Key Lime Pie- Lime Custard Pie with White Chocolate Flakes

OMG, I know.  Today I am a piggy, because I can't stop thinking about desserts.  Ha.  Oh well.

Here is another recipe, this time LIME instead of lemon.  I like this pie because the layers are so different: Salty, tart, then sweet.  It's the perfect combination.

Crust:

3 cups graham crakers, crushed.
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly.  Press into a nine inch pie plate.  NOTE: This crust should be thicker than a normal graham cracker crust.  It should also be less sweet.

Bake on 350 for 15 minutes

Custard:

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs flour
4 egg yolks
5 tbs lime juice
zest of three limes

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into the crust.  Bake on 350 for about 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is not runny and barely starting to brown.  Cool for at least one hour.

Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbs vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (Mexican Vanilla is the best for this recipe)

Whip together both ingredients until fluffy.  Spread over COOLED pie.

Top with grated white chocolate (this I had at a restaurant in Portland, I thought it was amazing!) and lime slices.  Serve chilled.

Pardon this closeup.  My dad (yes, my very mature dad) was giving this pie bunny ears.  Unfortunately, it's the only photo I have of it.  Oh well!

Easy Valentine's Dessert

After I wrote about the lemon cake yesterday, I really realized what I was writing.  Even though it's an easy recipe to me, other's might have a harder time.  Especially because it's time consuming, and because there are so many steps.  So, I decided to write this recipe for those of us that would rather a simple, easy dessert that doesn't require as much clean up! ;-)  It's a simple lemon curd tart with raspberry sauce.




Curd:



2  cups Sugar
2  tsp cornstarch
1  cup fresh lemon juice (do not use Meyer Lemons)
3  large eggs, chilled
3  large egg yolks
1/2 cup unsalted butter


Combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl.  Gradually add in the lemon juice.  Be sure to whisk constantly to avoid lumps.  Add eggs and egg yolk, and whisk for a minute, until the lumps are gone.  Heat on medium in a saucepan, stirring constantly.  Add the butter, keep stirring. Heat until boiling, making sure to stir so it doesn't stick or burn.

Pour into a bowl and chill.



Then, make the crust.  I got this recipe on the internet and I use it all the time.  If you have a different one, I'm sure it would be fine to use.


Crust: 


8 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt 
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tbs ice water
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/8 tsp baking powder


Mix all dry ingredients in food processor.  Add butter a little at a time, pulsing the processor between each addition.  Add vinegar, pulse.  Slowly add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing three or four times between each addition.  You may not use all of the water, and that's okay.  


Roll out dough into a ball and chill if desired.  On a floured surface, roll thin and place in a 9 inch diameter tart tin or shallow pie plate.  Place parchment paper over the crust and fill with dry rice or beans.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (this is known as the "blind bake method", which will prevent the crust from bubbling up or having lumps).  Remove the rice and paper and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the crust is flaky and browning.


Then, make the frosting.  You have several choices, but my favorite is mascarpone frosting:


In a large bowl, whip 1 cup mascarpone or creme fraiche until thick.  Add 2 tsp powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and whip.  Chill in a pastry bag.


After the crust has cooled completely, pour the curd into the crust. Decorate with the frosting.


The tart is good the way it is.  It doesn't *need* anything.  But, since this is for Valentine's Day, I think it needs something red and fancy;-)


Raspberry Sauce:


In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups frozen raspberries (or strawberries, or any other berry) and 1/4 cup sugar.  Heat on medium, stirring occasionally.


In a small glass, mix 2 tsp cornstarch with 1/8 cup merlot (you can really use any red wine that you like, but merlot and pinot noir are my favorites).  Add the mixture to the raspberries and heat.


Serve the tart cold with the hot berry sauce as a garnish.  Yum!

Layered Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Frosting= Lemony Goodness

This cake recipe is amazing.  I am a chocolate lover, so that is usually my first choice when I make a dessert.  However, a lot of my friends and family dislike chocolate, so I am left with my second favorite: lemon.  A year ago I was asked to make a cake for my grandmother's birthday party.  This is what you need to know about her:

1. She is an amazing baker, and can bake any kind of cake (or pie, or cookie, or muffin, or bread), from scratch, and get it perfect every time.
2. She does not keep her opinions to herself.  I knew if I screwed this up, she'd tell me.
3.  She forgets a lot of things, but never seems to forget those embarrassing moments.  If this cake didn't impress everyone, I knew I'd hear about it for a long time.
4.  I love my grandma.  She does a lot for me, so she deserved a kick ass dessert.

