Honey Lemon Chiffon Pie

September arrives and with it the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah begins Friday evening, and I am making the full spread as always, though "always" has a new definition this year: the table will seat four. Me, Marvin, Gloria (who has become family and who I will not allow to spend Rosh Hashanah alone), and Janet from down the street, who is widowed and Jewish and hungry for both food and company. Four is not fourteen. Four is not the boisterous, overflowing, gravy-spilling table of every previous Rosh Hashanah. But four is a minyan short six, and the food will be the same, and the prayers will be the same, and the challah will be round, because the year is a circle and the circle does not change its shape based on how many people are inside it.

David and the family will Zoom in, as they did at Passover. Rebecca will Zoom from Manhattan. Miriam will Zoom from Tel Aviv. We are a family that now gathers in rectangles on a screen, and I have made my peace with this, or at least my truce with it, which is different from peace but functionally similar: I have stopped fighting the screen and started using it, which is surrender dressed up as adaptation, and I will take it.

The round challah is braided. The brisket is in the oven. The honey cake is cooling on the rack. The apples are sliced and the honey is in the dish and everything is ready for the new year — 5781, which is how Jews count the years, from the creation of the world, which means we have been making this challah for 5,781 years, or at least for as many years as we've been counting, and the counting itself is a form of faith: we count because we believe there will be another year to count. I believe. Not easily. Not without effort. But I believe, and the challah is proof, and the honey is proof, and the table, set for four instead of fourteen, is proof that you can lose nine-tenths of the guest list and still have a seder, still say the prayers, still dip the apple. The table holds. However many chairs are filled, the table holds.

The honey cake was already cooling on the rack, but I had made a second dessert this year — something lighter, something that felt like the hope I was trying to hold onto rather than the weight of missing faces. This honey lemon chiffon pie is what I brought to the table after the brisket, after the prayers, after the Zoom window filled with David’s family and Rebecca’s Manhattan apartment and Miriam’s Tel Aviv kitchen. Honey belongs at Rosh Hashanah the way the round challah belongs — not because the recipe demands it, but because the year demands sweetness, and I have learned to put sweetness wherever I can reach it.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust (graham cracker or pastry)
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup honey, plus extra for drizzling
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Thin lemon slices, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Bloom the gelatin. Sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes to soften.
Cook the honey-lemon base. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon, about 8–10 minutes. Do not boil.
Add gelatin. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature, about 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should mound slightly when dropped from a spoon.
Whip the egg whites. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and beat to stiff, glossy peaks.
Whip the cream. In a separate chilled bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream to soft peaks.
Fold together. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the cooled honey-lemon base in two additions, then fold in the whipped cream until just combined. Work lightly to keep the filling airy.
Fill the crust. Spoon the chiffon filling into the pre-baked pie crust, mounding it slightly in the center. Smooth the top gently with a spatula.
Chill. Refrigerate the pie for at least 3 hours, or until firmly set.
Garnish and serve. Before serving, drizzle lightly with additional honey and arrange thin lemon slices on top if desired. Slice with a sharp knife dipped in warm water for clean cuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Honey Lemon Chiffon Pie — The Sweetness We Keep for a New Year