a summer pie

It is our last week of school, so we are just about in summer mode over here. Hooray! I made this very summer-y pie last night to celebrate and thought the recipe was worthy of a share.

Raspberry, Lime, and Coconut Pie

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
6 tablespoons, plus 1/2 cup butter
1 sleeve (or 9 rectangles) graham crackers
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
a pinch of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of lime zest, divided
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup lime juice
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 cups raspberries

While your oven is heating up to 375 degrees, toast the coconut on a baking sheet until golden brown (3-7 minutes). Grease a 9 inch pie plate and set aside. Put 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top to soften; set aside. Melt the 6 tablespoons of butter.

Set aside 2 tablespoons of the toasted coconut, then pulse the remaining in a food processor with the graham crackers, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and salt. Once fine crumbs have formed, drizzle in the melted butter until combined. Pour it into the pie plate, using a flat bottomed measuring cup to compact it evenly on the bottom and up the sides.

Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of the lime zest, the eggs and yolk, and the gelatin until well blended. Then whisk in the lime juice. Set the bowl over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water in it. You don't want the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture very thickly coats a metal spoon or until it reaches 190 degrees. This should take 8-16 minutes. Don't let it boil. If it's not thickening up, reduce the temperature and continue to cook, whisking, for a few more minutes. (Mine thickened up after about 10 minutes.)

Once it's thick, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of butter, one tablespoon at a time until melted and well blended. Set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water until cold, stirring occasionally (10-20 minutes).

Spread the lime curd in the crust and chill uncovered for about two hours. Then whip your cream and spread over the curd. Top with the raspberries and the remaining toasted coconut and lime zest.


What I wish I'd done differently: I wish I had packed the graham cracker crust better. Mine ended up feeling dry and crumbly and overwhelmed the filling. Also, the recipe doesn't call for sweetening the whipping cream, but I wish I had added just a tablespoon or so of sugar as I was whipping it. I would totally make this again, though. The lime curd is so bright and creamy and delicious.

Are you counting down the days until summer vacation, too? We're at 4!