#dhsjskskakaka I forgot that ur from like

[fanficmemes]

Dear CB,

I am happy to hear you appreciated my last letter.

Your words are always kind and warm my soul in these dreadful days of deadlines and indecisive weather still not sure if the first blossom of summer is here or if the ice will return in our homes. It also made me rest easier in my bed to learn you are now better, after the sickly days subsequent to the medicine administration.

You are now free of the burden of the heavy cloud of sickness still cover our cities, and it make me happy.

You told me you would have liked to receive the recipe of the pie i told you about last time, so i will write it down in a paper to put in the same envelope of this one. I already excuse my persona for the verbosity i will submit you, but the power of synthesis is not something the sky gifted me.

Hope my letter will find you in good health and sweet mood,

With love,

Soupy.

Dear Soup, I'm writing this with the greatest of joys after receiving your recipe. It sounds heavenly, and am quite excited to enjoy it to the fullest.

Just as you say my words warmed you, so did your words keep me through those pale and cool spring days. I reread your most kind letter while in my illness, it helped greatly with recovery, I assure you.

If it's alright with you, I shall attach the recipe underneath my goodbyes, as I tend to lose things with great ease and it would pain me to lose such a gem as this. And never worry that chatter while baking would ever bother me, I find it quite lovely.

I hope this letter will find you far across the waters between us, and that it will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart.

All love,

CB

Lemon pie recipe.

This doses are for a 22 cm diameter mold.

It is but a simple recipe, not so different from every other lemon pie you can probably find everywhere, but is the pie we always eat in my family, since sour lemons is something everyone of my affections love the taste. You can picture how much it make me silly laugh when i think about how my taste for the citrus extend also to my leisure reading times, but there are things we cannot tell properly in public, and i confide in the secrecy of our reading club.

The structure is the classic one, composed by a crust, a lemon cream and a sweet meringue.

For the base i am biased in using shortcrust, that better adapt to the type of cream and is quite easy to prepare, surely more than complex french pastry. Is of course understandable is a lack of time and desire to cook made you go instead for a modern storebought puff pastry.

For the crust you will need:

250g of all purpose flour

125 g of butter

1 egg

100 g of powdered sugar (also normal crystal sugar is good, it you prefer a more rough feeling)

A bit of lemon zest for taste.

Cut the butter and mix it with the flour, crumbling it till it reach a sable consistency. Add then the sugar, the egg and the lemon zest, and work with your hands till is smooth and workable. Is better to not strain it too much, or the gluten would form and instead of a crispy crust we would find ourself with an hard chewy bread. Let it rest in the fridge for at least an half hour. When rested, and remember to rest also yourself, work it in a flat disc or your preferred thickness and put it in an already buttered and floured mold. Cover with cooking paper and chickpeas to not let it rise in the oven.

The recipe would ask to cook it at a static 170 C° for 15 minutes, but experience always teach ovens are what of most similar exist in this world of hell work, so judge your oven history and control every couple of minutes so not to burn it to a crisp.

For the cream you will need:

5 to 8 lemons (and if your taste require it more)

3 eggs

150 g of flour and potato starch (usually i make half and half, but it can function even with all flour or all starch. All starch is advised if you will want to put the pie in the oven later to roast the meringue, since all flour will liquify the cream at strong temperature)

Sugar to taste

Separate the whites from the yolks. The yolks can be put in a pot, while the whites are to be put in another bowl to use for the meringue later.

Add the zest of all your lemons to the yolks (if you can find not treated lemon, if not this passage will be sadly skipped). Juice your lemons and add water till you reach 1 liter of liquid. Mix your lemon zested yolks, flour and starch and liquid, bit by bit, to have a smooth cream. Add sugar to taste, i personally add only two spoon, but i know the sour taste is not to everyone taste. Put the pot on low fire and mix till the cream become heavy and smooth and dense. Put it in the pastry shell. You can wait for the cream to cool a little, but be attentive at not waiting too much or it will solidify.

For the meringue you will need:

The whites of the cream eggs

200 g of sugar

I strongly prefer Italian meringue, being it faster to make and being myself in a strong enmity with the frenchs. Also, for a real french meringue it would be needed to whisk the whites with sugar and cook them for 12 hours at low temperatures. I know the latest kitchen programs make it seem like something faisable in a short time, and i will always resent them for this, but what they are serving in real is just raw meringue made with raw eggs, and for how much the raw eggs part can be solved with pasteurized whites, it would make for a more expensive ingredient.

For an Italian meringue, you have to put in a small pot 200g of sugar and a bit of water, just enough to wet it. It then have to be cooked till it make a boiling syrup. Be attentive at not making caramel instead, that would risk ruining the eggs. While the syrup simmer, start whisking the whites. When they start to be whipped add, while still whisking, the hot syrup. The boiling syrup will cook the eggs and give a nice shiny finish at the meringue, while the whisking will assure the sugar is distributed heavenly and the whites continue to whip.

When they are whipped enough to not fall out of the bowl if turned, distribuite the meringue over the pie.

If you like a golden finish it is possible to put in in the oven for some minutes, to toast the meringue, or pass it with a blowtorch.

My verbosity could make seem the recipe long and complex, but i can assure is quite easy to make, even in absence of big space. I do not live in a big estate like the ones of the nobles we are sometimes invited for a ball, as my preparing myself the sweet cakes instead of giving the order to a cook probably already made clear, and last time i prepared it i did it in a chopping board above my sink, and it come out quite good.

Hope you will find it as delicious as i find It myself.

With love,

Soupy