Quick Summary: A no-bake citrus filling in a pecan crust that mimics the flavor of expensive Meyer lemons. Combines lemon zest, orange zest, and marmalade for that distinctive lemon-orange taste. Low-carb friendly if you use sugar substitutes. Prep: 20 min | Cook: 15 min (crust only) | Chill: 4 hours | Serves: 9
Jump to: RECIPE | Making a Pie Low Carb | About Meyer Lemons | Sugar Substitutes | What are Stiff Peaks? | FAQ
Meyer lemons taste like a cross between a lemon and an orange, which is essentially what they are. They’re also expensive and hard to find outside of specialty stores.
This pie recreates that Meyer lemon flavor using regular lemons, oranges, and a little marmalade. The zest of both citrus fruits plus orange extract creates the distinctive sweet-tart profile without hunting down Meyer lemons or paying premium prices.
The filling is a no-bake cream cheese and citrus combination. The crust is ground pecans bound with butter.
I love making this one for Easter or spring celebrations
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How to Modify Pie Recipes to Slow-Carb
The Fruit:
Some pies are definitely easier to modify to low carb than others. Fruit pies are a bit difficult, primarily because most fruit by its nature is high in sugar.
That doesn’t mean fruit is unhealthy, but it does mean that many fruits pack a lot of sugar in naturally in the form of fructose, so even using a sugar substitute isn’t going to convert a peach fruit pie to slow carb.
Cream pies are much easier to modify to low carb, as heavy cream, eggs, cream cheese, and sour cream are all considered low carb ingredients.
Just know that low carb does not equate to low calorie, so you still can’t eat a quarter of a cream pie in a sitting and be compliant with a low carb diet.
The Crust:
The crust is usually the most challenging part of a low carb or slow carb pie. Refined flour and sugar are out so that leaves you with ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour and sugar substitutes. These flours have two problems in my mind:
- It takes a “lot” of almonds to make flour out of them and the calorie count gets high really fast.
- Coconut flour can add a flavor to your pie that is not necessarily what you wanted.
- Sugar substitutes can be used effectively, but I don’t think you really need them in the crust. Let the filling be the sweetener.
Nut crusts are my crust of choice for low carb crusts. Any nut works well. I like pecans the best, but I used hazelnuts as a crust for this pumpkin cheesecake and it was wonderful.
The Sugar:
Some sort of sweetener needs to be used in a pie to bring out the flavor or you probably won’t be pleased with the result. The main thing to know about using sugar substitutes when baking is:
- Liquid sweeteners like Stevia can be used in no-bake pies that don’t have heat applied, but you need to be careful in adjusting the amount as it is not 1:1 (Substitute to regular sugar ratio). Stevia can also add a bitter taste that puts some people off
- A granular sugar substitute (Swerve, Truvia, Monkfruit blends, etc,) is great if you are baking your pie and if there is some juice that it is baking with. Using a granular sugar substitute with a no-bake pie however will result in a gritty taste that isn’t horrible but isn’t perfect either.
- For no-bake pies, either use a sugar-substitute that says “confectioners or powdered” on the label OR grind your granular sugar substitute A few seconds in the blender to make your own powdered sugar. This is what I did in the recipe below
Sugar substitutes in baking can be tricky and not all work the same. The recipe below was tested with Truvia, which is my favorite substitute.
Why Not Just Use Meyer Lemons?
The reason I went with faux meyer lemons is twofold:
- Meyer lemons are expensive
- Meyer lemons are actually not low in carbs
Not only are Meyer lemons expensive (in Minnesota anyway), they are also difficult to find in the grocery store year round.
Meyer lemons are basically a cross between a lemon and an orange. Hence they are sweeter than a lemon but tarter than an orange.
I thought you might be able to get the same flavor profile with the zest of a lemon, the zest of an orange, and a citrus marmalade. I thought it turned out marvelous.
Let me know if you make it and what you might add or subtract.
About Sugar Substitutes in Baking
Sugar substitutes behave differently than regular sugar, and this is important to know before making baked goods. Here is a summary on sugar substitutes:
- Liquid sweeteners (Stevia): Work in no-bake recipes but require ratio adjustment. Can add bitterness.
