Key Lime Mousse from Union Street Cafe, NYC

Photo by Heather Meldrom

Key Lime Mousse by Sunny Raymond, Union Street Cafe

If you don't have or don't wish to use gelatin, it may be omitted from the recipe. The mousse will not be as stable in consistency, but it will be no less delicious.

Active Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 3 hours (includes chilling) Serves: 8

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ tablespoons grated lime zest

1¼ cups freshly squeezed Key lime juice (from about 15 limes)

6 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

2 gelatin sheets, optional

1½ cups heavy cream, plus additional for garnish, optional

1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk sugar, zest, lime juice, eggs and 2 yolks until combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Bloom gelatin, if using: Submerge gelatin sheets in a small bowl of cold water until soft, 3 minutes. Discard water and stir gelatin into lime mixture.

3. Strain lime mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a stainless-steel or glass mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

4. Use an electric mixer on medium-high to whip heavy cream until soft-medium peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold whipped cream into chilled lime mixture, then pour into individual cups or ramekins, or a single serving dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1½ hours. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve cold, with whipped cream, if desired.

—Adapted from Sunny Raymond of Union Square Café, New York

Corrections & Amplifications
For this recipe, only 2 egg yolks should be used, and in the final step, all of the whipped cream should be folded into the chilled lime mixture. An earlier version of this article called for 4 egg yolks and, in the final step, instructed, "Fold remaining whipped cream into chilled lime mixture."

Tequila Key Lime Meringue Pie

My husband love key lime pie and I loves tequila.  Fortunately or unfortunately, which ever way you want to look at it, tequila is easy on me.  Meaning it doesn't give me a headache if I've done a few shots.  I love the graham cracker crust, since I don't make pie crusts.  No Bitchy doesn't do pie crusts.  This would be a great dessert for the soon to be summer cookout.  Courtesy of Southern Living magazine:

Makes 10-12 servings





Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter $
• 1/3 cup sugar $
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 large egg yolks $
• 2 (14-oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup Key lime juice
• 2 tablespoons lime zest
• 1 tablespoon tequila
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2/3 cup boiling water $
• 4 large egg whites $
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar $
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract $
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together first 5 ingredients; firmly press mixture on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
2. 2. Whisk together egg yolks and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; pour mixture into cooled crust. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour).
3. 3. Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk 3 Tbsp. cold water into cornstarch in a 1-qt. saucepan; whisk in 2/3 cup boiling water. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 1 minute or until a thick gel forms. Remove from heat; cool completely (about 30 minutes).
4. 4. Beat 4 egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, using whisk attachment, until foamy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar; beat until glossy, stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla and salt. Slowly beat in cornstarch mixture. Beat 3 minutes.
5. 5. Spread meringue over cooled pie, and bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Transfer to wire rack, and cool completely (about 45 minutes). Serve at room temperature, or cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.

Tim Byres, Recipe adapted from Smoke: New Firewood Cooking copyright by Tim Byres. Published by Rizzoli., Southern Living