Florida Pie - Tuesdays with Dorie

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
This is my first Tuesday with Dorie baking effort! Thanks Dianne's Dishes for selecting this lovely dessert. (Library co-workers loved it!)
A delicious key lime pie with coconut and meringue

Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
Dorie Greenspan says she often uses a purchased graham cracker crust, but since I used the small pans, I made my own.

Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
I purchased my key limes at the local ethnic market in Los Angeles- always get a great deal for produce! I'm not a big fan of shredded coconut. I feel it tastes somewhat like edible dental floss (sorry, coconut lovers!) I wanted to get the taste of coconut so I cooked the cream with the coconut but strained it out.

Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
Here is a thin layer of strained coconut cream topped with the key lime filling.

Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie
I had huge difficulties with the meringue. First, it was 5 am...and I tried the first batch. I was using my thermometer and tried to get it to 160 degrees to keep things food safe. But it got too hot and it smelled like cooked egg white. Down the drain those went. Next, I tried again...but again that just didn't feel right. Finally, I got it right (by realizing my thermometer's battery was dying) and didn't overcook the batch. I used a blow torch to brown it. I wish it turned out better...but I had to get to work!


Here's the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours book. You should definitely buy it or borrow it from your library as the photos are lovely, and the stories touching.

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.


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32 comments:

steph- whisk/spoon said... [Reply to comment]

welcome to the group! this is a great first post--your little pies look wonderful! meringue can be tricky, but looks like you got it jsut right in the end,.

~Kimberly said... [Reply to comment]

Looks like a lot of work to make all the little pies...but it was well worth it! They are great!

Barbara said... [Reply to comment]

Oh....Yum! I think I drooled on my keyboard.

I love Key Lime Pie but have never seen one with a coconut cream layer in it. This one's going to be made in this librarian's kitchen soon.

Isabelle Lambert said... [Reply to comment]

It's beautiful !!

ostwestwind said... [Reply to comment]

Your pies look so beautiful!
Ulrike from Küchenlatein

kimberly salem said... [Reply to comment]

welcome! your mini pies look great, beautiful photos!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Such beautiful little pies! I like your idea of straining out the coconut - I adore coconut, but my mother-in-law (frequent taste tester for my baking projects) can't eat the shredded stuff.

Linda said... [Reply to comment]

Your mini pies turned out gorgeous!

Engineer Baker said... [Reply to comment]

I love love love the swirls of meringue! Adorable little tarts!

mimi said... [Reply to comment]

welcome to TWD, what a great first challenge! your mini pies came out great!

Heather B said... [Reply to comment]

welcome to the group! I love the little pies! Very cute!

The Kitchen Vixen said... [Reply to comment]

wow mini pies look awesome! I had the same issue with the egg whites. It really grossed me out;)

Piggy said... [Reply to comment]

wow, your tarts look great! I think using blowtorch can achieve better browning result than baking it in the oven, which was what I did with mine. :-)

Katie B. said... [Reply to comment]

What dainty little pies! Great job!!

CB said... [Reply to comment]

Your mini pies are so cute! Great job! Welcome to TWD! :)
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Christine said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome to the group! Never heard shredded coconut being compared to dental floss...funny! Great looking pies!

Gretchen Noelle said... [Reply to comment]

Edible dental floss - HA! Great job! I love the minis, they look adorable and tasty!

Susan @ SGCC said... [Reply to comment]

Your little pies are adorable and your meringue looks lovely! Great job!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Oh, they look great! I loved the piped meringue.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Great job!!

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said... [Reply to comment]

You're a dedicated baker! Lots of tries at meringue, like me! Your mini pies look great! Welcome to the group.

Judy said... [Reply to comment]

The pies look lovely, especially the meringue. In my experience (as a former librarian), librarians are great cooks. We had wonderful potlucks over the years.

PheMom said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome! Your little pies look lovely and I'm seriously impressed that you got up so early to make this!

Amy W said... [Reply to comment]

I love them, next time I am making them like that!

Marie Rayner said... [Reply to comment]

Great looking pies! Well done on your first challenge. Looking foward to seeing your next one!

Jayne said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful job! Welcome to TWD! And - edible dental floss - hahahaha!

Mari said... [Reply to comment]

Well done and welcome aboard! Your pie-lettes look scrumptious, love um!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome to TWD! Your mini-pies look fabulous!

Anne said... [Reply to comment]

I'm with you on coconut... ew! Everything looks wonderful though, welcome to TWD!

Julius said... [Reply to comment]

Mmm. I love how elegant the pie looks!

Welcome to TWD. :)

Julius from Occasional Baker

Melissa said... [Reply to comment]

Welcome! What adorable minis!

Jaime said... [Reply to comment]

they look great! i have those ramekins, wish i had thought to use those.

welcome to TWD :)

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