|
Key Lime Pie
and More
Key Lime Pie
One pie that can be sliced into 8 pieces.
Crust:
1 and 1/5 cups of finely ground ginger snaps. * I like Franz Ginger Snaps. 
1/2 cube unsalted butter, melted.*
For the Filling:
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup Key Lime juice, also known as Limons, pronounced
Lee-moan.*
Zest of one lime.
One stick of unsalted butter cut into chunky bits.
Does not need to be room temperature.
 Regular Lime and Key Lime
For the Toppings:
1 cup heavy cream beaten with 2 Tbls sugar to desired consistency.
(We here at Gone Beachy like it almost stiff peaks)
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut*
Zest of one lime.
Fresh seasonal berries.
Equipment:
One round 9" deep glass pie plate
\Citrus Squeezer or Citrus Wood Reamer
 
Double Boiler or saucepan and stainless bowl
 
Preheat the oven - convection- to 300.
Crust:
I have cooked 2 styles for the crust.
One - Place cookies in a Cuisinart and grind until powdery.
Two - Place the cookies in a large ziploc baggie and roll out with a rolling pin until small, small pieces, giving the cooked crust a more "rustica" look and texture.
Mix the melted butter with the cookie crumbs.
Coat the glass pie dish with a very small amount of oil. This helps getting the pie slices out more easily. And using an offset pie spatula is a good idea, but not crucial.
Evenly place the crust along the sides and bottom of the pie dish.
Bake at 300 for 15 minutes. In my convection oven I do not go over 14 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Turn on the water in your double boiler, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
Filling:
Place the eggs and sugar in the KitchenAid or any bowl for beating.
Beat the eggs and sugar until the filling is a lighter color and is smooth. I like to get a lot of air in the filling.
Turn beater down and add the juice and the zest. The juice will go flying everywhere if the beater is still on high.
Turn the boiling water down to a good simmer.
Pour the mixture into the top bowl of the double boiler. Stir and scrap sides frequently so the eggs don't get scrambled.
The mixture is ready when it has reached the consistency of custard, which is exactly what the cooked filling is now.
Remove from heat and add the butter bits one by one. The point here is to cream the butter, not melt it. Milk solids need to stay "solid". Mix until all the butter is incorporated.
Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
Refrigerate for at least one hour. When I was cooking these "professionally", I would cook them after work at night and put them in the fridge overnight. Deliver the next morning. They will hold up for one week in the fridge. And another trick I just learned. This pie can be frozen without any toppings. Bring out of the freezer 20 - 30 before serving. This insures that each piece will keep its wedge shape.
Custards can get just a little goopy.
But, that is part of the charm of all custard pies, esp. Key Lime Pies.
Toppings:
Toasted shredded coconut. Lay the coconut out in one even layer. Keep an eye on this, as coconut toasts very quickly. Once
it looks almost golden brown, stir it so that it is evenly toasted.
The minute the coconut comes out of the oven, toast r oven, mix in the zest of one lime. The heat of the shredded coconut draws out the essential oil in the lime zest. The zest becomes bitter if cooked with the coconut.
Top each slice of key lime pie with a big spoonful of whipped cream, scatter coconut on top and berries along the sides and a few on top. Or place the whipped cream and coconut on top before slicing. It is a beautiful presentation when the whipped cream is piped on top and the berries on top of the cream. Another great presentation is to place the berries on top of the crust when it is cooled and then the filling poured in on top of the berries.
YUM!
Ginger Snaps.
Typically 1 and 1.5 cups is approximately 30 cookies.
If you prefer the traditional Graham Cracker crust, I have found the Graham Cracker with cinnamon from Trader Joe's are excellent. (And they are the best ever for s'mores)
Any brand Graham Cracker with cinnamon can be substituted. The tribe at Gone Beachy prefers the cinnamon over the honey Graham Crackers.
*Butter. I have used both salted and unsalted. I do prefer the Straus's European Sweet Butter. It is a little creamier.
*Key Lime Juice - There are 3 possibilities for key lime juice. I have seen 2 types of key limes in this country.
One lime is small with a thick skin and typically comes in quantities at the market in mesh bags. The second one, I prefer, is larger ones. The skin is thinner . It tends to be sweeter and juicier. If They are harder to find, unless you live in key lime zones. They are more yellow than green.
But, if you have a cousin in San Diego, like I do, with a huge key lime tree in the backyard, you are set!! Shout out to Cindy and her Key Lime tree!
And, if you are not up to squeezing or cannot find any key limes, I highly
recommend Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice.
I live on an island in the Pacific Northwest, and one day the market was out of key limes. Luckily, we have a produce manager that is aware how great they are in Mexican beers, so I was surprised to see no key limes. Yikes, As I had orders for my pies, I purchased a bottle of Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice. Wow! What a great find. It is not made from a concentrate and is can be a substitute for the real thing. Be sure to shake it before pouring. If using this juice, regular limes can be used for the 2 zested limes
 
The bottle on the left is their original.
The bottle on the right has no preservatives.
And this juice is great in lemonades and cocktails and ceviche.
visit www.keylimejuice.com for retail outlets and recipes.
Any questions please feel free to email me
And when you come to the San Juan Islands, be sure to come to our retail shop, Wood's Cove and say Hi. Many thanks again for shopping GoneBeachy.com
Ginny Lu Wood
888 376-3763
|
