Behind the Scenes at Foodzai: what our Co-Founders are cooking

The frist Stir Up! was just 2 days away and I needed a summer dessert! We had challenged every participant to take a “Summer Dessert” to share with the other foodies, so I had to live up to the challenge and take one myself.

I wanted something sweet, and fresh, just like a cool lemonade in a hot Summer afternoon. And then, the idea of making a Lime Pie popped into my mind!

For all the Key Lime Pie lovers in the world (especially in Florida) I want to stress that this was not an attempt to make a Key Lime Pie, although I took inspiration from it. All the recipes I found online used a graham cracker crust. Well, we don’t have graham crackers in Portugal, so I had to make do with what was available. Instead of grahams I used Tostada, a slightly sweetened wheat cracker. I also added a few other crackers covered in sugar and cinnamon, to give a bit more taste to the crust. This is optional and completely experimental. Try different combinations yourself. The quantities still hold.

Ok, down to the recipe. It’s really simple and you only need a handful of ingredients.

For the crust:

• 500 ml - cracker crumbs;

• 100 g - butter;

For the filling:

• 3 tbsp - lime zest;

• 120 ml - lime juice;

• 1 can - sweetened condensed milk;

• 4 - egg yolks;

First we prepare the crust.

Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Then, turn the crackers into crumbs. You can use whatever tool you want - food processor, mortar and pestle, hammer, a super energetic kid - as long as you end up with fine cracker crumbs. The quantity of crumbs really depends on the size of the pie pan you’re going to use. Just remember to add or take butter accordingly.

Speaking of butter, put it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt. Then, mix it with the crumbs to get a moist but still crumbly mix. Pour everything into the pie pan and press it with your fingers to get a uniform layer on the bottom and the sides of  the pan.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes, until it starts to toast. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, let’s take care of the filling.

Zest the limes (4 should be enough) and then squeeze the juice out of them.

Break the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Put the yolks, the juice and 2 tablespoons of zest into a bowl and stir. Then, add the whole can of condensed milk and keep stirring until the mix is uniform. It will smell very well and it will taste like heaven, but don’t eat it yet! Remember you are making a pie!

By now, the crust should be cool enough. Just pour everything into the crust and bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, for the filling to gain some firmness.

Take it out of the oven, leave it to cool for a few minutes and then put it in the fridge! Leave it there for an hour or more. It should have a beautiful creamy yellow color and a glossy surface.

Take it out of the fridge and serve immediately! Some people like to add whipped cream but I think that a little extra lime zest on top (to add color and flavor) is enough.

Enjoy!