Key Lime Pie.

As a foodbuzz publisher I receive all kinds of fun opportunities and challenges. For the  next six weeks I get to choose a Daily Special once a week that inspires me to whip up something tasty. I post about it here and give you a handy link back to Foodbuzz Daily Special so you too can feel a little inspired or hopeful too. The daily special features some fun kitchen gadget or utensil. Today it is these really cool (http://www.foodbuzz.com/daily_special) silicone ball - heat resistant whisks. I have to say that as I was whipping up the key lime pie, I couldn't help but think I wanted one of these funky and fun new whisks.

This pie is also inspired by the fact that I received a large amount of key limes in my Bountiful Basket purchases a week ago. I have always wanted to make a key lime pie from scratch and now I had an overflowing bounty of the the green little gems. So, while most of this recipe is from fresh ingredients and not pantry items, I hope it will be a reminder that delicious things can come out of your kitchen when we use in season items or what we have around us. I am a big believer in getting the best out of what you have. And occasionally that means a tasty, tart key lime pie.

Disclaimer: I always thought key lime pie was low fat. Not so my friends. Not so. It is decidedly high in eggs and fat but it is refreshing and tasty. This recipe comes from my favorite pie book Tarts With Tops On ( A deliciously naughty title, don't you think). I made some very minor changes. Also, there are recipes for key lime pie that call for sweetened condensed milk. This is not one of them. I just happened to be out of that ingredient. So I went for the butter loaded version.

Key Lime Pie

1 graham cracker crust (homemade or store bought) I would suggest not using the chocolate graham crust. It was a little too bitter for this recipe.

3/4 Cup Sugar

4 Whole eggs and 2 egg yolks. (make sure you save those egg whites in the freezer for another day)

Juice of 4 to 5 key limes

grated zest of 2 limes

1 Cup butter, diced

Whip Cream

1 1/2 Cups heavy cream
1 Tb sugar
1 Tb of vanilla

To make pie. Beat together eggs and egg yolks, sugar, lime juice and zest with a whisk in a glass heat resistant bowl. Cook the mixture in a double boiler.  Place glass bowl over simmering ( not boiling) saucepan of water. Water in saucepan should not touch glass bowl. Continue to gently whisk until mixture thickens to a soft set pudding consistency. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until melted. Pour into a precooked crumb crust and chill for 2 to 4 hours until set.

Whip cream until soft peaks form, add in sugar and vanilla beat for a few seconds. Top pie with whip cream.