Frozen Key Lime Pie

I mentioned at the start of my Floridian week that I'd recently enjoyed a vegan key lime pie at a dinner party. Unfortunately, our friends can't find the recipe they used so I can't share it here. But, I've developed a craving for key lime pie during the week, so I've found a suitable alternative. It's not vegan, but it's a Ina Garten's recipe (with a very slight deviation), so you know it'll be good, right?! Wonderfully tart. It could have used longer in the freezer (I only managed about 4 hours, and you can see from the picture that it began melting quickly), but it was still delish!

As for that vegan dessert, I do remember how they made the non-dairy whipped cream. They placed an unshaken can of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 24 hours. By the time they were ready to whip it and removed it from the can, the white solids had separated completely from the syrupy liquid. That liquid can be set aside for another use. They placed the solids in a bowl with some icing sugar (to taste) and whipped them with a handmixer till they were fluffy and the sugar was blended throughout. Brilliant! I doubt it's a low-fat alternative, but it was mighty tasty! And, now you know how they did it.

Full disclosure: I cheated and used a pre-made graham cracker crust for today's recipe, since I'm also preparing our St. Patrick's Day dinner and wanted to save some time, so you'll have to refer to Ina's recipe at the link above to see how she makes her homemade version. Also, this is a no-bake pie, but the prolonged beating with the sugar "cooks" the egg yolks, so no worries.

Anyhoo, here's how I made it:

6 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp lime zest
The juice from 1 lb bag of key limes + 1 regular lime (about ¾ cup)
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Beat the egg yolks, sugar and lime zest with an electric mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. Lower the speed to medium and add the condensed milk and lime juice till blended. Pour into the prepared crust and freeze for several hours (or overnight if you can). Serve with whipped cream, and enjoy!