Bavarian Key Lime Pie

I can remember the first time in Florida when I tasted a key lime pie.  It was in a restaurant located in Destin.  I had one of those: "probably won't like it but at least should try it attitudes."  Not sure why the thought, since I am a big fan of lemon, especially lemonade.  After one ice cold bite of the tart smooth filling with the slight crunch of the graham crust...well lets just say I had a real attitude adjustment in regards to eating key lime pie.

Since then I have made several key lime pies at home.  The one thing that bothered me was that the pie never seemed to have much depth to it.  The filling never really baked up close to the lip of the pie pan.  In scanning the net, I found a pie shop that had double-decker pies.  That is where I got the idea to make this particular pie.

The top layer is white chocolate Bavarian cream and the other layer, of course, is the tangy key lime filling. Also, it has the traditional graham cracker crust.

This pie is really a great cold dessert to serve up in the heat of the summer.  I had a few visitors here that spent most of the day outside that simply devoured the pie after dinner.

Bavarian Key Lime Pie
crust and key lime filling adapted from Bubbie's Homemade Pies
Bavarian layer adapted from Penzey's spices

Ingredients/Crust
1/3 cup or 5 1/3 tbs melted butter
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
3 tbs sugar
pinch of salt

Ingredients/Key lime layer
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Ingredients/White Chocolate Bavarian Cream layer
1 1/2 tsp  unflavored gelatin powder
4 oz chopped white choc bar
2 tbs cold water
1/4 and 2 tbs sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs yolks, room temp

For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then mix together butter, sugar, salt and crumbs.  Pour in melted butter and stir until all the crumbs are moistened.  Transfer mixture to an 8-10 inch pie tin and press evenly into pan.  If you have another of the same pie tin or plate, place it on top of the crumb mixture in the other pie pan and lightly press down.  This will help compact the crust.   Remove the top tin and place crusted tin in fridge for 30 minutes.

Once chilling time is complete, place tin in oven and let crust bake for about 8 minutes.  Remove and let cool to room temperature before filling.

Start on the Key lime filling by preheating the oven to 300 degrees.  Whisk the eggs until frothy.  Then beat in the sweetened condensed milk along with the cream of tartar.  Run the mixer on medium high for 1 minute.  Change the speed to low and pour in a steady stream of key lime.  Once all the key lime has been mixed in, increase the speed to medium high and beat for 5 minutes.  Then fill the crust with the mixture.

Place filled pie tin on the middle rack and then put an empty jelly roll pan on the rack underneath.  Let the pie bake for about 15 -20 minutes.  The pie sets up after it is removed from the oven, so coming out of the oven it will still jiggle in the center a little.  Do not let the filling brown on the edges, that means it is overcooked.

Remove pie and let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes, then transfer to a refrigerator to chill and make note of the time.

For the chocolate layer, start by setting up a double boiler to simmer.  Then break up chocolate and place in top bowl to melt. Keep warm so chocolate stays melted.  Next is the gelatin; fill small bowl with the water and sprinkle gelatin over top.  Then stir, making sure no dry powder remains on top. Set aside so gelatin can dissolve.

In a stand mixer bowl, add egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until frothy.  Set aside.  Place a small saucepan over medium high heat and cook milk until simmering but not boiling. Remove from heat.  Turn on stand mixer to medium low and start mixing the egg yolks/sugar batter again.  As you continue to mix, pour in a steady stream of the hot milk.

Once combined, pour batter back into saucepan and heat over medium low until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  This should take at least 15 minutes.  Then check the white chocolate, making sure it is still melted. If not, heat up again and then add to batter in saucepan and mix until combined. Lastly, stir in the gelatin/water mixture until all is smooth.  Strain into a bowl and let cool.

After batter has cooled, whip 1 cup of heavy cream to medium peak stage.  Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the batter.  Remove pie from refrigerator and pour the white chocolate batter over the top.  Then pipe the remaining whipped cream around the edge of the pie.

Place the pie back in the refrigerator to chill.  Chilling time should be a total of 4 hours from the first time it was placed in the refrigerator.  After the 4 hours, it is ready to be served.

Tips and tricks:
1. Should you not be patient and find that the white chocolate mixture when cooled is not the right consistency, you can recover by cooking up in the microwave by using the defrost button. Run for about a minute and stir.  Repeat the process until right consistency is achieved.

2.  The Bavarian cream recipe can be doubled, should you want more white chocolate flavor paired with the lime.

3.  Adding key lime zest will give it an extra punch of lime flavor.  However, keep in mind that this addition will eliminate the smooth texture of the pie.

