This lemon ice box pie is made as jumbo cupcakes, ripe for sharing on the porch swing with a tall glass of sweet tea on a hot, sticky Southern summer day.
1/4cuplavender sugarI recommend a lavender sugar that is not too intensely lavender-flavored. I used the lavender sugar from The Charleston Spice Company. You can use plain white sugar or any other flavored sugar that you like.
3tablespoonsbenne seedssesame seeds
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonbaking powder
4 1/2tablespoonsunsalted buttercold, cut into small pieces
fresh berriesfor garnish, optional
lemon basilfor garnish, optional
Lemon Ice Box Pie Filling Ingredients
28ouncessweetened condensed milk2 cans, 14 ounces each
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix all ingredients except butter.
Mix in butter until mixture resembles coarse sand. (I find it easiest to do this with my hands – plus I get to eat anything that sticks to them!)
Press mixture into the bottoms of six jumbo cupcake liners, making sure that it is somewhat evenly divided between them (no one will ever know if it's not perfect, so don't stress).
Fill a jumbo muffin tin with cupcake liners and bake for 15 minutes or until the crust turns a light brown.
Lemon Ice Box Pie Filling Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice.
In another medium-sized bowl, beat the lemon zest with the egg yolks until pale.
Beat in the condensed milk mixture until smooth.
Pour the filling into the prepared cupcake liners (if the crust is still hot, that's fine – it doesn't matter if it's hot or cold).
Bake for 20 minutes or until the centers jiggle slightly and the edges are set.
Remove cupcakes from the tin and place on a cooling rack or on your counter to cool for 1 hour (until they come to room temperature).
Loosely cover the cupcakes with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours.
Top with fresh berries and lemon basil leaves just before serving.
Notes
The shortbread crust is my own recipe; I converted the lemon ice box pie recipe from Food and Wine to jumbo cupcakes.