I’m not sure what switch has been flicked in my brain but recently dessert has been a big deal for me. Sure, I’ve always been a dessert kind of gal but I’d usually be happy enough settling for a few squares of chocolate, an apple pie from McDonald’s (my kryptonite) or a cookie or two (OMG, writing the word cookie right now has me craving a Fig Newton. Is that weird?). But goodness! These days my palette only wants fancy desserts. This involves bi-weekly trips to my favourite French bakeries for adorable cakes or has me slaving in the kitchen whipping up something special.
On a recent Sunday I wasn’t really thinking about dessert, promise! I was just happily meandering the produce aisles when I spotted a bag of key limes. I’ve seen key limes in the supermarket before but had never bought them. I immediately through them into the cart and the decision was made to make key lime pies. Exercising restraint (and a desire to use my new acquired tart pans) I decided to make Key Lime Tartlets instead of one giant pie. Thanks to the magic of the interwebs I stood in the supermarket and was able to get a general idea of what I would need to make it all happen and went on my merry way.
One thing that always disappoints me about key lime pie is the graham cracker crust. A graham cracker crust just doesn’t do it for me at all. It seems like such a throwaway. I love graham crackers but in crust form… I find it boring and plain odd. Clearly I was not doing a graham cracker crust. I didn’t want a pie crust either so I decided to do a shortbread crust because I think they tend to make things better.
The ingredient list for key lime pie is surprisingly short and uncomplicated. It’s pretty much eggs, key limes and condensed milk. How silly is that? I’m pretty sure the list is so short because juicing key limes is a bitch. I had a feeling that was going to be the case going in so I did a bit of research to find out the best way to juice key limes. I just couldn’t fathom juicing those little buggers by hand. Turns out you can use your garlic press to easily juice key limes. That was probably the most brilliant thing I learned all week.
I adapted the recipe from Mar-A-Lago for my key lime tartlets mainly because it was Oprah-approved. It did not fail. They were sweet, tart, perfectly balanced and 100% delicious. And SO EASY to make. Why had I never made key lime pie before? This is about to get dangerous…
Key Lime Tartlets
Makes 4 4-inch tarts
Crust
4.5 oz. (1 cup) bleached allpurpose flour
3.5 oz. (7 Tbs.) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 Tbs. chilled heavy cream
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. table salt
Preheat oven to 350F. In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, egg, sugar, cream, lemon juice, and salt and pulse until the dough starts gathering together in large clumps. Dump the dough on the counter and gather it together. Press into your tart pans. Prick the dough with a fork, line the dough with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake for about 10-15mins or until lightly golden. Make the filling.
Filling
2 egg yolks
1/2 can (7 ounces) condensed milk
1/3 cup fresh Key lime juice
1 lime , grated zest
In a electric mixer with whisk attachment, combine the egg yolks and zest on high speed until fluffly (about 5 minutes). Add the condensed milk and whip for about 4 minutes longer. Lower the speed and mix in the lime juice until mixed in.
Divide the mixture between your tart pans and bake for about 10-15 minutes until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream if you are so inclined. (You should be).
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
These are gorgeous!!!