- Granular substitutes (Truvia, Swerve, Monkfruit blends): Work well in baked items where they dissolve. In no-bake recipes, they can taste gritty.
- Powdered/confectioners substitutes: Best for no-bake fillings like this pie. Dissolve smoothly without grittiness.
- DIY powdered: Pulse granular substitute in a blender for a few seconds to create your own powdered version.
This recipe was tested with Truvia, which is my favorite substitute.
How to Make Low-Carb Lemon Orange Pie
The full instructions and ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below. In short:
- Process pecans to a coarse meal, mix with melted butter and salt, press into a greased pie plate, and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- For the filling, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and set aside. Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar substitute until creamy, then add marmalade, vanilla, citrus zests, and extracts. Fold in the whipped cream gently.
- Spread filling into cooled crust, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with thin citrus slices before serving.
What do “stiff peaks” look like in whipped cream?
Recipes that use whipped cream often call for “soft peaks” or “stiff peaks”. Sometimes it is a bit difficult to know exactly what this looks like.
Here are a few photos showing the difference, but full details around timing and method can be found on this post about soft and stiff peaks in whipped cream.
More Spring Favorites Like This:
- Another easy (but not low carb) dessert that kids love to make and eat is this simple recipe for jam tarts.
- This rhubarb custard is a must for Spring desserts
- Apricot Frangipane is another slow carb fresh-tasting spring dessert
FAQ
Yes. Use the zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons and skip the orange zest, marmalade, and orange extract.
The sugar substitute wasn’t fine enough. Use confectioners-style substitute or grind granular substitute to a powder before adding.
Yes. Walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds all work. Pecans have the mildest flavor.
Refrigerated, up to 5 days. The filling may weep slightly after day 3.
Yes. Use regular confectioners sugar in the filling and add 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the crust if desired. It won’t be low-carb but will taste great.
If it’s slow carb recipes you’re interested in, check out this category of over 70 slow carb recipes.
Low Carb Faux “Meyer Lemon” Pie for Easter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups pecans or nuts of your choice
- 6 Tbsp butter
- ½ tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp sugar substitute optional
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup confectioners (powdered) sugar substitute see directions to make your own
- ⅓ cup orange marmalade
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp orange zest or zest from 1 orange
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest or zest from 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp lemon extract
- ¼ tsp orange extract
- 1 orange and lemon optional: for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Add 2 cups nuts to food processor and use the pulse button to get them ground to a consistency you like. Think of a grainy meal. (See photo above or video for what it should look like)
- Microwave the butter a couple seconds to melt. In a bowl, add ground nuts, butter and salt. (You can add some sugar substitute at this time also, but it is optional). The nuts should stick together if you make them into a ball with your hand.
- Use a little butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 9” pie shell. Gather the nut mixture into a large ball and place in the middle of the greased pie shell. Starting from the middle and working outward, pat and press the nut mixture around the bottom and up the sides of the pie shell using your fingers and knuckles. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
- While the crust is cooking make the filling. Add the cup of heavy cream to a stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Beat at a slow speed until it forms stiff peaks form. Start slow and increase speed as it thickens or it will splatter all over. See above photo or the video if you want to see what stiff peaks look like. Remove whipped cream to a bowl and rinse out or wipe the inside of the stand mixer bowl.
- In the stand mixer using the paddle attachment this time, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar (*note: for DIY powdered sugar, pour granulated sugar or sugar substitute into a blender and briefly to a powdered state). Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy (about 2 minutes). When creamy smooth, add the rest of the ingredients (excepting the garnish) and beat until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides to combine.
- Remove the stand mixer bowl from the stand and gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture still in the stand mixer bowl. Do not overstir, but fold it in until combined. If the nut crust is cool, spread the entire filling into the crust with a spatula, swirling it a bit for effect :). Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. When thoroughly chilled, thinly slice the oranges and lemons and arrange on the pie. Serve and enjoy! Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Video
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