Lecce custard pies, a typical dessert from my beautiful Puglia. The custard pie is a pastry made with shortcrust pastry filled with custard either classic or lemon. They can also be mixed, cream and black cherry, or pistachio, with almonds, with ricotta and much more. I am sure that anyone who has been to Puglia, specifically in Salento, cannot have missed the legendary custard pies. There is no specific time of day to enjoy it, but it is always good, especially for breakfast to start the day off right. In this recipe, I offer you the ingredients as tradition dictates, the pastry with lard and ammonia, while for the filling I chose lemon cream. You just have to prepare them to believe it!!! Here are some other ideas for shortcrust pastries!!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 9 oz lard
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- A pinch of baking ammonia
- lemon zest
- lemon custard
Tools
12 molds for custard pies
Instructions
First, prepare the cream and let it cool covered with plastic wrap in contact with the cream.
In the mixer, place the sugar and lard at room temperature, start the machine and mix well.
Then add the eggs and incorporate them well.
Now add the flour, ammonia, and lemon zest, knead just long enough to incorporate the flour without incorporating too much air. When it is ready, pour the dough onto a work surface, smooth it out, then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
After the time has passed, take the dough out of the fridge, cut it in two, and form a log from the first piece, then cut pieces about 2 inches long.
At this point, take a piece and flatten it with the palm of your hand, the thickness should be about a quarter of an inch.
Take the mold and without greasing it, line it with the pastry, allowing the dough to hang over the edges.
Fill the pastry bag with the cream and fill the custard pies, then cover with another slightly thinner layer of pastry and seal the edges by pressing with your fingers and remove the excess.
Now let the custard pies rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Before baking, brush with an egg yolk and a splash of milk.
Place in a preheated static oven at 430°F for 7/8 minutes, they should be golden. If cracks form, it’s normal. Let cool well and then remove them from the mold.
Advice
The original recipe calls for lard, I advise against replacing it with butter because it changes the consistency and flavor of the pastry.
Storage
You can keep the custard pies at room temperature for a couple of days, during the warmer period it is preferable to store them in the refrigerator. If you want, you can prepare the pastry a day in advance, store it in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap, and take it out when you decide to prepare them.
