Tuesdays with Dorie: Florida Pie

Being a Florida girl I had high hopes for this dessert. I've never had key lime pie (I've only eaten the crust) so I was hoping this would be a great introduction to a dessert that is so love and created near my hometown of Miami, FL. Making every bit of the dessert was fun and each of the parts tasted great. I just wasn't a fan of all the parts together. I felt like the coconut cream took away from the tartness of the lime filling. If I had reservations about the coconut cream, there was no doubt that Alex would too. I sat sat there nervously watching Alex as he took his first bite of the dessert and, as I expected, he didn't like it. The coconut cream part of the dessert just didn't do it for him. He liked every other part of the dessert but felt like the coconut cream really took away from the lime flavor. The next time I make this dessert will definitely be without the coconut cream. The good news is that I brought it into work and my manager loved it. What killed the dessert for me, made the dessert for him, so it's really all about preference.

I halved the dessert so make sure to go to Tuesdays with Dorie and check out all the blogs for the full recipe and thanks to Dianne of Dianne's Dishes for selecting this week's dessert.

Florida Pie
Source: Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 4.5-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
½ and 1/6 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut 2 large eggs, separated
½ of a 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/8 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 (I used a springform pan).

Put the cream and 1/2 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.

The players.

Working with a stand mixer, preferable fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolk at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the remaining juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom if 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 2 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottom 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 1/4 cup coconut into the meringue (I omitted).

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the boiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Of 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 us to 3 hours before serving.

I love the lighting in this picture.

You can really see the layers in this picture.