Key lime pie

The name “Key Lime Pie’ has always made me think of Jamaica and the West Indies, of hot summer days and azure seas and the scent of lime blossom in the night air.  As we’ve had rather a cold spring here, I thought I’d give it a try, and it’s deliciously refreshing and very easy to make.

This is a combination of a couple of recipes I found.  You can use most types of sweet, crunchy biscuits for the base - I used Nutikrust caramel flavoured, but they are quite sweet so next time I’ll probably go back to good old digestives or ginger nuts.  I also used the ‘less sugar’ variety of Nestle condensed milk which had the perfect amount of sweetness to counteract the lime juice.

Key Lime Pie

300g digestive biscuits/ginger nuts etc
1/4 cup ground almonds
100g butter melted

1 x 397g tin condensed milk
3 medium egg yolks
finely grated zest and juice of 4 limes

double cream, whipped
extra lime zest, to decorate

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Whizz the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor (or use a pestle and mortar or put in a strong plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix in the almond meal and melted butter and press into the base and about 4 cm up the sides of a 22cm loose-based tart tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.

Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk for a minute with an electric beater. Add the condensed milk and whisk for another 3 minutes then add the lime zest and juice and whisk again for 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the cooled base then put the pie back in the oven for 15 minutes. Allow the pie to cool, then chill for at least 3 hours or overnight if you like.

When you are ready to serve, carefully remove the pie from the tin and put on a serving plate. To decorate, dollop the cream onto the top of the pie and sprinkle with the extra lime zest.

Tomi's Mexican Cornbread

Cornbread is part of traditional American cuisine, and is particularly associated with the South and Southwest US. It is usually eaten with a barbeque or with chili con carne.

In the United States, northern and southern cornbread are different because they generally use different types of corn meal and varying degrees of sugar and eggs. Southern cornbread has traditionally been made with little or no sugar and smaller amounts flour or no flour, with northern cornbread being sweeter and more cakelike. Southern cornbread traditionally uses white cornmeal and buttermilk. In Texas, the Mexican influence has resulted cornbread made with fresh or creamed corn kernels and jalapeño peppers.

I hadn’t eaten ‘proper’ cornbread (I make an easy cheesy mealie bread which is similar but not as delicious), until Tomi (who’s from Kansas) made some for us and I realise how perfectly it goes with a braai or a chilli con carne.  This recipe is based on one from Paula Dean which I’ve adapted a bit by using self raising flour and an extra egg and cutting down the amount of baking powder.  I’ve also cut down on the amount of sugar, although the sweeter version is also very nice.  Try to use yellow cornmeal or mealiemeal as it gives the finished cornbread a lovely, golden colour.  

Mexican cornbread

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal (polenta) 1 cup self-raising flour, sifted 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1 can creamed corn 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup chopped jalapeños, or to taste 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (grated) 1 small onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 200°C (180 fan forced). Grease an 8-inch square pan well with butter and put in the oven until really hot.

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the beaten eggs, buttermilk, creamed corn, oil, and onion and mix until smooth. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the cheese and jalapenos. Top with the remaining batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm straight from the pan.