Who doesn't like (key) lime pie? Unfortunately in Oz, key limes are not that easy to get, but you can easily substitute ordinary limes. As stated in this recipe on Leite's Culinaria, 4 limes can be substituted for 20 key limes - the only difference is that ordinary limes won't be as sharp n flavour.
I have owned The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie for a while. Hoosier Mama Pie Company is a pie shop in Chicago that strives to be a great "old" pie company. I am not sure how I heard about Hoosier Mama or why I found out about their book, but when I was looking for a key lime pie recipe, it was the first place I looked.
The Hoosier Mama recipe for key lime pie gave delicious results. My meringue topping is not as lush as the original because I chose to use fewer egg whites in my topping, but I was happy with the results. The base is made of crushed gingersnaps, so it is really simple to make.
To make this Key Lime Pie (from p164 of The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie), you will need:
Base
1 cup crushed gingersnap biscuits
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour the melted butter on top; mix to combine, then press into a greased 9" pie pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Cool the tart shell, but leave the oven on.
Filling
3 egg yolks
20 key limes (or 4 ordinary limes)
1 x 400g can condensed milk
Zest the limes over the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and whisk the yolks until they are thick and light.
Juice the limes, and strain 2/3 cup of lime juice.
Add the condensed milk to the egg yolks, and mix with the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the mixer to low, and slowly pour in the lime juice. Mix until the filling starts to thicken.
Pour the filling into the tart shell, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. Remove the pie from the oven and cool it to room temperature before placing it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Topping
I used the meringue recipe from the Leite's Culinaria key lime pie.
Chill the pie for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
I honestly never knew what 'key lime' referred to in key lime pie. I didn't realise it was a type of lime! How amazing that 20 of those variety can be replaced by 4 of the normal type. This looks deliciously limey either way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Canada I saw some key limes and I desperately wanted to bake a pie with them then and there just to see how it would taste! :P
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about how multi-regional this is: a pie shop in Chicago named "Hoosier" (which is the name for people who were born in Indiana or live there), key limes which grow in the Florida keys, key lime pie which used to be available ONLY in Florida, and an actual pie that was baked in Australia !
ReplyDeleteAnyway I am in Indiana with all the Hoosiers this weekend so greetings from one of those many locations.
I've eaten Key Lime Pie in the Florida keys and many other places. To me key limes have a very distinct taste, different from the Persian limes that one buys in ordinary produce places in the US.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae - I had wondered if thr Hoosier part had a meaning beyond the pun.
DeleteI believe the owner of Hoosier Mama is from Indiana, and when she moved to Chicago from Indiana she could not find a place that made the great pies she loved while living in Indiana, so that is why she started Hoosier Mama in Chicago.
ReplyDelete