Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie. I'm not a big lemon meringue pie person, but I really liked Dorie's Florida Pie so I thought this recipe would also be worth a try.


It's like your traditional lemon meringue pie, except with lime cream instead. But this isn't just any lime cream - it's a super tart, absolutely creamy, spiked with ginger - lime cream. I almost ate it all by the spoonful instead of putting it into my pie crust! It is definitely rich, but so good. I actually only added 2 sticks of butter (yes, 2 sticks!!!) into this cream instead of the 2 1/2 you are supposed to use. I know others omitted a whole stick and still ended up with great results.


The only problem I had with this recipe was getting the cream up to 180F. This did not take 10 minutes, but rather 30-35 minutes. I had to increase the heat on the double boiler to bring the water to a boil instead of just a simmer, because it seemed that it would never reach 180F at just a simmer. Despite whisking constantly, I did end up with bits of scrambled egg in my cream. No worries, though, because though were removed when I passed the cream through the strainer to remove the lime zest. Otherwise, this recipe was really easy. It requires a lot of planning, as the cream requires 4 hours of refrigeration and the assembled pie needs to be refrigerated for at least 3 hours, but otherwise it doesn't take much time at all.


I used a graham cracker crust, so this really tasted like a key lime pie with a meringue top. I loved it! My husband and I actually ate half of it all by ourselves! Thanks Linda, for picking this recipe - I will definitely be making it again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful, tart treat.

* Recipes notes:
- You can cut back on the butter by 1/2 - 1 stick, but to get the full creamy effect, use all 2 1/2 sticks! :)
- Watch your pie very very carefully once you stick it under the broiler - it will go from beautifully browned to completely burnt in no time!
- For tips, click here.

TWD: The Best (Key Lime) Florida Pie

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Dianne of Dianne's Dishes: Florida Pie. This is basically Dorie's version of a fancy Key Lime Pie. It's Key Lime Pie filling sandwiched between a layer of coconut cream and coconut meringue - genius!

This recipe was extra special because my mom made the shredded sweetened coconut. Yep, she cracked the coconut open, used some special coconut shredding device she found in my grandmother's garage, and then she cooked/sweetened the coconut just for me. So perhaps it was the fresh, shredded sweetened coconut I used, or perhaps it was Dorie's brilliant recipe (or a bit of both?), but I absolutely loved this Florida Pie! I thought I already had my favorite key lime pie recipe, but Dorie totally blew it out of the water. If you're not a fan of coconut, I do recommend you try the other recipe (because it really is a good one), but if you do enjoy coconut, then you must give this recipe a try!


I have to admit that I almost didn't post any finished pictures of this pie. You see, I somehow managed to over whip my egg whites and instead of a beautiful, soft, foamy meringue, I ended up with a curdled white, lumpy mess (and not enough eggs to give it a second try). Then on top of that, I happened to turn my back on the broiler just a few seconds too long and almost burnt my meringue. To add insult to injury, I was taking pictures at my mom's house, with totally different lighting from what I am used to, and couldn't really get any good shots.

I know that everyone else is going to have the prettiest meringue - from smooth and swirly to spiky and fun. Mine was flat and boring. But in the spirit of showing you that we all have those moments in the kitchen when things don't turn out quite right, I'm posting my pictures. Regardless of how my pie looks, I promise that it still tasted great.


As with last week's recipe, I'm not sure who Dorie is serving, but the recipe states that you can get 6 servings out of this pie. Those would be six HUGE slices. I suppose with how popular this pie was at our Mother's Day family gathering, some would prefer to eat 1/6th of the pie, but you could easily get 8-10 servings out of this (we had a lot of people, and probably got about 12 slices out of it).


Thanks Dianne, for picking this week's recipe. This is my new go-to Key Lime Pie recipe! Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's citrusy sweets.

Florida Pie
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

For the Pie:
1 9-inch graham cracker crust (recipe below), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut (1 cup for the coconut cream layer, 1/2 cup for the meringue)
4 large eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes) (I used about 25 Key limes - about 3/4 lb)
1/4 cup of sugar

For the Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used cinnamon grahams)
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Crust:
Butter a 9-inch pan. Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs over the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)

Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the pie filling.

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.


Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale.



Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk.


Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the remaining juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust,


and pour over the lime filling.


Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:
Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. (Be careful not to over whip them!)


Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.)


Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

Yield: 6 Servings.

Key Lime Pie

So, after making the Key Lime Coconut Blondies and the Key Lime Cookies, I still had leftover key lime juice... so I decided to make some Key Lime Pie :) In case you missed my previous posts, and were wondering how many limes you'd need to buy in order to get 1/2 cup juice, I was able to get approximately 1-1/8 cup juice out of a 1 lb. bag of key limes.