4.  Also for a more decorative touch you can insert slices of lime, curve side up, in the whipped cream.
                                    **LAST YEAR:Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake*

Key Lime Parfaits

This particular recipe requires special equipment as well as special ingredients.  The recipe comes from a pastry chef and was quite challenging.  However, this does prove that with the proper instructions from a book, a person without any culinary training can create an incredible dessert.

This dessert is a very special spin on key lime pie.  The base is a graham cookie that is crispy and subtly sweet. That frozen layer is a mixture of dairy and tart key lime juice.  It is also garnished with sliced plums and surrounded with a unique sauce flavored with ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass.

This serves ten and requires that you have 10 ring molds, measuring 2X2.  Also, a scale is required to measure out the italian meringue.  Items with an asterisk are linked back to another post, which is the detail of dessert components that need to be created in advance of preparing this recipe.

I did find that the cookie stayed crisp as expected.  The custard topping really does have that unmistakable tart flavor of key lime that citrus lovers look for in a lime dessert.  It also has a silky smooth mouth feel, so I would say that the invert sugar ingredient was an asset.  The juicy plum slices on top compliment the custard nicely with their fleshy sweet interior and tart skin.  Also, I really liked the flavor notes in the sauce, so I am storing it for future use on fruit desserts.

Key Lime Parfait
adapted from Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini

Ingredients/Italian Meringue
pinch of cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs water

Take 1 tsp of sugar out of the 1/4 cup and put into bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the 2 egg whites and beat at low speed.

In a small saucepan, add the water and the rest of the sugar.  Mix until all there is no dry sugar.  Place over medium high heat until the syrup reaches 250 degrees.  I used a microwave and checked the temperature after 30 second intervals.  It took about a minute and 1/2 to reach the temperature.

Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat until the consistency barely makes soft peaks.  Then, continue to beat and pour the water/sugar mixture into the egg whites.  Try to avoid getting it on the inside edge of the bowl and on the beater.  Turn the speed up to high and continue beating.  Once the outside of the bowl has cooled, the meringue has reached the correct consistency.  Set aside. There will be some excess left over after completing recipe.

Ingredients/Lime Parfait
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
2/3 cup fresh key lime juice
1 split/scraped vanilla bean or 1 tbs vanilla extract or paste
1 cup milk
9 egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs sugar
1 tbs invert sugar*

Place 10 ring molds (2X2) on top of a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.  Put baking sheet in freezer.  Prepare a double boiler by filling bottom with water and heating until water comes to a simmer.  Also, fill a big bowl with ice and some water for a water bath to cool the parfait mixture after it cooks.

Fill the top of the double boiler with key lime juice, milk, vanilla, granulated sugar,yolks and invert sugar and mix together until all is blended.  Place over the bottom of the double boiler with simmering water.  Let the mixture cook, stirring and scraping sides occasionally.  Mixture will need to thicken and cook up to a temperature of 181 degrees.  Once it reaches that point, transfer the saucepan to water bath to cool off.  Mix often to help cool down to lukewarm then transfer to a large bowl.

At the lukewarm state, take out another bowl and fill with the whipped cream. Beat cream until it reaches the soft peak stage. Set aside.

Go back to the Italian meringue and measure out 50 grams and fold it into the lime custard.  Then add all of the whipped cream and gently fold it into the batter until no streaks remain.

Take the baking sheet of molds out of the freezer.  Using an ice cream scoop or pastry bag without a tip, fill the molds.  Cover the molds with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 3 days.

Ingredients/Sauce
1/2 ounce chopped lime leaves
1 lemongrass stalk crushed and chopped
1/2 oz or 1 tbs fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
1 1/4 cup simple syrup*
1/2 cup verjus

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Continue to cook for 25 minutes or until mixture is reduced by 1/2. I measured 2 cups initially and cooked down to 1 cup.  Pour mixture into a strainer set over a heatproof bowl.  Let cool for 15 minutes and cover with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of one hour or maximum of 3 days.

Ingredients/Assembly layers
3 or 4 ripe plums
10 graham cracker cookies*
 
Split plums and remove pits. Cut each half into thin slices and put on a plate. The task of cutting takes a very sharp knife and some dexterity.  Also, the ripeness of the plums will be a factor as well.

To assemble, place 1 graham cracker cookie on each serving plate. Remove baking sheet of frozen ring molds.  Using your hands, rub around the outside ring to help warm the interior.  Push the inner parfait out on top of the center of the graham cracker cookie.  Arrange the plum slices in a circle, starting with the outside going in.  Then drizzle a little of the sauce around the dessert.  Enjoy!
                            **LAST YEAR: Sweet Lemon Nut Bread**