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Zesty Lemon Custard Pie

A lemon custard pie with a buttered crust and lemon filling baked for 40 minutes.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Zesty Lemon Custard Pie

Oven350°F
Time40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the crust

  1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

  2. Add egg and flour and mix until smooth dough is formed.

  3. With hands shape dough into a ball and flatten into a disc.

  4. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

  5. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  6. Make pastry and roll or press dough evenly over bottom and up sides of pie pan.

Make the custard

  1. Melt butter in microwave and set aside.

  2. Whisk eggs and sugar in medium bowl until blended.

  3. Add grated lemon peel and slowly stir in melted butter and lemon juice until incorporated.

  4. Pour custard mixture into crust.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake for 40 minutes.

  2. Cool completely and refrigerate.

  3. Before serving sprinkle powdered sugar over top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

696Calories
20 gProtein
18 gFat
112 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  3. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set the custard as they cook, giving it body and structure.
Flour
Gives the dough structure so it holds its shape in the pan.
Unsalted butter
Adds richness and tenderness to both the dough and the custard.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the custard and helps tenderize the dough.
Fresh lemon juice
Provides the acidity and bright flavor of the custard.

The step that matters

Cool completely and refrigerate. Custard sets as it cools, so cutting or serving too early can leave it runny. Chilling firms the filling for clean slices.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Figfits about as well
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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