Key Lime Pie with Passion Fruit Coulis and Huckleberry Compote

This is a terrific key lime pie. The filling is tart, sweet and creamy. The crust is made of nuts and graham crackers (it's so good, you could eat it straight, like a cookie). My only mistake was using a deep dish pan. The filling only went about half way up. The crust, on the other hand, went all the way up and loomed over the sides like a fortress wall, daring the filling to try and escape from its graham cracker prison. Then I had the brilliant idea to fill in all that empty space with whipped cream. So I whipped some cream, filled my pastry bag and then realized I didn't have enough. So I ended up piping as many large rosettes as I could, but I didn't like the way it looked. By then I was totally irritated and didn't bother artfully arranging the compote or coulis. I just slopped them both on with disgust and ate some. It was then I realized how good this pie is and I started to cheer up a little. But I admit, I brushed off the coulis and compote. Because while they were both very good on their own, I felt like it was too many competing flavors and I just wanted my key lime to shine. But I left them in the recipe for anyone who is interested. Oh, and I reduced the crust ingredients so it should fit a standard size pan now (I think).

 

KEY LIME PIE WITH PASSION FRUIT COULIS

AND HUCKLEBERRY COMPOTE

Makes 8 servings

Compote:

16 oz. fresh wild huckleberries or wild Maine blueberries (or frozen wild blueberries)

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Coulis:

3/4 cup frozen passion fruit puree,* thawed

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Crust:

1/4 cup slivered toasted almonds

1/4 cup unsalted roasted, shelled pistachios

2 tablespoons sugar

8 graham crackers

large pinch of salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh key lime juice or regular lime juice

whipped cream for garnish

*Available at some specialty foods stores and online from lepicerie.com or amazon.com.

1.      Compote: Combine huckleberries and sugar in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Refrigerate until cold. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Discard vanilla bean before serving.

2.      Coulis: Combine passion fruit puree and sugar in heavy small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Transfer coulis to bowl and refrigerate until cold. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated. Discard vanilla bean before using.

3.      Crust: Heat oven to 350° F. Combine the almonds, pistachios and sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are finely chopped (don’t over process or they will turn into nut butter). Add the graham crackers and salt. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a standard 9-inch glass pie dish (not deep dish). Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool crust completely. Maintain oven temperature.

4.      Filling: Whisk sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Add lime juice and whisk until blended. Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake pie until filling is set, about 18 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate pie overnight.

5.      Cut pie into wedges. Spoon huckleberry compote on top. Garnish with dollop of whipped cream. Drizzle passion fruit coulis around and serve.

slightly adapted (crust only) from Bon Appétit, September 2006 by Hedy Goldsmith

nuts and sugar

The sugar soaks up the nut oil so it doesn't turn into
nut butter (although it will if you process it too much).

finely chopped nuts

adding graham crackers and salt

crumbs

butter added

in the way too big deep dish pan

key limes

key lime juice

egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk

adding key lime juice

pouring in the filling

Right about now is when I realized I was in trouble.

half full

Sounds optimistic, but it's not.

baked

As you can see, key lime filling doesn't rise. I already
knew that, so I was already depressed two photos ago.

piping rosettes

Right about now I realized I didn't have enough cream.

not fitting the vision in my head at all

blueberries and sugar

I couldn't find wild huckleberries (can anybody?),
so I used blueberries. I also didn't have any vanilla
beans handy, so I used a little vanilla extract
(same goes for the passion fruit coulis).

passion fruit puree and sugar

I used Goya frozen passion fruit pulp
(available in many supermarkets).

blueberry compote

passion fruit coulis

key lime pie

key lime pie with passion fruit coulis & blueberry compote

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Apple Streusel Pie

This is my favorite kind of apple pie - I just love those sweet, crunchy bits of streusel on top. I think it's way more interesting than another layer of crust. As you can see, this is a very simple recipe. No embellishments or crazy spice concoctions added. Sometimes back to basics is best. This one will remind you of your grandma's...depending, of course, on the grandma (if she was more of a knitter, it will definitely taste better than the pie she crocheted you).

 

APPLE STREUSEL PIE

Yield: 1 (9" or 10") pie

1 recipe flaky cream cheese pie crust dough (see recipe below) or crust of choice

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

5 large Granny Smith apples, sliced

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1.      Roll dough to ¼” thickness and place in your pie pan, being sure to leave a large amount of overhang, at least an inch if possible (the crust will shrink in the oven). Crimp the edges and freeze for at least 1 hour.

2.      Preheat oven to 425˚ F.

3.      Line the crust with foil and weigh down with pie weights (or beans, rice or pennies). Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil/weights and bake for another 5 minutes or until bottom is dry. If the bottom puffs up a little, just push it down while still warm.

4.      Meanwhile, combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl; mix until all the apples are well coated.

5.      In a separate bowl, prepare the streusel topping by kneading all the ingredients with your hands until the mixture is crumbly.

6.      Transfer filling to crust and sprinkle streusel on top.

7.      Cover edges and top of pie with foil.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden and apples are cooked through.