I asked my grandma what kind of cake she wanted.  She said, "Well, I'm tired of chocolate, and your grandfather like either lemon or apple."  Unfortunately for me, my grandma make the best apple cake in the world.  Was I going to compete with that?  Hell no.  Luckily, the only citrus dessert she makes is lemon meringue pie, which left a lot of other lemony options for me.

I searched and searched for a recipe, and I couldn't find one that I loved.  I googled, epicuriused, food networked.  I did practice runs on cupcakes.  I read reviews.  I searched and searched.  Nothing.  So, I combined a few family recipes and recipes with okay reviews, added in my own ideas, and this is what I came up with:-)  I hope you enjoy!  (BTW, my grandma and grandpa loved it, and she begged for this recipe... WIN)

The lemon curd and the frosting should be made at least 8 hours in advance of beginning the cakes, because you will need to chill each for a long time.  You will also combine some frosting with the curd, and some curd with the cake batter, etc.  If you add hot curd or to anything it will ruin the texture.

Do not use Meyer Lemons for the curd.  They do not have as much acidity, and can make the curd runny.

The curd and frosting are pretty sweet, as is the cake.  It does not need to be served with ice cream. It is very rich.  It can easily serve 16 people, or more.  The cake can be made a day ahead of time, as long as it is chilled well.

Lemon Curd (Can be made a couple days in advance, because it has to chill for 8 hours)

2 1/3 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice (do not use Meyer Lemons)
4 large eggs, chilled
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup unsalted butter

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl.  Gradually add in the lemon juice.  Be sure to whisk constantly to avoid lumps.  Add eggs and egg yolk, and whisk for a minute, until the lumps are gone.  Heat on medium in a saucepan, stirring constantly.  Add the butter, keep stirring. Heat until boiling, making sure to stir so it doesn't stick or burn.

Pour into a bowl and chill, covered, for at least 8 hours.  If you add the curd to the cake before it is thoroughly chilled, it will run and the cake will fall apart.  The curd will last, so you can make this days in advance.

Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 to 1 1/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you want the cake
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
zest of two large lemons
8 egg whites

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (do not use store bought orange juice, it can make the cake very sweet)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Add egg yolks, oil, orange juice, and zest. Add 3/4 cup lemon curd to the mixture.  Beat mixture until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until peaks form.  Gradually add in the remaining sugar.  Beat until stiff.

Add the egg white mixture to the yellow mixture in three additions, floding gently between each addition.  Over- stirring could make the flufiness go away, so be careful.

Butter and flour three 9 inch diameter cake pans (with at least 1 1/2 inch sides to avoid spilling over), and line with parchment paper.  Divide batter equally among the three pans.  Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes.  Don't brown the cakes, but make sure when you insert a toothpick, it comes out clean.  Cool the cakes completely before assembling.  They should cool for at least an hour.

Frosting
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups chilled whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream until peaks form, add remaining ingredients and beat until stiff.  Gently fold into 1 1/4 cups chilled lemon curd.  Chill for at least 5 hours (until firm).

Place one cake layer on cake platter.  Spread 2/3 cup curd on it. Add the second cake layer.  Spread 1 cup frosting on it.  Place the third layer on top.  Spread remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, completely covering it.  Pipe chilled frosting around the outside edge of the top of the cake, leaving no space in between pipings.  Add sliced lemon wedges in between pipings for decoration.

Pour about 1/2- 1 cup curd on the top of the cake.  The piped frosting will keep it from spilling over the sides.

Apologies for this photo... my brother is being a nerd;-)

Shrimp and Bacon Florentine

Sorry I haven't been on here in forever... I know, how naughty of me:/  Oh well.  This will make up for it! Ha.

This is a recipe for some yummy shrimp I made a couple weeks ago.  I served it with a pasta primavera type dish and broccoli.

You'll need:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced OR 3 green onions, finely chopped
4  strips bacon
1/2 cup heavy cream
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup Spinach cut into ribbons (or substitute basil leaves... but, then you can't call it "florentine" anymore)

Chop bacon and saute until it reaches your desired crunchy-ness.  Remove the bacon from grease to drain, but reserve the grease.

In the same pan, in 2 tbs of the bacon grease, saute the shrimp, shallots (if subbing green onions, don't add yet).

When the shrimp is done, add the cream.  Turn to medium low heat and stir often so it doesn't burn.  Add the remaining ingredients, including the bacon.  Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parmesan cheese.

For a Latin twist, you could sub lime for lemon, and add cilantro instead of basil or spinach.  Garnish with cotija cheese and serve with rice.