When I was making the Key Lime Cookies, I went ahead and juiced all of the limes for future use. So of course by now I had long thrown out the key lime rinds, so I just used the zest of regular Persian limes that I had on hand. I was able to get approximately 1 teaspoon of zest per lime. It would definitely be very time consuming to try to get 1 tablespoon of zest from tiny key limes!


This recipe also includes a basic graham cracker crust that is so good! I have used it for many recipes and don't ever see the need to use a store bought graham cracker crust again :)

Funny story -- one of my co-workers has the cutest little 4 month old kitten. Every time I see the little kitten, I threaten to take her home with me because she's so adorable/playful. Well, after having a slice of this key lime pie today, he told me that I could have his kitten if I would give him the rest of this pie! :) Of course he was just joking, but I thought it was a nice compliment!

Key Lime Pie
from Martha Stewart


1-1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used 5 tbsp)
3 tablespoons sugar (I used 1/4 cup)
1 can (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free and could not notice a difference)
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly squeezed key-lime juice
1 tablespoon grated key-lime zest, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled (I used 1 cup and it was plenty)
2 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine graham-cracker crumbs, butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl; mix well. Press into a 9-inch pie plate, and bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.
Lower oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, key-lime juice, and zest. Pour into the prepared, cooled crust.


Return pie to oven, and bake until the center is set but still quivers when the pan is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Shortly before serving, combine cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon over cooled pie; garnish with zest. Serve immediately.

Key Lime Coconut Blondies

This is yet another great recipe from Peabody :) I first tried this recipe a few weeks ago; however, I didn't have any key limes on hand so I used Persian limes instead. The result was a delectable coconut blondie with just a very subtle hint of lime. These blondies are heavenly while they are still warm! I loved them so much that I made them twice in the same week when I first tried them! The second time I made them, I tried adding 4 tablespoons of lime juice, figuring that I might need to add more if I was using Persian limes instead of key limes. To my disappointment, it didn't really change the flavor too much.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I bought key limes this week... I could finally try this recipe with the original ingredients! :) The flavor is definitely better using key limes, but it's still very subtle.

Key Lime Coconut Blondies
from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 TBSP key lime juice
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×9x2-inch metal baking pan with aluminum foil, extending foil over sides by 2 inches. Butter and flour foil. Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then key lime juice. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in shredded coconut. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake dessert until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes (Mine took 45 minutes to cook).

Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Decorate with melted white chocolate if desired. Cut into 16 squares and serve.

Makes 16 blondies.

Adapted from a raspberry and pecan blondie recipe on Epicurious.com

Key Lime Cookies

This was actually my first time baking with key limes. I've made plenty of key lime recipes in the past, however I've always substituted Persian limes because that's what I had on hand. Aside from being smaller and having thinner rinds, key limes are usually more tart than Persian limes. When shopping for key limes, note that the ripe ones are more yellow than green. The usual trick of checking to see which ones are most fragrant will also help you pick out the best ones.

During my most recent grocery run, I finally decided to purchase a bag of key limes to bake with :) For anyone wondering how many limes they need for a particular recipe, my 1 lb bag produced approximately 1-1/8 cup of juice.

These cookies taste like little mini key lime pies, due to the key lime curd found in the middle. The curd is rich, but its tartness is more noticeable than anything else. You can use the curd for a variety of different things; you can find a few recipe ideas here. I had never made a curd before, so I wasn't sure how I would know when it was 'done.' Be patient... you will notice the sauce slowly thicken as you mix it and then suddenly it will become creamy (it should be thick and slow to fall off the back of a spoon).


Key Lime Cookies
from FoodNetwork.com

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup key lime juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups prepared key lime curd, recipe below
1 cup powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and the lime juice, and mix well.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture until incorporated. Dough should be stiff but not dry. Shape into 1-inch balls, press thumb into center of balls to make an indentation, being careful not to press through to the bottom. Fill indentations with about 1 tablespoon Key lime curd.

Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Key Lime Curd
from Indobase.com

3 eggs
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup key lime juice
1 tsp key lime zest

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients (I added the eggs last, and tempered them slowly to avoid curdling), whisking continuously, for approximately 8-10 minutes or until it becomes a custard. Remove from heat and continue whisking for another 1-2 minutes.

Allow to cool and then pour into a jar and refrigerate. The curd will thicken considerably as it cools. Makes approximately 2 cups.