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By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Susy Kawamoto's meringue topped lemon cream pie is a
big hit with the Shiraki kids, Kawamoto's nieces and nephew,
from left, 10-year-old Stephanie, 3-year-old Melanie
and 9-year-old Jonathan.

---

Finding kindness
easy as pie

WHERE would we be without the kindness of strangers? Strangers such as Susy Kawamoto, an exceptional baker who responded to Marjorie Norstrom's request for a Lemon Cream Pie recipe. Norstrom did not want a lemon meringue pie or a Jell-O pie, but one with a creamy filling and a graham-cracker crust.

"I remember eating this pie many years ago in Hilo," Norstrom wrote.

Kawamoto sent in her own recipe when she read of Norstrom's request here.

Also sharing today is Andre Fusero, executive pastry chef at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, who sends his recipe for the especially light glazed doughnuts served at the hotel. Jerry Byrd has been searching for a recipe like this for quite awhile.

This same recipe is used to make the hotel's malassadas and filled doughnuts, so if you're looking to really impress at your next brunch, you could make this recipe go a long way.

As for the rather unusual lemon pie recipe, Kawamoto says there is only one trick; when adding the egg yolks into the hot milk, do NOT bring the mixture to a boil or you'll curdle the eggs. "Otherwise it's a very, very easy pie to make."

Of course, take into consideration that Kawamoto is a very experienced baker. Besides fixing treats often for family, friends and co-workers, she has a line of cookies, Susi's Cookie-Cookie, which she sells at craft fairs. Her cookies have no eggs, which appeals to her vegan customers.

Kawamoto normally makes her pie in a regular shell and with a meringue topping, but she says Norstrom can use a graham-cracker shell instead, and a whipped-cream topping instead of meringue -- or no topping, for that matter.

LEMON CREAM PIE

1 baked pie shell
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole or evaporated milk
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice

Meringue:
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add milk gradually and stir until smooth. Cook over stove until thickened. Remove from heat.

Add 1/2 cup of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and stir. Pour the yolks into the milk mixture; return to stove and stir about 5 minutes over low heat. Do not boil. Remove from heat.

Add butter, lemon rind and juice and blend. Set aside.

Prepare meringue: Beat egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle sugar a tablespoon at a time into whites and beat until stiff. Add remaining ingredients and beat until stiff.

Pour lemon mixture into crust and cool. Top with meringue, being sure to cover the pie all the way to the edges to seal. Bake until golden brown.

If preferred, cover pie with whipped topping instead of meringue.

Cool and refrigerate.

GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Hilton Hawaiian Village

1 quart water
4 ounces (1/2 cup) powdered milk
4 ounces (1/2 cup) sugar
1 cup egg yolk (8-10 yolks)
12 ounces butter, margarine or shortening
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) salt
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) powdered yeast
1/4 ounce (1-1/2 teaspoons) lemon extract
1 pound (about 2 cups) cake flour
3 pounds (about 6 cups) bread flour

Glaze:
1 pound (2 cups) powdered sugar
2 ounces (1/4 cup) warm tap water
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Before you start: The ingredients here were meant to be weighed out. The conversions in parenthesis are approximations.

Mix all ingredients, except flours, together for 3 minutes, using an electric mixer. Add both flours. Mix on low speed about 2 minutes, then on higher speed for 8-10 minutes. Rest dough in bowl for 30 minutes.

Cut dough into bundles and let rest another 5-7 minutes. Roll each bundle out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with doughnut cutter.

Let doughnuts proof, or rest on screen or sheet pan in warm, moist area for 30-45 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep-fat fryer to 375 degrees. Fry doughnuts until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Makes about 30 doughnuts.

To make glaze: Add the extract then the water, a little at a time, to the sugar; mix to a smooth texture. Keep covered with a damp cloth until needed, Always mix just before using. Dip fried doughnuts in icing while still hot.

Variations:

Malassadas: Roll dough into balls instead cutting. Fry until golden. Roll in sugar while hot.

Filled doughnuts: Cut dough into circle. After frying, poke a hole into each doughnut with a chopstick and squeeze in desired filling using a pastry bag and tube.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.