into icy water).
4. Take off heat and allow to cool a little before drizzling over the curd filling in a lattice shape.
5. Serve with a dollop of cream on the side.

Topping version 2 (this one should not be put onto the pie until just before you serve it):
Ingredients:

• Whipped cream
• a little zest from a lemon and a lime (1tsp or so)
• 2tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp bitters
• 1/4 cup caster sugar

Method:

1. Put whipped cream over the curd filling and sprinkle zest over the top.
2. Make the syrup in the same way as in version one, but cook only until the liquid reaches the thread stage (it forms soft, loose, thin threads when dropped into icy water, approx. 106-112 C)
3. Allow the syrup to cool until it is safe to eat at least, then pour over the top of the whipped cream and zest before serving.
4. If you want to store the syrup in the fridge you can but you might need to warm it up a bit before you serve the pie so it pours more easily. You could also make a bit more syrup so that you could pour it over each slice on its own plate. Just don't go overboard - this sauce is very flavoursome :)

If you try this recipe, don't be afraid to modify it you think it needs it, because I am still trialling things. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!

Saskia