Florida Pie

This week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie has turned in to Thursdays with Dorie, for me anyway.  I apologize for the delay.  We had a busy weekend, as I’m sure many of you did, and Tuesday was here before I knew it.  I should have planned ahead a little more.  Over the weekend, I celebrated my first Mother’s Day as a mother.  My husband gave me a whole bunch of baking goodies I needed including wire whisks, a thermometer, a silicone mat, tongs, and several plastic cutting boards.  He also gave me the gift of sleeping in on Sunday morning while he got up early with The Littlest Apple: a much appreciated gift since The Littlest Apple is still waking up several times a night.

Before I jump in to this week’s recipe, I just wanted to let you all know that I’ve been trying LOTS of new and exciting recipes, and I’ve got lots of recipes to share…as soon as I get a chance to sit down and blog about them all.  So stay tuned!

My baking didn’t happen until Wednesday.  The recipe for this week was Florida Pie, selected by Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes.  This pie is essentially a key lime pie with a layer of coconut cream in a graham cracker crust, topped with coconut meringue.  As a coconut lover, I was completely in love with the coconut cream layer.  The Picky Apple liked the flavor of it, but doesn’t care for the texture of shredded coconut.  I was also pretty proud of my homemade graham cracker crust, which I made extra thick.  This was my first time working with Key Limes, and all I can say is that it sure does take a lot of Key Limes to get 1/2 cup lime juice….perhaps more work than it was worth, though I never actually tasted the lime layer of the pie.  I don’t think my meringue was quite as fluffy and tall as it should have been, but I may have been a little too rough when folding in the coconut at the end…

Florida Pie

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, seperated
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:

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 reaming 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.