A smooth and creamy pie with fresh lemon filling and whipped cream in a buttery graham cracker crust.
Lemon desserts. Yay? Nay? Meh?
Lemon Cream Pie
- Graham cracker crust
- Sweet and tart lemon filling
- Freshly whipped cream
I went the homemade route with each of the components of this pie. If you have to take a shortcut with a store bought crust or prepared whipped cream, you can. I highly suggest you try the whole recipe from scratch at least once. This pie is straight up heavenly.
LEMON RECIPES: Raspberry Lemon Tart, Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake, Lemon Coconut Cake
Lemon Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
Crust:
- 9 whole rectangular graham crackers
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Lemon filling:
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- scant 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 large eggs yolks lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cubed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream use a thicker sour cream, not runny
Whipped cream:
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Break up the graham crackers and place them in a food processor. Pulse until the graham crackers are processed into fine crumbs.
Pour the crumbs into a bowl and stir in the melted butter and sugar. Once all the graham cracker crumbs are moistened, press the crumb mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for about 13-15 minutes, until fragrant and light golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Lemon filling:
- In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and lemon juice. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and bubbling. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly add a cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, whisking as you pour (this will slowly bring up the temperature of the eggs). Add the egg mixture back to the pan and bring to a gentle boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and lemon zest, mixing until completely combined. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, whisk in sour cream. Whisk vigorously to maintain the creamy texture. Pour the lemon filling into the crust. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Assembly:
Before serving, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Top the pie with whipped cream (I used a star tip and piped it on, but you can also spread it using a butter knife or offset spatula). If desired, garnish with a sprinkling of finely grated lemon zest.
Recipe updated March 2018 – I increased the lemon filling to make it a little bit thicker. The rest of the recipe remains the same.
Lemon filling adapted from Taste of Home
Lana says
P.S. can recipe be doubled successfully?
Lynn says
An absolutely delicious pie. Finally a lemon pie that is lemony and tart. I made it twice. Once with thick sour cream and the second time with Greek yogurt and both were a great success. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Ren says
Mine was a big pile of a runny lemon mess with a healthy mix of graham crackers. As I can’t eat this like an actual pie, I will have to put it on ice cream.
Celebrating Sweets says
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. As long as your cornstarch was fresh, and you used large egg yolks, it should have set up.
Jessica says
This looks great! Without the whipped cream, can the pie be stored at room temperature?
Celebrating Sweets says
I would recommend storing it in the fridge. It will hold up better and taste better chilled.
Julie says
I just made this pie and it turned out perfect, thank you so much!! It is delicious and beautiful too!
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
Debbi says
Can I make meringue for the topping instead?
Kelly Howard says
This pie was so delicious. It was my favorite of all the pies I made for my friendsgiving, I was so glad I pulled it off! Its dangerous with how high in calories it is, it tastes so light and fresh.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, the calories are crazy. Sometimes I’d just rather not know. Ha! Thanks for stopping by. Happy holidays!