Earlier this week, I heard birds chirping outside my window for the first time this year! The sun was shining and the temperature had finally risen above freezing, and (dare I say it?) it felt like spring might actually be on its way! Hopefully spring has started to materialize for the rest of you as well, but even if it hasn’t, this lemon chess pie with candied blood oranges can help make up for the wintery weather.
Chess pie is traditionally a southern dessert, and although there are various stories to account for the name (none of which I personally find very compelling – if you know of a good backstory, please tell me! I’d love to hear it), one thing most people seem to agree about is that chess pie typically involves a bit of cornmeal, which distinguishes it from other types of custard pies. The fresh lemony flavor and beautiful, bright appearance of candied blood oranges makes this chess pie feel like a sunny slice of warmer weather – never mind that blood oranges are best and most plentiful in the winter! It just so happens that Pi Day (3/14) falls about six weeks after Groundhog Day—darn you, Punxsutawney Phil and your six more weeks of winter—so you can simultaneously celebrate Pi Day and the end of winter with this cheery chess pie!
[May 2015 update: I’m sharing this post with the Celebrate Southern Soiree linkup. Check it out!]
It almost looks too pretty to eat!! Hope the weather warms up over there soon!
Thanks! It’s pretty, but don’t worry – we definitely still ate it
I love, love the bright color of the oranges!! Beautiful! And I bet it tastes delicious! Anything with lemon or oranges baked is fantastic! Yum, thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, and thank YOU for your kind words!
Wow! What a showstopper – looks perfect in every way, from the braided crust to the lovely red and orange nuances on top. Awesome work!
Thanks so much! This is certainly my prettiest pie to date!
Wow that crust is insanely gorgeous!!
Thanks! It was my first time making a braided crust – but certainly not the last!
I’m seeing so many blood oranges on the blogs recently, I guess they are in season!! this pie looks absolutely gorgeous, and I agree with what everyone else is saying – that crust is insane!
Thanks so much! I too had been seeing a lot of blood orange recipes on blogs recently, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about – they’re such a gorgeous color, and very tasty as well!
Scrolling down through your blog– so so much pretty food. Your photography is amazing!!!
Thank you! I’m glad you stumbled across my blog
I’m glad too…
What a beautiful idea! I just made my very first lemon chess pie ever (on Pi Day, March 14th) and really enjoyed it, but—visually—it definitely could have used a little something extra on top…
(Your candied blood orange slices remind me of an upside-down type blood orange cake I baked last winter, which now that I think about it, is basically like candying your citrus slices *while* they’re baking into the top of your cake…)
Also I love that braided pie crust! Not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it; that’s really impressive.
Thanks so much!! That’s pretty funny that we had similar non-chocolate fruity Valentine’s Day desserts and then similar Pi Day desserts as well! I thought about doing a blood orange upside-down cake, but I’ve had such wretched luck with upside-down cakes that I decided not to tempt fate – I hope yours turned out nicely, though!
This looked amazing, especially the flawless braided crust!
Oh, I don’t know about flawless, but I’ll take the compliment nonetheless! Thanks for stopping by
I’m speechless! Absolutely beautiful pie! Such an amazing dessert for a small weekend party!
Thanks so much! I hope you get a chance to try it (or perhaps you already have – I must have missed your comment earlier!).
yum!!! Ya know, I’ve never made a lemon chess pie before but I think now is as good a time as any to try one! I also love your braided crust. I’ve tried that a few times and it’s never looked quite as nice as yours. Thanks for linking up!
Yes, definitely – there is no bad time for a lemon chess pie (or any kind of pie, really!)! Thanks for co-hosting and spreading the word about the linkup!