Lemon Chiffon Pie with Gingersnap Crust

I needed to make a lemon pie for the next installment of the Anne of Green Gables book club and settled on this recipe. From the descriptions in the book, I picture Anne's lemon pie as a pate brisee filled with lemon curd and topped with whipped cream, but I didn't feel like doing pate brisee because I am lazy. This pie from epicurious looked intriguing, so I gave it a shot. To make them uniform, the gingersnap cookies had to be processed until they were extremely fine crumbs. The resulting crust was quite hard--no shocker since gingersnaps are so hard themselves. If I made it again, I would use half gingersnaps and half graham crackers so I'm making that alteration in the recipe below. I wasn't crazy about the texture of the pie. I don't love the texture the gelatin creates.

Keys to success: Be sure to strain your custard before adding the cream. Give yourself plenty of time to cool the crust, plenty of time to cool the filling all the way down to 60 degrees and plenty of time to let the pie set. I also chilled the bowl and whisk with the cream before whipping it. The filling immediately started to set up and was easy to mound in the middle.

This was a simple, if time consuming pie which people seemed to really enjoy.

Crust

3/4 cup finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 12 cookies ground in processor)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

2 cups ice cubes

1/4 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of spring form pan with baking spray. Mix gingersnap cookie crumbs, sugar, and ginger in medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir until mixture is evenly moistened. Transfer crumb mixture to spring-form pan; press crumbs firmly and evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake until crust is firm and slightly darker in color, about 8 minutes. Cool crust completely.
For filling:
Pour enough cold water into medium bowl to come halfway up sides; add 2 cups ice cubes and set aside.
Pour 1/4 cup water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes.
Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, grated lemon peel, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens very slightly (mixture will coat spoon but will not be thick like curd) and thermometer inserted into mixture registers 160°F, about 8 minutes (do not boil). Add gelatin mixture; whisk until gelatin dissolves and mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Place saucepan in bowl with ice water until lemon filling is cool to touch (appox. 60 degrees), whisking occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer lemon filling to large bowl.
Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream with powdered sugar in another medium bowl until peaks form. Fold 1/4 of whipped cream into lemon filling until incorporated. Fold in remaining whipped cream in 3 additions. Transfer filling to cool crust, mounding slightly in center. Refrigerate pie until filling is set, about 4 hours. Serve with additional whipped cream and fresh raspberries.