lemon pie, pt 2

This time I wanted to make sure the lemon was a prominent as the lime in the key lime recipe, and at this I succeeded! Too much for most people, myself included. I used a combination of recipes, mostly the lime tart filling and the lemon curd filling. I had to make a few last-minute changes, but I’ll list the recipe I started with. (I mistakenly thought I needed 3 cups of filling, so the measures below reflect a 50% increase.)

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1 prebaked granola crust (9″)

1 1/4 cup lemon juice (from 10 lemons?)
9 whole eggs
3/4 cup honey (substituted for 1/3 cup sugar)
9 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 dash salt

Combine the juice, zest, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming. Whisk the yolks in a bowl until liquid. Slowly beat the steaming liquid into the yolks and return the mixture to low heat. Continue whisking until it thickens, about 8 minutes. Pour into crust and refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with lemon zest before serving.
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I ran out of honey, so I added 2 tbsp of blood orange syrup. I ran out of lemon juice, so I added 1/4 cup of key lime juice. I couldn’t taste the orange syrup, but the lime juice made itself known.

It was initially too soft, but it firmed up some by the next day, so it seems like making it at least 24 hours in advance might be a good idea. I had a cup of extra curd, so I put it in a nice quilted mason jar and gifted it to someone who seemed especially fond of the pie. The pie was too tart (and the filling too voluminous), so if I revisit this I’ll try these measures:

.75 cup fresh lemon juice (5 lemons)
.75 cup honey
6 tablespoons butter
6 large eggs

However, I was wishing that it was a bit more creamy. What does the butter do for it? What would happen if I swapped it out for 4 tbsp of cream cheese? My informal experiment this evening shows that a mixture of lime juice and cream cheese thickens nicely (unlike yogurt), so I suspect this would make it a bit firmer as well.