Pie Time!
I enjoy making pie... and i love having reasons to make pies, like the birth of a new baby. So i went to my dessert bible: Baking by Dorie Greenspan. She had this recipe for Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie. Sounded summer delicious! I took the "bones" of her recipe and then tweaked it a bit... I had a sampling of the cream filling with a hunk of mango, and let me tell you, not too shabby.
Mango Gingered-Lime Cream Pie-
makes 8 servings - adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe
Ingredients:
For the Filling1 9-inch graham cracker crust, fully baked and cooled, or a single crust pie dough.
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 limes
4 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
3/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 6 limes)
A 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature. (you could even use less butter... her recipe called for 2.5 sticks of butter!)
1 Mango, chopped into big chunks, drizzled with lime juice.
Procedure 1. Have an instant-read thermometer, and a blender or a food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
2. Put the sugar and zest into a heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Whisk in the eggs, then whisk in the juice, ginger and cornstarch.
3. Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lime cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting it to the temperature can take as long as 10 minutes.
4. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and pour the cream into the container of the blender (or food processor); Let it cool until it reaches 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
5. Turn the blender to high speed (or turn on the processor) and add the butter a few pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. After all the butter is in, continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If you find the machine is getting really hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
6. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate until the cream is cool. Or I put mine in the freezer and let cool that way. Much faster! (The cream can be packed airtight and and frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
7. When the cream is cooled and firm, stir and then pour 1\3 of cream into the bottom of your cooled crust. Add half of mango chunks, then pour rest of cream on top. Finish with the rest of your mangos. Let chill until ready to serve.
Mango Gingered-Lime Cream Pie-
makes 8 servings - adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe
Ingredients:
For the Filling1 9-inch graham cracker crust, fully baked and cooled, or a single crust pie dough.
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 limes
4 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
3/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 6 limes)
A 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature. (you could even use less butter... her recipe called for 2.5 sticks of butter!)
1 Mango, chopped into big chunks, drizzled with lime juice.
Procedure 1. Have an instant-read thermometer, and a blender or a food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
2. Put the sugar and zest into a heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Whisk in the eggs, then whisk in the juice, ginger and cornstarch.
3. Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lime cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting it to the temperature can take as long as 10 minutes.
4. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and pour the cream into the container of the blender (or food processor); Let it cool until it reaches 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
5. Turn the blender to high speed (or turn on the processor) and add the butter a few pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. After all the butter is in, continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If you find the machine is getting really hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
6. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate until the cream is cool. Or I put mine in the freezer and let cool that way. Much faster! (The cream can be packed airtight and and frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
7. When the cream is cooled and firm, stir and then pour 1\3 of cream into the bottom of your cooled crust. Add half of mango chunks, then pour rest of cream on top. Finish with the rest of your mangos. Let chill until ready to serve.
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