Our tart palate always craves more of this Key lime pie for dessert. It's the best way to wash a heavy meal down. Light, fluffy, zesty, and hitting the right tart cords. The long National day weekend was bustling with long-awaited outings, lazy couch times with Netflix, and "The best of pies," as my husband calls it. I never thought about where the dessert came from until this moment. A quick search says the Florida Keys, where the Key lime trees originated from. These key limes are golf ball-sized, with yellowish-green skin. Well, I used limes that have a similar appearance not sure if they are Key limes though! Limes or Key limes, just squeeze up some fresh lime juice, beat it up with condensed milk and egg yolk, pour it over a nice crushed biscuit crust base, and bake. Voila! Thank me later!
To make it a little dramatic, I've added a coconutty touch by using the good old coconut flavoured "Nice biscuits," for the base and topped it with whipped cream flavoured with the same"coco-naughtiness (Pun intended)." The coconut whipped cream adds a tropical touch to the citrus tingling that melts in your mouth. Well, you can stick to the plain Key lime pie by using regular digestive biscuit base and plain vanilla whipped cream on top. But this version is highly recommended.
This time I spread out the crumbs evenly at the bottom of the tin and sides to form a wall.
And the end result is a feast to the eyes! ..and mouth!
Nicely chilled and decked up.
Creamy lime and lemony pie.
Ingredients
- For the Coconut crust base:
- Nice biscuits(coconut flavoured)- 6 small packs
- Dessicated coconut- 4 tbsp
- Melted butter- 1/3 cup
- For the Key Lime pie filling:
- Egg yolks-5
- Condensed milk- 2 cans (approx 800 ml)
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
- Lime extract- 1 tsp
- Freshly squeezed Lime juice- 1 cup (240 ml)
- Zest of 2 limes
- Salt- a pinch
- For coconut whipped cream:
- Whipping cream- 3/4th cup
- Icing sugar-1/4 cup (add more as per liking)
- Coconut milk powder- 3-4 tbsp mixed with 2 tbsp warm water
- Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
- Lime slices and mixed berries(optional) for garnishing
Directions
- For the Coconut crust base:
- 1Preheat oven to 180C. Place the "Nice coconut biscuits" in a food processor. Pulse till they form smooth crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and desiccated coconut and blitz it a few times till incorporated.
- 2Pour out the crumbs onto a springform tin and press it evenly on the base and the sides to form a wall. Bake it in the oven for about 10 mins. Once done allow it to cool as you stir up the filling.
- For the Key Lime pie filling:
- 1In a mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until creamy. Pour in the condensed milk, lime juice, zest, vanilla and lime extracts. Beat the mixture on medium speed until well incorporated.
- 2Pour the Key lime filling slowly onto the baked coconut base crust.
- 3Bake the Key lime pie for 20 mins. Once baked allow it to cool, before chilling it in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
- For coconut whipped cream:
- 1In a mixing bowl whip, the whipped cream along with the sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks are formed. Pour in the coconut milk mixture and whip on low for a minute. Drop it into piping bags with your desired nozzle.
- To assemble:
- 1Carefully unmould the pie from the springform tin. Pipe generous dollops of coconut whipped cream onto the pie. Garnish with lime slices and mixed berries. Yumminess ready!
