I'm sharing an edible "Before and After" for this Metamorphosis Monday. This past Christmas I decided to shake things up a bit. I made the traditional Coconut Cake and Ambrosia (recipe for Coconut Cake HERE) but I decided to make a pie, too. Years ago, I used to make a Lemon Meringue pie using a recipe from an old Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe booklet. I came across the recipe again recently and decided to give the Key Lime version a try.
The coconut cake took a lot more effort since I made it from scratch, including grating fresh coconut. When all was said and done, there was plenty of cake left and not a single piece of Key Lime pie. Something tells me I've just started a new tradition for our Christmas feast.
Here's some of the ingredients you'll need to make this super easy pie. I came across "Nellie & Joes Famous Key West Lime Juice" at Publix and had to try it because of the cute little houses on the label. Yep, I'm very scientific about how I pick my ingredients.
You'll need:
1 (9 inch) baked pastry shell, cooled
4 eggs (to be separated)
1 (14 ounce) can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Lime juice
Green food coloring (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar
One word of caution: When I made this pie last week for Christmas, I used Borden's Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and it came out perfect. When I made the pie again for this post, I used the "store" brand sweetened condensed milk since it was on sale. The pie came out a bit runny this time. I'm sticking with Eagle Brand from here out...learned my lesson.
For my crust, I used one of these ready-made pie crusts. The crust came out great. I crimped the edge of the pie crust to create a pretty fluting around the edge when I made the pie last week. The edge ended up hidden under the meringue, so this time around I didn't take time to create the pretty fluting. Ummm, now that I think about it, I guess I should have left the crimped edge exposed. Oh well, something to try next time.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Separate all four egg whites and yolks. Keep one egg white separated from the others. It will be used in the filling. The other three egg whites will be used to make the meringue.
How do you separate your egg whites? I acquired this little egg separator at a Tupperware Party a gazillion years ago. I can do the little "swapping it from egg shell to egg shell" trick, but this device makes it a bit easier. Wonder if they sell something like this online? I'm sure they do since Tupperware was making it so many years ago. I bet William Sonoma has a high tech version. Any of you awesome cooks know?
Tip: Never separate egg whites over each other. If a yolk breaks, you'll get yolk in with your other egg whites and will have to start all over. Not fun...I speak from experience on that.
In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks.
Next, stir in your Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and a touch of green food coloring. The food coloring is optional but I think it adds a lot to the appearance of the pie. I added just a smidgen to give it more of that "lime" coloring.
In a small bowl, stiffly beat the egg white you separated out from the other egg whites. Then fold it into the sweetened condensed milk mixture.
Pour the mixture into your previously baked pie shell.
Beat the remaining three egg whites with the cream of tartar until they are foamy. Then, gradually add the sugar, beating the egg whites into a meringue until they are stiff, but not dry. Spread your meringue over the top of your pie, sealing to the edges of the shell. I'm thinking now, I probably should have left the edges of the pastry shell exposed. Ummm, will do that next time.
Bake your pie at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. The meringue will begin to brown so you'll know it's getting close to being done. Once it's done, just chill it in the frig.
When the pie was done, I took it out to the porch where the lighting is better so I could grab a quick pic. Can you tell it was a breezy day out on the porch? :)
This pie is so easy to make. It would be a great dessert to serve for a spring or summertime party. It looks huge in the picture doesn't it. Must be the angle...it's normal size in real life. lol
The pie was a bit tricky to slice since the meringue was stuck down to my pie pan. A food photographer, I'm not. HA! I did discover after squishing a few slices, if you wish to cut pretty slices, smear a tiny bit of butter on your knife before cutting. As I photographed the pie, I was thinking how great this would be poured into tiny, individual pasty shells for little mini Key Lime pies. Ummm, may try that next time.
Love trying new recipes? You'll find additional recipes HERE. Just click and scroll past the picture links to table settings, party tips, napkin folds, etc... to the bottom of the page where you'll find more of my fave recipes for party food, desserts, appetizers, etc... Or, click on the category header, Tablescapes and scroll to the bottom of that page.
Looking forward to all the Before and Afters!
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