We did it again! After our success with last year’s Pie Bake-off Competition at the Nolensville, TN 4th of July Celebration, we decided to enter again. And this year with two pies! While we were baking, we thought, “wouldn’t it be funny if both of them placed?” Well, they did: 1st and 2nd. And I saw a few of the other pies, and I must say I wasn’t confident afterwards! But, apparently the pies that we entered ranked high on taste (50%), appearance (25%), and creativity (25%).

This year, we decided to enter a Lemon Marble Cream pie, which tasted much like a zesty cheesecake. It featured lemon curd swirled onto the top, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. The crust was a delicious vanilla wafer crust with a lemon zest kick. The other pie was a variation of our Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Pie that placed 2nd last year.

I think my favorite part is the decorative lemon slice in the middle. Delicious food that's also pretty? Bonus!

At the request of many, I’m posting our recipe for this year’s 1st Place winner.  Enjoy!

Lemon Marble Cream Pie Recipe

Lemon Curd
-1 t finely grated lemon zest
-1/2 c fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
-1/2 c sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/4 c butter, cubed

Note: We ended up having leftover lemon curd, so you can enjoy the remaining portion over some vanilla ice cream or on your favorite scone!

Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust
-1 1/2 c vanilla wafer crumbs
-3/4 c almonds, toasted and finely crushed
-2 t lemon zest
-pinch of salt
-7 T melted butter

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
-2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
-2/3 c sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 c sour cream
-1/2 t vanilla
-1/2 t lemon extract
-Reserved Lemon Curd

Garnish
-1/2 c heavy whipping cream
-2 T powdered sugar
-1/2 t vanilla
-Fresh raspberries
-1 lemon, cut into thin slices and split

Prepare Lemon Curd: In a 1 1/2-qt saucepan, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Whisk in eggs and butter. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently for 7 minutes or until curd is thick. Remove from heat and use a sieve to strain curd into a small bowl. Remove 1/2 cup of Lemon Curd, reserving remaining Lemon Curd. Cool for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray.

Prepare Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust: In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to toss together vanilla wafer crumbs, almonds, lemon zest, and salt. Stir in melted butter. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of prepared pie pan.

Bake for 12 minutes on bottom oven rack. Remove from oven and set aside.

Prepare Cream Cheese Filling: In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat at low speed until incorporated. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat in reserved Lemon Curd. Pour into baked crust. Dollop remaining 1/2 cup Lemon Curd onto Filling and swirl into Filling with a small knife or a chopstick. (See photo below of our pie at this stage.)

Bake for 30 minutes or until center is nearly set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare Garnish: In a chilled, medium mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with a hand-held electric mixer, starting at lowest speed and increasing gradually each minute, until stiff peaks are formed. Using a star shaped icing tip, pipe whipped cream decoratively around border of pie. Decorate with fresh raspberries and lemon slices. Refrigerate until serving time.

The swirling was a team effort, and not without expecting perfection on my part. Nate brought me back to reality. After all, it's only lemon curd. Ha!

Some of you may know that my love for creating often manifests itself in the kitchen rather than my studio! I love getting ideas from The Food Network and trying them out on my husband for dinner. Of course, the competitions are always great to watch, as they inspire creative approaches to a sometimes ordinary dish.

So this week, I find out that the small town of Nolensville, TN (just a stone’s throw away from our Brentwood home) was hosting a Pie Bakeoff Competition as part of their 4th of July Celebration. I’ve always wanted to enter a food competition, so I enlisted my husband Nate to join me in a little challenge!

We made a “tester” pie the day before that was delicious, but not award-winning (A double crusted Peach Raspberry Pie). We decided to shift gears and give a cream pie a chance for the big day. I found a photo of a gorgeous one online. gathered some extra inspiration, and proceeded to customize a with my own artistic flair. Nate consulted and approved of said flair, and we set to baking!

We were thrilled when they announced the winners and we learned that we had placed 2nd! Even better? We got to enjoy and share what was left of our pie with our friends who were with us.

Check out a detail shot of our completed pie!

A few friends have already requested our recipe, so here it is:

Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:

9 inch Graham Cracker Crust:

1½ cups Graham Cracker crumbs
¼ cup crushed almonds
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Blueberry Filling:

2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen are fine if it’s all you have)
2 T. sugar
½ T. cornstarch
1 T. lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon (or more if you’re feeling adventurous!)

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice (2 lemons if you have a nice juicer)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
½ cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

Directions:
Graham Cracker Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine Graham Cracker crumbs, crushed almonds, cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter. Stir until thoroughly mixed and mixture is crumbly.
3. Pour the crumb mixture into a deep dish 9 inch pie pan. Using the back of a large spoon or the flat bottom of a measuring cup, press the crumb mixture evenly across the bottom and against the sides of the pan.

   Bake:

4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. The edges may be slightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

   Filling:

5. In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened.
6. Place blueberry mixture in the cooled crust in a single layer. Set aside.
7. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Pour mixture on top of the blueberries in the crust.
8. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or until the filling is set.

   Topping:

9. Decorate the top of the pie with blueberries and sliced strawberries.
10. Cover pie and refrigerate until ready to serve.

So… this blog is about creating, right? There’s more to me than fine art and graphic design, and this was a recipe I couldn’t pass up sharing.

Saturday night, Nate and I decided to try a coveted recipe that he had begged and pleaded to obtain: Lemon Soufflé Pancakes. They were the signature breakfast dish at a lovely bed and breakfast on the East Coast, and the chef was kind enough to share. Now, I don’t use “delightful” to describe many things, but these really deserve the compliment.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think, and be on the lookout for a brand new blog devoted to recipes we love and our other creative experiences as Nate and I journey through married life.

(Not our photo - we were too hungry!) Thanks to a Flikr user named "aprevite" for this one.

Pancake Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup melted butter
4 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of two lemons
1 T. fresh lemon juice

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. In another bowl, stir together the egg yolks, flour, ricotta, butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest until well mixed. With a large spatula, fold the egg whites into the mixture. Gently stir. There should still be small amounts of egg white showing.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Grease lightly and spoon out about 2 big spoonfuls of batter for each pancake. Cook slowly for about 1 1/2 minutes (or until they can be flipped without making a big mess), then turn and cook for another 30 seconds or so. These will be lighter and fluffier than your typical pancake. Keep the pancakes warm in 250º oven until ready to serve. Top with berry syrup (recipe below) and whipped cream! Makes about 12  4 inch pancakes (we had no trouble eating them all between the two of us).

Berry Syrup Recipe

1 cup fresh or frozen berries (we used a mixture of raspberries and blueberries and it was perfect!)
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 T. butter

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoons butter, syrup, and blueberries. Heat, stirring occasionally, until butter melts, about 3 minutes. This complements the pancakes wonderfully!