If you have been a reader here for awhile, you know that I love lime and coconut–together or apart. And of course, I adore key lime anything. This week’s delectable Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Florida Pie, was chosen by Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes.
I loved the idea of this recipe–a graham cracker crust with a layer of coconut cream topped with tangy key lime pie filling. What I didn’t love is the meringue, which is very traditional on key lime pies. I opted for lightly sweetened whipped cream and toasted coconut. (I like meringue, don’t get me wrong–I don’t want to lose my kitchen cred. I just don’t like it the next day on pie.)
Before I forget to mention it, I also added some coconut to the graham cracker crust. And that, my friends, was as Martha says, a “very good thing.”
Because we have been on dessert overload, I could not bring myself to make the whole pie. I will someday soon, you can bet. As my husband said, “This is the best Key Lime Pie I have ever tasted.”
I’m including the full recipe. I halved the recipe and it made 2 small pies that fit into ceramic gratin or creme brûlée dishes.
Related Posts:
Key Lime Juice: Real or Bottled?
Creamy Key Lime Pie
Key Lime Tart
Frozen Coconut Key Lime Tart
Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
Florida Pie
Florida Pie Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients
- For Graham Cracker-Coconut Crust:
- 9 full-size graham cracker sheets
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- 4 Tbsp. sweetened coconut
- 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
- For filling and topping:
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 14–ounce can sweetened condensed milk plus 1/3 cup (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- For serving:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
Instructions
- For crust – Place graham cracker sheets, coconut, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form. (Alternately, place crackers in a large Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.)
- Pour the crumbs in to a small mixing bowl. Add the sugar and melted butter. Toss together with a fork until all the crumbs are moist.
- Press crumbs into a 9″pie plate, or several small tart pans. Bake at 350° F for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely before using.
- For filling and topping – center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° 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 the lime filling over.
- 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.
Notes
-I whipped the heavy cream to soft peaks and added the sugar. Then I beat until the cream formed peaks stiff enough for spreading. I spread the cream on the chilled pies and topped with coconut I had toasted in the oven.
43 Comments
Beautiful as always!
Lovely…looks like it is straight from a cookbook.
i hear ya about dessert overload! your pies look so nice in those dishes!
I much prefer whipped cream too! The minis are super cute.
Your individual pies look great!
Ulrike from Küchenlatein
All I can think about is… hmmm… refreshing!
Your pics are always so beautiful. I love the dish that you used and the toasted coconut on top….yummy!
Those are adorable! My dad loves key lime…those would be great for a father’s day treat!
The little individual servings really make this. Where did you get those little dishes?
beautiful! Love your blog. I will be back :)
Carrie
Thanks for all the wonderful comments!
LT–I got them at Chef Central. It’s a local cooking supply store, but now they are online, too. Also, I saw them recently (the exact same ones) at the Williams-Sonoma outlet. I know they have them other places, too, I just need to remember where I’ve seen them…
Anyway, here’s the link to Chef Central–
Chef Central
I love the little gratin dishes, and whipped cream sounds like a wonderful idea!
beautiful mini pies! i think the whipped cream sounds good. and coconut in the crust… mmm!
More coconut is always better! I’ll definitely try your crust next time.
wow.looks amazing. You always have such great pictures!
Great idea to put coconut in the crust!
Wow! It’s so beautiful too!
beautiful tarts, love the mini size! i need to buy me some mini ramekins.
Looks really good! Next time I’m probably going to do a whipped cream topping instead of meringue, too. I love meringue, but you’re right, the next day it’s just not as good.
Beautiful as usual :-)
I love all the changes you made. These look so beautiful!
Mmm…I made my very first key lime pie a couple of months ago and am now in LOVE. I also love the idea of making smaller individual pies. Delish. Thanks again for another fab recipe!
Gorgeous little minis! Love the picture of you sprinkling coconut garnish. Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
Your pie is gorgeous!! Love the pictures. Nina @ Love Sweet Love
Beautiful job!
They look really great. Honestly, I wish I had skipped the meringue and used whipped cream and toasted coconut instead. Especially for the leftovers!
Lovely! Great job!
I love your personal spin on this fabulous recipe! The pictures are beautiful, it makes me want to get in the kitchen right now and try them out!
Drooling!
Lol! I did whipped cream with toasted coconut too, for the same reason. I love your mini-pies. I don’t know why I never think to do that. Great job!
Beautiful little pies. So, so pretty!
Pretty as always!
as always, your pictures are amazing and your dessert delectable! Great job!
I skipped the meringue, too and used sweetened cream. The perfect combo I thought! Beautiful pics!
I love that last picture!
What a beautiful, delicious dessert, Lindsey! Dianne chose wisely. ;)
Lovely pies! They almost make me wish I liked coconut. =) The fluted dishes are very cute.
Love how adorable they turned out! Terrific job with these!
Looks delicious, as usual.
That’s the perfect sized Florida Pie, just enough to enjoy it without overdoing it. I just love mini desserts!
It looks stunning!
Can I just tell you that before this Tuesdays with Dorie challenge, I had never heard of Florida Pie and it sounds amazing!! Nice job too!
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i love your mini pies in the ramekins – i need to steal that idea…that and the coconut in the crust – yum! :) your photos are great, you can really see all 3 layers in them!