BA (before allergies), I was a BIG fan of dessert. Give me chocolate anything to round out a meal. But without wheat or dairy in your diet, dessert is hard to come by. I have found my favorite new ice creams and know that some cookies can be made allergy friendly. But what I have really missed is Key Lime Pie. There is something about the tartness that is just downright mouthwatering. So I of course was determined to make a dairy free Key Lime Pie… and did!
It took some trial and error. The crust was pretty easy. I bought some gluten and dairy free cookies (vanilla or graham cracker) and chopped them finely in the food processor. I then added a few tablespoons of melted vegan butter, mixed it all together, and put the mixture into a pie pan to bake at 375 degrees for a half hour. That was the easy part.
I had to try a few different ways to make the filling. In the first batch, I combined a can of lite coconut milk, lime juice, and egg whites. I put it in the pie crust and baked it. The flavor was pretty good, but the consistency was a little sloppy.
In the second batch of filling, I first heated a can of lite coconut milk and a half cup of sugar on the stove and boiled it to evaporate some of the water, whisking frequently. I then brought it down to a very low temperature and added a half cup of egg beaters egg substitute. (You don’t want the heat too high or the egg will cook!) I then added about a cup of lime juice (either fresh or bottled) and kept whisking. Whisk, whisk, whisk. After about 10-15 minutes of whisking, I took the filling off of the heat. In the microwave, I combined one packet of gelatin (the secret ingredient!) and a quarter cup of water. Microwave for 30 seconds. Add the gelatin to the filling and whisk a few times to combine. Now put the filling in the crust and refrigerate overnight. Ta da! Great texture and flavor! Success! Now I can make my dessert and eat it too!
I wish you could see the gelatin wiggle of the pie in this photo!
In the future, I will probably add a few teaspoons of lime zest to give it some color and zing. A work in progress…
Balanced Fork, Healthy Life 