Monday, July 19, 2010

Baking With Dorie: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue-less Pie

Creamy, creamier, creamiest!! I am still feeling guilty a couple of hours after sharing a slice of this tangy, silky smooth lime cream pie for dessert tonight. The amount of butter that went into this is still haunting me!! :) Calories aside - if you like strong, tarty citrus flavors, you'll love this luscious pie.
Thank you, Elizabeth for choosing this recipe. Again, another excellent choice!
As you can read from the post title, my pie is meringue-less. We are not meringue people in my household. I substituted lightly whipped cream for the meringue topping. I think Dorie would approve :)
Making this pie wasn't as easy as A-B-C, but I wouldn't say it was labor-intensive either. I prepared a cracker crust using McVitie's digestive biscuits, to replace graham crackers which I could not find here. This option is definitely simpler than making Dorie's Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough (recipe here) although I truly adore the pie dough.
And, even if you don't have an instant-read thermometer to ensure the lime cream is cooked at 180 degrees F, you can still make this successfully. I did :) I timed my whisking duration to 10 minutes as per Dorie's suggestion (and developing muscles at the same time). I am so happy I pulled this through, after a not-so-successful experience with my last BWD challenge.
The full-flavored tanginess of this pie comes from the zest of three limes and three-quarter cup of lime juice (I needed nine limes to get that amount of juice), plus some finely grated fresh ginger. Zing!!
You may find the full recipe and how-to for the Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie on pages 337-339 of Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You may also find the recipe on BWD founder, Grapefruit's blog here.
For a gluten-free version of this pie, make your way to Gluten-Free Baking 101. And do check out the rest of the BWD bakers' blogs to see their take on this challenge.
Our next BWD challenge is on August 2 and it will be the Blueberry Crumb Cake, picked by me!! :) If you'd like to join us, do send an email to Grapefruit - needfulthings at ymail dot com. Come, come bake with us!!

14 comments:

  1. Great pictures! Mine is also meringue-less as I am not a meringue person either!

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  2. Your photos have such perfect citrus-appeal - making me crave a slice of your cool and creamy looking pie. I'll bet it tasted just wonderful with the whipped cream and cookie crust.
    I think I might do this version with my remaining, frozen lime cream ;-)
    Thanks for baking with us this week!

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  3. What a fabulous presentation. Is that flower, on the side, part of your tablecloth. It is perfect. I am glad you loved this pie.

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  4. therookiebaker: we are not fans of meringue at all, and I think the whipped cream is just the perfect topping :)

    grapefruit: I used a low-in-height pie tin and thought that maybe I'd have leftover lime cream for some minis... I would love minis with a thick cookie crust!!

    it's my pleasure to bake with all of you, dear!!

    chaya: I went with a traditional presentation and yes, that's part of the tablecloth. You like? :)

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  5. such an inviting looking pie :) am a huge citrus fan, here's to my growing list of must bake.

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  6. It's citrus season on my side of the world too. Right now, my crave is lemon, lime and orange yoghurts that I down like water :D

    I'll wait for my copy of the book so that I can try out this yumilicious tart.

    Btw, do you do the hand embroidery yourself?? If so, then we have another thing in common :)

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  7. redha: I think you will love this recipe... if I were to do it again, I'd probably use just a little more than half a cup of lime juice instead of 3/4 and I'd definitely double the cookie crust!! and perhaps lessen the butter by 25%... a lot of butter went into this..TAKUTTTT!! :) yeah, that's our tagline for the moment, right?? :D

    Shahieda: I can't wait for you to receive your copy.. I am sure you will love it very very much..

    No, I don't do embroidery..what a wonderful thing to discover that about you!!! is there anything you can't do?? :)

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  8. Tina, I tried replying to your comment last night about three times. I think blogger. com was having some technical difficulties :D

    I'll probably have my copy of the book when we're into the fasting month, I can't wait! My neighbors had better prepare them for all the testing, hehehe.

    You're too kind dear! For one thing I couldn't cut a straight line with a scissor to save my life! But I love handwork which includes embroidery, knitting, candlewicking and so forth. My stepmum does amazing satin embroidery, that is something I haven't tried yet. And I'd love to learn how to crochet, just can't find someone who is lefthanded to show me how to :)

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  9. Shahieda: I am sure you will be just great at anything creative you attempt. Wow.. your stepmum sounds like an amazingly wonderful woman..and I've heard you mention her so many times..for one, it's great to know that you two have a good relationship :)

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  10. Yes, she's an amazing woman and so is my mother :) I count myself lucky in that I have to sets of parents who love and care for me and my children.

    Relationships need to be worked at all the time, so it's continuous. Since I don't know what God has in store for me, I need to treat others as I would want to be treated :)

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  11. whata gorgeous pie n fotos. If I havent been baking n eating like there was no tomorow or cholesterol i wld make this. But i'll bookmark it.

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  12. thank you, Zurin... yeah, a lot of butter went into this.. and I'm too scared to remember how much!! :)

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  13. Tina my dear friend, your pie looks so enticing and God knows how much I'm craving for something tangy like this after the insane amounts of butter that my hands have handled lately.
    Trés bien!

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  14. Jen! I'd love to make you some... can we barter trade with some of your wonderful French bake.. deal?? :)

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