Lemon Pie and Iced Coffee

I’ve been watching cartoons from all over the world my entire life, but for some strange reason, I had trouble wrapping my head around that fact. I just assumed that all cartoons were made in America, even though I knew that many of them had ties to other countries. When I was 12, I was introduced to Adult Swim’s anime library and finally everything clicked into place. I realized the differences between animation from country to country and truly began to not just watch cartoons, but respect them. Two of the shows that left a lasting impression on me were Lupin the 3rd (I started off with Part II, but I love them all.) and Case Closed/Detective Conan. Thieves and detectives were already in my wheelhouse, so there was no way that I’d not like them. Many years and hundreds of episodes later, I’m still hopelessly in love with these series. And just when I thought it’d be impossible for me to love them anymore than I already did, they made a crossover. And then they did it again! I was so excited, I screamed. It’s a good thing that the movie has subtitles because I giggle so much when I watch it that people have trouble hearing what’s being said.

The giggles get even worse when it’s just Conan and Jigen together. “Papa’s sorry.” is my favorite line in the entire movie. I’d love a special with just the two of them. During the course of their little one-on-one at the hotel, Jigen orders Conan an iced coffee and he’s given a piece of lemon pie. After all, he looks like a nice little kid who’s just picking up his Papa. Conan/Shinichi loves lemon pie and iced coffee, so it’s tough for him to pass up. There’s a large percentage of myself that’s made up of pie and iced coffee, so I totally get it.

Recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ¾ cups cake flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into chunks

1 large egg

 

Filling:

2 (14 ounce) cans of sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

¾ cup fresh lemon juice, from 3-4 lemons (You can use either Meyer lemons or regular ones.)

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Iced Coffee:

Coffee-beans or ground (I know it’s vague, but people have their own preferences when it comes to amount and flavor.)

Ice

 

Directions

Iced Coffee:

Use a scale to measure out enough ice to equal half of the total liquid volume. My iced coffee was 8 ounces, so that means I measured out 4 ounces of ice. Measure out and grind the amount of coffee you want. Brew your coffee directly over ice. I’m a cheater and I filled a heat-safe glass with the 4 ounces of ice, added a little sweetener, and brewed straight into it using my Keurig. I added more ice afterwards.

Crust:

In a food processor, pulse cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and pulse until dough just comes together when pressed. If the dough is too dry, add ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulse again. Form dough into a disk and cover in plastic wrap. Let dough chill until firm, 30 minutes to an hour.

Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough anywhere from 10 to 14 inches across and place in a pie tin. Gently press dough into place. Trim excess dough or fold it back on itself. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place parchment paper over the crust and fill the crust with pie weights, dried beans, or something similar. Bake the crust until set and beginning to brown, 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and let cool.

Filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and salt until well combined. Gradually whisk in lemon juice.

Whipped Cream:

Chill a metal bowl and whisk in the freezer for 10 minutes. I just used the ones from my stand mixer. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl and add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk until the cream just forms stiff peaks.

Putting It All Together:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour filling into crust. Bake until the filling is just set, 15-20 minutes. There should still be some jiggle in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Chill the pie for at least 3 hours.

Top pie with whipped cream. You can chill the pie again for up to an hour or go ahead and serve with a glass of iced coffee!

I’ve never made a lemon cream pie before, but after tasting it, I’ll never be able to live without it. I feel the same way about this movie and the individual franchises. If only detecting and thieving were as easy and fun as Conan and Lupin make them look. I’d stop what I’m doing right now and go pursue one of those careers. Or both. I can’t decide which I like better, even though one of them is against the law. Maybe I’ll just meet them somewhere in the middle and become like Inspector Zenigata. (On second thought, maybe not.)

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!