Buttery pecan crust, icy vanilla yogurt layered with tangy lemon curd and topped with a wave of golden meringue….a lemon dream made especially for my girls Mom & Patti who love, love, love lemon curd.

I first saw this dessert on a restaurant menu and anticipated ordering it at the end of our meal only to hear those sad words, “sorry, we’re out” when the time came. So I was eager to make this at home to accompany our Stuffed Cabbage dinner. My mom always used to make lemon meringue pies when I was little and I didn’t have much appreciation for them, funny how your tastes change as you get older, now I can’t get enough lemon curd (were the old fashioned lemon meringue pies as lemon curdy as this?).

This pie was a hit, the girls swooned (I love when that happens), the guys gave lots of mmmmmms, Bobby pronounced it a winner and a keeper, and Mom said it was just as good as “Tall, Dark & Handsome Chocolate Pie” and that I get a blue ribbon….what more could a GirlCook ask??

Lemon Dream Pie

This pie can be made a day in advance. It has a few steps but is so worth the trouble!

The Crust:

1 1/2 Cups finely chopped pecans
1/4 Cup sugar
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients and press into a 9″ pie plate.

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. The sides will shrink, press back up with the back of a spoon. Cool for 30 minutes on rack then freeze for another 30 minutes.

The Lemon Curd:

2 Large eggs
2 Large egg yolks
6 TBS unsalted butter
1 Cup sugar
6 TBS fresh lemon juice (approx. 1 1/2 lemons squeezed)
2 Tsp. finely grated lemon peel (approx. 2 lemons)
Pinch of salt

1. Whisk eggs and egg yoks in medium bowl
2. Melt butter in top of double boiler set over simmering water

3. Whisk in sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt; gradually whisk in egg mixture. Whisk until thick and thermometer inserted into curd registers 178-180 degrees, about 8 minutes.

4. Transfer to small bowl, press plastic wrap on top of curd; chill 4 hours. Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt:

I checked out the ingredients of most of the supermarket offerings (can you say corn syrup?) and decided that I needed to make it from scratch which is so easy if you have an ice cream maker. Store bought is just fine. You’ll need 3 cups and it needs to be slightly softened to assemble the pie.

1 2/3 Cups whole milk
3/4 Cups sugar
1/4 Cup heavy cream
4 Cups fat free vanilla (or plain) yogurt
1 TBS pure vanilla extract

1. Dissolve sugar in milk by beating with electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
2. Stir in yogurt, heavy cream, and vanilla
3. Put in ice cream maker for 20-25 minutes

Meringue

4 Large egg whites at room temperature
6 TBS sugar
Pinch Cream of Tartar

Beat egg whites until frothy in stand mixer set with wire whip. Add pinch of cream of tartar and increase speed to medium/high. Add sugar gradually and whip until soft peaks form. You don’t want stiff, dry peaks here but soft peaks which will make a much more soft, delicious meringue.

Assemble The Pie:

1. Remove crust from freezer. Spread 1 1/2 Cup softened frozen yogurt on the crust. Spread lemon curd on top of the ice cream. Freeze for 30 minutes then spread another 1 1/2 Cup softened frozen yogurt on top of the lemon curd.
2. Spoon the meringue on top, seal the edges and make it look all perfect and swirly.
3. Place under broiler at 500 degrees for 1-3 minutes until golden brown. Watch carefully and serve immediately. OR-freeze the whole pie (with meringue on top) for one day. Take out of freezer and place under the broiler as instructed above and serve immediately.

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