This post really should have gone up about a week ago, but my other blog has been eating up some of my life – sorry!  Luckily for you I spent Sunday working on writing about some things I’ve been baking over the last month, so we shouldn’t run dry for awhile.  Hooray!

But on to my Easter baking!

I had a very nice Easter Sunday with my parents, and as usual took the opportunity to do some serious baking.  Dessert was my responsibility again, and additionally I had an itch to make a traditional Easter bread ring that I’d been seen popping up all over blogs in the last few weeks.  Hey, if one baked item was good, two must be better, right?

The Lemon Chess Pie recipe I used was another recipe from a cook book I’m loving more every day: A New Turn in the South.  I wanted something light and springy (relating to the season, not texture) for our dessert, and this seemed like a perfect solution.  The actual recipe is for Lemon Chess Pies – plural, with tartlet pans – but apparently tartlet pans are not for sale anywhere in the Atlanta area, so I finally gave up and figured everybody would be just as happy with a pie.  Luckily, I was correct.

The recipe also suggested adding blackberry compote on top, something I thought sounded delicious.  A quick cup of blackberries and a good slosh of a sweet dessert wine and I was in business.  Sorry for my low-caliber pictures this post…I think I should really start saving for a new camera. >.>

So the pie and compote I finished the evening prior to Easter (how unusually expeditious of me!) and mixed the bread dough to rise for the braided Easter ring I had set in my sights.  By that time, though, my resolve faded and I lapsed into “I’ll finish it tomorrow” mode.  Alas, alas.

The next day at my parents’ phase 2 of bread-making went really well.  I divided the dough into the right portions and even got my braid on. Once I successfully connected the ends together into a loop (amazing!), I seated some delightfully colored eggs and added sprinkles.  After popping it in the oven, it became clear that this bread was going to be awesome.

 And it sure looked that way when we took it out of the oven.  It smelled amazing and despite some leaked color from the sprinkles, the bread looked wonderful.  I was so proud of myself.

Then, of course, we tried it.

Yikes, I don’t think I’ve had worse bread in my life.  It’s not like it was boring or the texture was wrong…it just tasted terrible.  It was bland and tasteless except for an odd lemony after-taste that left a question on your face while swallowing.  And I’m pretty sure it was my slacker habits that did me in.  Blast!

First, while the bread called for orange juice and zest I decided to replace it with lemon since that’s all I had in my kitchen.  “It’s all citrus!”  I thought to myself.  Second, I’m pretty sure I let the dough rise and sit out for way too long. I left it out for hours the previous afternoon, not paying attention to how long it’d been rising.  After sitting in the fridge all night, the “second rise” after creating the braided loaf basically never happened.

Basically, I killed a beautiful loaf of bread.  It was a sad day.  At least the eggs were tasty. >.>

But on the bright side, the Lemon Chess Pie turned out great!  It was light and sweet and I didn’t take any short cuts that screwed it up.  Between the two things I baked on Easter, I’d definitely suggest the pie…not the loaf.  Unless, of course, you’re not chronically allergic to following directions like me.

Lemon Chess Pie

Adapted from A New Turn in the South 
Makes 2 standard pies

This recipe is for the filling…get the book for the crust and compote recipes!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• pinch of salt
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp cornmeal
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Either grind together the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor, or rub them together with your fingers.
2. IN a large bowl, beat the butter and salt with the sugar and lemon zest until well blended.
3. Add the eggs and corn syrup, then milk.
4. Add the cornmeal and flour.
5. Add the lemon juice.
6. Fill 2 pie crusts and bake the pie at 350F for 30-45 minutes; the pies should be slightly golden on top.  Place a cookie sheet underneath in case the pies drip.
7. CONSUME!