Mom has baked me the same birthday cake for every one of my fifty-five years. Delicate layers of vanilla infused cake, the most cheek sucking lemon filling then the whole cake is drowned in brown sugar boiled icing. I’ve shared her vanilla cake recipe here. I’ve not done a post on her boiled icing because I need a second set of hands to take the photographs. Brown sugar icing waits for no one! Today, I’m sharing my family’s secret lemon filling recipe. DISCLAIMER: this is not an advertisement!
Every family has top-secret recipes whispered from generation to generation. They tend never to be written down for fear of them landing in the wrong person’s hands or because you can find the recipe on the back of the box. Truth! Our family loves Jello’s Lemon Pie Filling. It can’t be Shirriff – no offence just not our favourite – or any other brand.
To make the little cakes in the photograph, follow Mom’s vanilla cupcake recipe. Once the cupcakes and lemon filling have cooled completely carve out the tops with a sharp paring knife, plop a large spoonful of filling in the hole, replace the cake top gently then dust with icing sugar. Sooooooooooooooooooooo good!
LEMON FILLING
- 4.3 oz box, Jello Lemon Pie Filling
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 beaten egg yolks
- 2 1/2 cups water
THE STEPS
- Follow the directions on the box.
THE LOVE: Adjust the amount of sugar to your own palate. I like my lemon to cause the back of my throat to constrict a little…
Thanks for reading.
4 comments
Hello there!
I absolutely ADORE lemon!! Is there a way this would work with lemon curd? Pre-made pie fillings are not widely available around here, I think.
Thanks! Greetings from Portugal!
Hello Portugal! Lemon curd would be gorgeous. Frankly, my pre-made pie filling is just a cheat but still tasty. Definitely use the lemon curd. Thanks for reaching out!
Thanks! My grandma’s lemon tree just gave us an overload of lemons, so lemon curd it’ll be. Oh, and “Bulhão Pato” sauce too, very typical here: you prepare clams on that sauce and it’s so YUM, but a cheaper and quicker (oh, and vegetarian) version would be Bulhão Pato mushrooms. If you like garlicky, lemony sauces you’d love it!
250g Pleurothus mushrooms; 2 garlic cloves; fresh coriander, to taste; olive oil; 1/2 cup of white wine (I just eyeball it); 1/2 lemon; salt, to taste
Clean the mushrooms well, and reserve. Add 2 tbs
olive oil and the finely chopped garlic cloves to a pan. When the garlic starts browning add the wine, followed by the mushrooms. Season now with salt (to taste). FInely chop the fresh coriander and add to the mushrooms. Let it cook for about 7/8 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the juice of the 1/2 lemon and serve immediately.
Goes really well with a fresh green/young wine! Oh, and lots of bread, to get all that juicy sauce! If you’d rather do it with clams, you’ll find many recipes online. Whatever they might say, DON’T add water to the recipe, it’ll dilute the goodness!
Best wishes!
Thanks for sharing – sounds fabulous!