My mom is a huge fan of key lime pie - ideally served up in Florida from J.J. Gandy's (who we used to hit up every time we traveled to Tampa). Even as a five or six year old, I knew that pie was special, and we never had it any other time than when we were down south. We'd get a whole pie for the hotel suite's fridge (after requisite groceries at the Publix in the same parking lot!) plus a slice for each of my parents. I wasn't sure at the time if I really liked the confection enough for my own serving (I opted for something chocolatey at Publix), but I never passed up a taste of mom's every time we travelled!
My stepdad, on the other hand, is a lemon meringue fan, which he can only have on special occasions thanks to his diabetes and penchant for overindulging in the sugary topping! I always found it strange that he liked the confection since he is vehement in his hate for anything "creamy" - but there you are. Like mom, I prefer my pies unadorned by whipped cream, meringue or fancy garnishes, especially something as rich and dense as a custard based tart!
Thankfully, I've been able to finangle a bit of a "fix" for the family's citrus pie addictions that is light enough nutritionally to enjoy every night if they so wanted. I packed all the best things about a lemon or lime pie into a creamy, smooth curd that doesn't have to be baked - and with so much flavour there just wasn't room for a crust! I did want to add a bit of texture dimension with the dessert, and evoke a bit of the feel of a meringue topping. Instead of breaking out pastry or making a marshmallowy cloud, I combined crispy and light in little meringue cookie spirals. I used those as "caps" on each teacup of curd, which in the end made them look like cappuccinos!
The resulting product was fantastic - the filling (which I greatly adapted from Fifi O'Neill's "Lemon Sour Cream Pie" in The Romantic Prairie Cookbook) was a fairly basic custard with eggs (from my soon to be stepsister-in-law's mom's chickens!) and thickened with tapioca starch, laced with the zest and juice of both 2 lemons and 2 limes. For a more tropical element (as well as more creaminess), I used some Coconut Dream® along with the water and juice, and added a touch of coconut extract at the end. Instead of sour cream, I used my (and my mom's) favourite, organic nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and though I did add the touch of butter at the end, it was in my opinion a necessary component in preserving the rich texture of the dessert.
This month for the #RecipeRedux we're sharing our Most Memorable Vacation Meals. Now, I don't consider pie a meal (though it does have a protein, starch, and usually some sort of produce!) that key lime pie from Tampa was such an integral part of our vacation dinners that I had to share.
Citrus Curd with Crisp Meringue Caps
Makes 6 (1/2 cup) servings
Meringue Caps
1 tbsp meringue powder (see note below)
1 1/2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
few drops vanilla extract
few drops lemon extract
Curd
1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
zest of 2 limes
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon / lime juice (this was about equal to the lemons and limes I zested)
3/4 cup original Coconut Dream® (not coconut milk), hot
3/4 cup water, hot
1 tbsp salted butter
1/2 cup Greek style, nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 tsp coconut extract
Meringue Caps
- Preheat the oven to 225F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Beat the meringue powder and water together in a small, deep bowl for 1 minute, then spoon in the sugar and salt and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Beat in the extracts.
- Scrape into a piping bag (or zip-top bag with the corner snipped) and pipe spiral discs on the parchment.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Turn off the oven and allow to cool 2 hours inside.
- Combine the sugar, zests and starch in a saucepan and whisk in the eggs. Place over medium heat.
- Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, then whisk in the juice.
- Slowly whisk in the hot Coconut Dream and hot water.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
- Let bubble, whisking often, for one minute longer.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until smooth, then add the Greek yogurt and coconut extract and whisk in until well combined.
- Spoon into individual serving cups or ramekins, lightly press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of each to prevent a skin forming, and refrigerate 3-4 hours.
- Remove the cups from the fridge and place a meringue cap onto the surface of each curd.
- Serve within 30 minutes of assembly, but this is best eaten immediately.
Notes:
- The caps can be made a week ahead of time and kept away from heat and moisture up to 1 week.
- If you do not have tapioca starch, substitute 5 tbsp cornstarch.
- I used meringue powder because it was such a small amount needed and I didn't want a bunch of leftover egg yolks.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 232.1
Total Fat: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 67.0 mg
Sodium: 70.3 mg
Total Carbs: 45.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 4.9 g
This sounds tasty, and I love the deconstructed presentation!
ReplyDeletefabulous creativity!
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