Tuesday, May 13, 2008

TWD: Florida Pie

Back from Oregon! And just in time to whip up something for mom on mother's day. How serendipitious that this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie Recipe chosen by Dianne of Dianne's Dishes was something that I knew my mom would love! (And she did, incidentally).

So... I love me some key lime pie. The mix of a sweet and crunchy graham cracker crust with the tart and creamy lime filling is something that I absolutely adore and when you throw in an layer of chewy, sweet coconut goodness between the two... I'm sold. One thing I'm not a fan of, though.... meringue. So, I skipped that and opted for some whipped cream. I loved this pie and would definitely make it again.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you and appreciate all the big and small things you've done for me and I hope that one day I will be at least half as good of a mom as you are!

There always has to be one photo where we're squatting down for no reason. At Mt. Hood.
Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

Florida Pie
1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
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) **
1/4 cup of sugar

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 reaming 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. 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.

** Recipe Note: I had just shy of a full 1/2 cup with 5 limes... so, you might want to have 6 limes just in case.

22 comments:

Heather B said...

great job! Looks delicious!

Engineer Baker said...

I love the scattering of coconut over the whipped cream, it looks delicious!

noskos said...

Yummy looking pie!!

mimi said...

wonderful looking pie, love the photo of the slice!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love Oregon... yeah... Looks good! I like the green polka dotted background.

Christine said...

Delicious looking pie! Beautiful pics from Oregon!

Anonymous said...

Your layers are so defined. Beautiful!

CB said...

Perfect layers! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Susie Homemaker said...

thanks for dropping by my blog...and I am glad you did...whipped cream instead of meringue? why didn't I think of that??

Bumblebutton said...

Whipped cream must have made a nice lush contrast to the tart limes!

Jayne said...

Your layers are all perfectly defined! My lime and coconut kind of blended together...Yours looks so yummy!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

looks great! and i love key lime pie with whipped cream!

Tammy said...

yum - that looks so good!!

Natalie said...

Good job :) I bet it was tasty with whipped cream!

Gretchen Noelle said...

Lovely job! Glad you enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

How pretty your pie looks with the coconut sprinkled around it!

Marie Rayner said...

Great job on the pie. It looks wonderful and wow, your mom is a real looker!

Anonymous said...

It looks great! Whipped cream is always a good companion to Key lime. :)

Mari said...

That's one pretty pie, well done!

Melissa said...

I'd go with whipped cream too if I had made it! The coconut on the plate looks fabulous.

test it comm said...

That looks really good! I like the thick layer of coconut.

Jaime said...

beautiful pie!