Granny Smith apples

sliced apples with flour, sugar and spices

filling mixed

streusel topping

apple filling in pie shell

sprinkling streusel on top

streusel on top

apple streusel pie

FLAKY CREAM CHEESE PIE CRUST

Yield: crust for 1 (9-inch) deep dish pie

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

3 oz. cream cheese, cold

1 1/2 tablespoons ice water

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1.       Cut the butter into small (about 3/4-inch) cubes. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze until frozen solid, at least 30 minutes. Place the flour, salt, and baking powder in a resealable gallon-size freezer bag and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

2.       Place the flour mixture in a food processor with the metal blade and process for a few seconds to combine. Set the bag aside.

3.       Cut the cream cheese into 3 or 4 pieces and add it to the flour. Process for about 20 seconds or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the frozen butter cubes and pulse until none of the butter is larger than the size of a pea. (Toss with a fork to see it better.) Remove the cover and add the water and vinegar. Pulse until most of the butter is reduced to the size of small peas. The mixture will be in particles and will not hold together. Spoon it into the plastic bag

4.       Holding both ends of the bag opening with your fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag with the knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.

5.       Wrap the dough with the plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight before rolling. Can make and roll ahead: refrigerate up to 2 days; freeze up to 3 months.

from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Epicurious, November 1998)

frozen butter and flour mixture

adding the cream cheese

adding the butter

adding the water and vinegar

dough in bag, before kneading

dough kneaded

dough disk

dough rolled

dough in pie pan

Even though the crust recipe says it's for a 9-inch
pie, there was just enough to fit my 10-inch pan.

Instead of pie weights, I usually use whatever
leftover grains or dried beans I have in the house.
Some people like to use pennies - they're cheaper than
pie weights and reusable (beans and rice can be
reused, but they get kind of funky after a while).

half blind baked pie crust

It's called "blind baked" when baked all the way
through before adding the filling and "half blind baked"
when only partially baked before adding the filling.

This crust shrinks a lot, but it's flaky and delicious.

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Apple-Bacon Bars with Bourbon-Almond Glaze

I had plans to go apple picking last Saturday, but there were two teensy little problems with that: 1. there were no apples left on the trees (it turns out apple picking season had ended two weeks earlier) and 2. it snowed! So I was left with apples on the brain (it's a rare condition, but totally treatable with either pie, turnovers, sauce or bars). I opted for bars, but decided to pimp mine out a little by adding candied bacon bits and bourbon (what?, it's not like I know how to do it to my Honda).

APPLE-BACON BARS WITH BOURBON-ALMOND GLAZE

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen

Candied Bacon:

6 strips bacon

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Crust:

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2/3 cup milk

2 large eggs, whites and yolks separated

Filling:

1 1/4 cups cornflakes

10 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Bourbon-Almond Glaze:

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon bourbon (can substitute milk)

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

Candied Bacon:

1.       Preheat oven to 400º F.

2.       Lay strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a foil (shiny side down).

3.       Sprinkle 1 ½-2 teaspoons sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.

4.       Bake for 12-16 minutes. Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that's collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until as dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.

5.       Once crisp and cool, chop roughly into bits. Can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 day, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Crust:

6.       Preheat oven to 375º F.

7.       Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse on & off until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg yolks and milk together. Gradually add the milk mixture to the processor (pulsing a few times after each addition) until the dough can be formed into a ball (add more milk if needed). Shape dough into 2 disks (one just slightly larger than the other), wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

8.       On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger dough disk into a rectangle (large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9- x 13-inch pan). Lay the dough in the pan (trim any overhang, but leave enough on top to pinch together with the other dough later).

Filling:

9.       Scatter the cornflakes over the dough. Arrange apple slices over the top of the cornflakes. Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and bacon over the apples.

10.   Roll the remaining dough into a rectangle (large enough to cover the top of the pan). Lay the dough over the filling; trim and pinch the edges of the two crusts together (using either your fingers or a fork). Beat the reserved egg whites until foamy, and brush onto the top crust. Poke a few holes in the top with a fork (to allow steam to escape).

11.   Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown. Drizzle with glaze while still warm. Let cool before cutting into bars.

Glaze:

12.   In a small bowl, beat the confectioners' sugar, bourbon, and almond extract until smooth (add a few drops of milk or water if needed to thin).

adapted from Danish Pastry Apple Bars II by LONDONER on allrecipes.com

flour, salt and butter

milk and egg yolk pulsed in

dough disks

dough rolled into a rough rectangle

dough in pan
(If it rips at all, you can just patch it back together.)

bacon sprinkled with brown sugar

candied bacon

apples

I used a mix of granny smith and honeycrisp.

cornflakes sprinkled on the bottom

The cornflakes soak up the juices from the apples
and keep the bottom crust from getting soggy.

sliced apples in the pan

sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and candied bacon

dough on top

brushing with egg white

poked with fork

baked

adding bourbon to confectioners' sugar

drizzling on the glaze

drizzled with glaze

cut cross-section

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