Alison Roman’s favorite pie: lemon cream pie with sea salt

This cake can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored loosely covered in the fridge.

For the base: preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the wafers in a bowl and crumble them with your hands into coarse crumbs, no bigger than lentils. (Or put them in a zip bag and crush with a rolling pin, or use a food processor.) Mix them with the melted butter and salt until you have really smooth crumbs, much like wet sand. Press the crumbs into a 23cm pie dish.

Bake the bottom for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove the mold from the oven and let it cool. Leave the oven on.

For the filling: Place the yolks in a large bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk for a few minutes until light yellow and smooth. Add the condensed milk and beat for a few more minutes until you have a light, airy mass. Whisk in the lemon juice with a generous pinch of salt.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked base and return the mold to the oven. Bake the cake for another 30 to 35 minutes until the center barely vibrates. Note: the top should not brown, so keep an eye on the color. Let the cake cool completely.

For the topping: make the topping just before serving this fabulous cake. Place the cream in a large bowl and whisk in the icing sugar with a whisk until medium peaks form (lifting the whisk will hold the peaks). This can also be done with an electric mixer. Beat in the sour cream with a whisk (no need to spatula, the cream is firm enough). Spread that all over the top of the cake, as high or decorative as you like.