One of my pet peeves is having little bits of ingredients taking up space in the fridge. It seems like I always have a touch of sauce or cream or frosting leftover and I feel wasteful throwing it away. The bright side is that this forces me to get creative with dessert flavor combinations, and I end up making things I wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
This pie, for example.
Originally I’d planned on just making plain old key lime pie, as it’s one of David’s favorites. (Confession: I’ve never been able to easily find key limes, so I always use plain old limes…someday, someday.) But I had a couple spoonfuls of raspberry sauce leftover from one cake, and a handful of crushed pistachios from another. And also some sour cream from…something. So in they all went. I’m quite happy with the end result — it’s a nice springy twist on an old standby.
I’ve never been very happy with my graham cracker crusts — they’ve either shrunk or bled butter. This adaptation from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook has been the most successful to date. I’ve also found freezing the crust before baking helps minimize shrinkage, and you can use a piece of parchment paper to gently “fix” slumps or unevenness while the crust is still warm.
Raspberry Lime Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie | Adapted from Milk and Smitten Kitchen
Graham Pistachio Crust Ingredients
- 190 g / 1.5 c graham cracker crumbs
- 35 g / 1/4 c crushed raw unsalted pistachios
- 20 g / 1/4 c milk powder
- 14 g / 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 5 g / 1 tsp kosher salt
- 55 g / 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 55 g / 1/4 cup heavy cream
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to evenly distribute.
- Whisk butter and heavy cream together. Add to the dry ingredients and toss to evenly distribute. The mixture should hold its shape if squeezed tightly in the palm of your hand.
- Press evenly into a greased 9-inch pie pan. Freeze crust until hard, about 10 minutes.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes in preheated oven. If crust slumps during baking, use a piece of parchment paper to gently reshape it while still warm. Allow crust to cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
Raspberry Lime Filling Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 14-ounce (396-gram) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2/3 cup (155 ml) fresh lime juice (from about 1 dozen tiny key limes or 4 persian/regular limes)
- 2 T seedless raspberry preserves or jam
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Zest limes into the bottom of a medium bowl until you have 1 1/2 tablespoons. Beat zest and egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.
- Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until thickened again, about 3 minutes more.
- Squeeze zested limes until you have 2/3 cups juice. Whisk into yolk mixture until combined. Pour filling into graham crust.
- Using a spoon or squeeze bottle, drop dots of raspberry preserves on top of filling. Use a toothpick or knife to swirl into the filling.
- Bake pie for 10-15 minutes, until set but not browned on top at all. Let pie cool completely before adding topping (ideally, chill at least a couple hours in the fridge).
Topping Ingredients
- 3/4 – 1 c heavy whipping cream
- 1 to 2 tablespoons powdered or granulated sugar, to taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
- Lime zest and crushed pistachios (optional garnish)
Method:
In a medium bowl, beat cream until soft peaks are formed. Add sugar and sour cream, if using, and beat until desired thickness (do not overbeat). Spread over top of chilled pie. Ideally, pie should be chilled at least another 2 to 3 hours with the cream on top so that it can fully set before you take a slice.