Florida – DessertedPlanet.com

Key Lime Pie

July 31, 2012 12 Comments

I cannot, CANNOT let summer go by without making a key lime pie. It is the quintessential summer dessert, in my opinion. Tart, sweet and creamy with a crumbly graham cracker crust…just divine. The best slice I’ve ever had is at a place called the Donut Hole in Destin, FL (who also happen to have AMAZING doughnuts…duh) where we’d vacation every summer when I was a kid. The anticipation of the one slice of pie was unbelievable and I would savor every last bite knowing I wouldn’t get it again for another 364 days. But now that I’m all grown up I can make my own, wherever and whenever I want! Ah, perks of being an adult.

Now I know many people are big advocates of juicing a bunch of those cute little key limes to get the perfect key lime flavor for their pie, but I happen to really like Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice. I love the flavor it gives my pies and yes, I’ve done it both ways and honestly can’t tell a difference. Maybe I’m just not enough of a snob but hey, it works and this pie gets rave reviews every time I make it. Oh and did I mention it’s a breeze to whip up? Because it totally is! Enjoy!

4.5 from 4 reviews

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

Key Lime Pie

2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4 Egg Yolks, beaten
2, 14 oz. Cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 c. Key Lime Juice
Juice and Zest of one Large Lime
½ t. Pure Vanilla Extract

Whipped Cream

1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ c. Powdered Sugar
1 T. Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions

For the Key Lime Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan.
In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, lime juice and zest, and vanilla. Pour into the graham cracker crust and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack and then in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Garnish with homemade whipped cream.

For the Whipped Cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream until thick and stiff. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Pipe onto key lime pie.

Notes

Serves 8-10.

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Life, Restaurants

Tommy Bahamas (aka dessert overload)

July 21, 2011 No Comments

Triple Chocolate Cake
Four layers of moist chocolate cake, chocolate
ganache frosting and topped with a mocha mousse
whipped cream.

In the past when we’ve vacationed in Florida, we’ve tended to eat at the same restaurants that we know and like. I really wanted to go to some new places on this visit and looked up some restaurants that had good reviews. One of those was Tommy Bahamas. It had about 4.5 out of 5 stars and people couldn’t say enough good things about it, despite the fact that it was a chain. So we tried it and wow, what amazing food! We had a variety of things from fish tacos to coconut shrimp, chicken and cuban sandwiches to ahi tuna salad. Of course after we had our fill of all this food, we decided to splurge on desserts (oh, I should mention that it wasn’t just me and Jeremy on this trip…there were six of us so we had plenty of people to help us pig out).

Key West Key Lime Pie
The real deal! Fresh and tart, made with real key limes.

These desserts were all made-from-scratch and absolutely delicious! We couldn’t pick just one or two so we chose all except one, which was four desserts. I thought my favorite would be the Key Lime Pie and while it was absolutely delicious, the Triple Chocolate Cake ended up the #1 dessert on my list and I think everyone else felt the same way. It was divine! The chocolate cake reminded me of wacky cake and the mousse was thick and not too sweet, just pure chocolate goodness. Oh, you’re wondering what a wacky cake is? Hmmm, well it’s a chocolate cake that is made a little differently than most chocolate cakes. Not to worry, I’ll make one and do a post on it in the near future. Purely for educational purposes, of course.

Blackbeard’s Butterscotch
Creamy, rich, vanilla & scotch whiskey flavored
pudding with chocolate ganache, “from scratch”
caramel sauce & fresh whipped cream.

The Pina Colada cake was also delicious…I loved the toasted coconut and hint of rum that had soaked into the cake layers. And the Blackbeard’s Butterscotch was the first time I had butterscotch pudding not made from a box and wow, awesome. I’m already looking up recipes so I can recreate it at home.

Piña Colada Cake
Moist vanilla layer cake with Myers Dark Rum,
chopped pineapple, white chocolate mousse &
toasted coconut.

They have restaurants in a few different states so click here to see if one is near you and visit immediately! And unless you go with a group, try not to order all the desserts at once….

Life, Restaurants

35th Anniversary Celebration

July 11, 2011 No Comments

Yesterday was my parent’s 35th anniversary and we celebrated at a place called Marina Cafe, one of my families favorite restaurants in Destin, FL. The food is superb and the view of the harbor tops it all off. We surprised my parents with two amazing desserts, White Chocolate Macadamia Cheesecake and Rum Raisin Bread Pudding Souffle with Caramelized Bananas. They were two of the best desserts I have ever had. If you’re ever in Destin, be sure and put this on your list of must-go-to restaurants.

It was a special night, with two of the best parents in the world. Love you mom and dad…happy anniversary!