Tuesdays with Dorie - Florida Pie

You put the lime in the coconut..

I meant to post this yesterday but I have been fighting a nasty migraine for the past couple of days and the thought of facing my computer just wasn't doing it for me. Anyway - here is my latest installment of Tuesdays with Dorie.

This was an interesting one to bake. I made this for my Mother's Day brunch along with another tart for an afternoon dessert. What amazed me about making this pie was how easy it was for me to find the ingredients for what is essentially a tropical dessert, in early spring, in Western Canada. I was even able to find true key limes - amazing!

This was quite tasty, not too sweet and definately a dominant flavour of lime in the dessert. I put toasted coconut into the graham cracker crust as well as the meringue to carry the coconut flavour throughout. The one problem I encountered was that the coconut cream seemed to congrugate into the edges of the pie plate after freezing rather than staying as a layer under the lime. It made for a sweet coconut bite as you approached the crust.

Florida Pie

What You'll Need:
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 to Make the Pie:
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. 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.

My family loved this pie. Best thing about it for me was definately the coconut cream. Most annoying thing was juicing those tiny little limes!

Check out the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gangs' Florida Pies!!!