Biscuity Lime Pie

Well the weather outside may be cold and dull but this Biscuity Lime Pie will certainly add some zing to your life! It has no less than the zest and juice of 4 limes and a lemon. This is a lovely idea for an easy to make dessert.

The case is made by blitzing ginger nut biscuits and then combining them with some melted butter. This mixture was then pressed into a fluted 10 x 34cm rectangular tin which makes this pie look really pretty and it definitely adds to the appeal. The case was baked on it's own for 15 minutes.

The zingy filling was made using sweetened condensed milk, sugar, egg yolks, the zests and juices from the limes and lemons. It's really hard to describe the result, it tastes quite like lime meringue pie filling but slightly more mousse like! Once the filling is added, it goes back in the oven for a further 20 minutes.

You only need a small slice of this pie, it's very sweet and citrusy but it's guaranteed to tingle your taste buds. It was alittle bit too much for me. If the citrus is a bit too overpowering, you could always reduce the number of limes to 2 or 3. So for a little slice of sunshine on a plate, give this Biscuity Lime Pie a go! :-)

I'm entering my pie into this month's Tea Time Treats as the theme is Citrus. Tea Time Treats is hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked. Karen is hosting this month and you can find out more by visiting her blog.

 

Ingredients

300g ginger nut biscuits (I had a 250g pack of gingernuts so I made it up to 300g with digestives)
100g butter
3 egg yolks
50g golden caster sugar
4 limes, zest and juice (this is extremely citrusy, if you prefer you could reduce the limes to 3)
1 lime to garnish if required
1 lemon, zest and juice
397g can condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4. Put the biscuits into a food processor and blitz so you end up with crumbs. If you don't particularly like gingernuts you could make this recipe with digestives. Melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave and then pour over the biscuit crumbs. Pulse the mixture until it is combined.

This recipe calls for a 10 x 34cm fluted rectangular tart tin which gives a really professional finish to this pie. Tip the biscuit and butter mix into the tin and press it into the base and up the sides. I ended up pressing it in initially with my fingers and then used the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 minutes until nice and crisp.

Next make the filling by beating the eggs, sugar and lemon and lime zests together in a bowl using an electric whisk. They should double in size. At this point mix in the condensed milk and then add the citrus juices.

Pour the filling into the baked case and then put back in the oven for another 20 minutes. When ready the filling should be just set and there should  be a little bit of a wobble in the middle. Place on the side to cool and set completely before removing from the tin. This needs to be done very carefully as the biscuits are quite crumbly. Chill until ready to serve. Slice to serve and to add aesthetic appeal, top with thin slices of lime.

* Adapted from the BBC GoodFood website

Lime & Vodka Syrup Russian Doll Cakes

These lovely ladies are my inaugral entry into new baking challenge, Calendar Cakes. It's a monthly challenge hosted by yours truly and Rachel from Dolly Bakes. Each month we'll be giving you a theme based on an event or the season. This month it's Euro 2012, Rachel and I are hosting alternately, so if you want to find out more about this month's challenge then check it out over at Dolly Bakes. Rachel has already made a fab football stadium as her entry too!

So with the theme of Euro 2012 in mind I chose to make a set of Russian Doll cakes as Russia are competing at Euro 2012...in fact they're playing tonight!

This is yet another fabulous cake from the Birthday Cake Book by Fiona Cairns. I've already made Alice's Teapot Cake and a Butterscotch Whisp Cake and all have turned out beautifully...Fiona Cairns has some fabulously inventive ideas!

My favourite is definitely doll number two...she looks much more dainty and serene than the other two who look rather anxious...perhaps they know that they are soon to be eaten!

To make the cakes I made some doll templates out of card and then cut them out of cake. Using a sharp knife they were then carved into something like a Russian Doll. The cakes were then covered in vodka and lime buttercream before being covered in sugarpaste.

Then the decoration is painted on with the paint being made out of a mix of paste food colouring and alcohol. Outline the design in the black first and then fill in with the other colours. Just a note here, the Squires Kitchen colours didn't work at all for this, if you're going to try then I'd recommend using Sugarflair. Alternatively, the book also suggests that you can use edible pens to create the designs.

If you'd like to make a lime and vodka syrup cake you could use a regular sponge or madeira and then add the finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime to the cake mixture. The cake was then brushed with the syrup which was a heated mixture of 30g golden caster sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of vodka and the zest and juice from half a lime. This was heated until the sugar dissolved and then it was brought to the boil before being set aside to cool. Finally, to make the buttercream it is just a regular buttercream recipe with the addition of 1 tablespoon of vodka (or more if you like!) and the zest of half a lime.

I do hope you can join us for some fun with our Calendar Cakes challenge. This month is all about Euro 2012 but your bake could be inspired by any European country taking part...such as Russia or it could be a football bake...or even an anti-football bake or a cake fit for a WAG...you can interpret it however you like! :-)

This is also my second entry into this month's AlphaBakes hosted by Ros at the More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes...do check them out as there's always loads of fabulous entries! :-) The challenge this month is to come up with a bake beginning with 'V' or containing a 'V' ingredient...so these Vodka and lime cakes should do the trick.

These dolls don't acutally look much like cakes...and they may be too cute to eat...so perhaps dolls one and three can look a little less anxious...they may have just been granted a reprieve!