Atlantic Beach Pie

Atlantic Beach Pie is a study in contrasts- sweet & salty, creamy & crunchy! It's bright lemon flavor & whipped cream topping is perfect for any occasion!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Atlantic Beach Pie, Atlantic Beach Pie Recipe, How Do I Make Atlantic Beach Pie, How To Make Atlantic Beach Pie

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 35

Refrigeration Time 4

Total Time 5

Servings servings

Calories 633kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

For The Crust:

1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers about 60 crackers
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
3 tablespoons sugar

For The Filling:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

Topping:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

zest of one lemon
a sprinkle of flaky sea salt

Instructions

For The Crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F (177ºC).
Crush the cracker in a 1-gallon plastic bag with a rolling pin. (stop before crackers turn to dust; You want some little pieces.)
Add the crushed crumbs, sugar (3 tablespoons), and butter (1/2 cup) to a medium bowl and mix until the butter evenly coats the mixture and the crumbs come together like a graham crack crust.
Press into an 8-inch pie pan. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

For The Filling:

While the crust is cooling (it doesn’t have to cool completely), in a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks (4) into the condensed milk (1 can), then beat in the lemon juice (1/2 cup) and beat until well combined.
Pour filling into crust, and bake for 16-19 minutes or until filling is set.
Refrigerate until completely cold, 4 hours up to overnight (the pie needs to be completely cold to be sliced).

Topping:

When the filling has cooled, make the whipped cream. Whip the heavy cream (1 1/2 cups) in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar (2 tablespoons) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and continue to whip until the peaks are just stiff.
Top the pie with the whipped cream then garnish the top with lemon zest and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Notes

Pressing the crust – Press the saltine mixture evenly into your pie pan to avoid an irregular crust. Simply place the crumbs in the center of the pan, and press outwards until the pan is uniformly covered.
1. I use the bottom of a juice glass to finish pressing them in and lightly compressing the crust. (lightly, you don’t want to pulverize it!)
Zesting – When zesting a lemon, be sure not to get down into the white pith. Don’t skip the zest! It adds lots of color and flavor! This is the tool I use.
Whipping cream: If you are having trouble getting the peaks to stiffen, a tablespoon of cornstarch to every cup of whipping cream is commonly used as a stabilizer.
Whipping the Cream - Make sure you use a good quality heavy cream with 30-40% milk fat. As you’re whipping the cream, when it forms soft peaks, slowly add the powdered sugar as you whip it to stiff peaks. Stiff peaks mean that when you pull the beater up, the cream stands straight.
Don’t overwhip it because you’ll end up knocking all of the air out of your whipped cream, and it will be runny.
Topping with whipped cream: Spooning your whipped cream onto the pie or spreading it with a spatula will work just fine. You can make a fancier design by putting the whipped cream into a plastic bag, cut a half-inch slit off one corner of the bag, and squeeze the cream out in a spiral pattern.
How to know when the filling is set – The surface of the pie should look firm, and there should be only a slight jiggle to the center when shaken. Too much jiggle and your pie is undercooked; no jiggle at all and your pie is overcooked! You can also try inserting a toothpick close to the center to see if it comes out mostly clean.

Nutrition