No bake lemon pie with sweetened condensed milk is one of the easiest dessert recipes possible. This no egg recipe calls for just 3 ingredients, so if you are looking for a quick and simple pie, be sure to keep reading.
No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
Inspiration from EmmymadeinJapan
I first saw this recipe on Emmy from EmmymadeinJapan‘s YouTube channel. She put it together in just a few minutes and she seemed to really like it, so I had to give it a try. Although Emmy used a storebought crust, she explained that making a homemade crust is really easy: all you have to do is crush some graham crackers, mix them with melted butter and some sugar, press the mixture into a pie plate, and then chill. I already had the best graham cracker crust recipe, so I decided to use that since it was so delicious in my no bake cherry cream cheese pie. However, instead of baking the crust as I usually do, I decided to not bake it. According to my research, a baked graham cracker crust holds its shape because the sugar melts, cools, and then hardens, gluing everything together; on the other hand, a no bake crust stays together because the melted butter mixed with the crumbs cools down and then hardens again in the refrigerator. It’s the same idea as putting butter into a cold environment: because of all the saturated fat, butter is solid, if not somewhat hard, when it is cold. As always, making the graham cracker crust was a breeze: once I put it aside, I turned my attention to the filling.
No Bake Lemon Pie With Sweetened Condensed Milk
Technically, you only need two ingredients to make my no bake lemon pie filling: sweetened condensed milk and lemons. In regards to the sweetened condensed milk, the only thing you have to do is open two cans and pour them into a mixing bowl. With the lemons, you could definitely just juice them and add the juice to the condensed milk: that is what Emmy did. However, in her video Emmy said that some lemon zest would be a good addition, so I decided to add some zest. As always, I remembered to zest the lemons before juicing them. Although I intended to use 1 tablespoon of zest, I would not recommend using more than 1 1/2 tablespoons since the oils in citrus zest can make things taste bitter and give them an alcohol-like aftertaste if you use too much lemon zest or lemon extract. If your citrus-flavored pie or cake tastes off, cut a piece and expose the dessert to air: oxygen helps to neutralize the unpleasant flavor.
Although the combination of lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk sounds odd in a no bake pie, it is actually genius. Acidic things cause dairy products to thicken (think of buttermilk, yogurt, etc.), so after adding lemon juice to the sweetened condensed milk, the milk began to thicken rather quickly. At that point, I knew that once refrigerated for a few hours, the filling would be even thicker because I applied the same principle when making my no bake cherry cream cheese pie. Even though just those few ingredients would be enough for a great filling, I decided to add a bit of salt to help balance out the sweetness. So, technically, I guess the filling has three ingredients.
Recipe Review
After chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours, it was time to try the pie. It looked and smelled great, so I was very excited. However, when I went to cut the first slice, I realized there was a problem: not only was the crust a bit more difficult to cut through than usual but also the slices of pie did not hold their shape when I tried to take them out of the pie plate. Although everyone on YouTube knows that I can slice pies, cakes, and casserole with laser-like precision, this lemon pie did not cooperate; in fact, almost every slice fell apart in some way. Smaller pieces held their shape better than larger pieces, but it was still frustrating. I was totally surprised by the crust’s lack of ability to stay together when cut, but my guess is that melted and then hardened sugar is better at holding things together than re-solidified butter. In addition to aesthetics, although I liked the flavor of the crust, I thought that the baked crusts I made in the past tasted a bit better: perhaps the dry heat of the oven caramelizes the sugar a bit and adds another dimension of flavor.
Even though the no bake graham cracker crust did not turn out as well as I would have liked, at least aesthetically speaking, the lemon filling was fantastic. Similar to key lime pie, it had a fantastic sweet and tart contrast. I was somewhat afraid that the pie would be too tart considering the amount of lemon juice I added, but it turned out to be just right. The lemon zest definitely added to the lemon flavor: although I would suggest adding it, I do not think that it is absolutely critical. In addition to the flavor, I also liked the texture of the no bake lemon pie filling. It was cool, smooth, and creamy, so it contrasted very nicely with the crunchy crust. I shared this pie with my neighbors, and they loved it just as much–if not more–than I did, so if you make this, I am sure you will love it, too!
No Bake Lemon Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch graham cracker crust (storebought or homemade)
- 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup lemon juice (175-180 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (a little bit more is fine, but no more than 1 1/2 Tablespoons)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare graham cracker crust (or use storebought)
- Combined sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, zest, and salt in a bowl.
- Mix ingredients with a spoon to combine (about 30 seconds – 1 minute).
- Pour filling into prepared graham cracker crust.
- Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, then serve
YouTube Video
Links
Emmymadeinjapan’s channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/emmymadeinjapan
