Mad About Minis: Mad Gourmet's Single-serve "Key" Lime Pie

Blogger’s Note: I wanted to publish this last week, but I was not happy with the consistency of that recipe, so I am giving it another try. Unfortunately, my work schedule has been really hectic (aaaargh!)… but I finally had a chance for a redo.

Thank God for weekends! So, here goes…

It’s summer now so I am trying to avoid using my oven. We have a pretty cozy (read: small) place, so turning the oven on really warms the house up. I still would love to make desserts so I am constantly looking for inspiration for no- (or very little-) bake desserts.

So, I started thinking…My husband’s favorite dessert is Key Lime Pie. He fell in love with it after spending a weekend in the Florida Keys, and loved it since. I thought that would be a great dessert for the summer, maybe a mini and a healthier version... since we’ve been watching our figures.

Although I have only had it a few times, I have a good idea of what it should taste like and the consistency, but I needed a recipe to start with.

For the filling, I researched a couple of options, including how to make the full-versioned one. I found out that traditionally, key lime pie uses condensed milk (Really?). However, I really did not want to use condensed milk since my husband cannot tolerate milk, and it is so sweet. Through my search, I found this “Healthy Single-serve Key Lime Pie Yogurt” recipe in Food.com. I think this would work since my husband can surprisingly tolerate yogurt, and it contains those probiotics, right? 

I also wanted to use real key limes. I occasionally see it in our grocery store, but no luck this time. I just used regular limes and this worked just fine.

However, it did not have a crust, so I had to figure something out. I simply used the crust from my single-serve cheesecake. I mean… why complicate it, right? There are plenty of opportunities for complication.

For a finished look, I followed the suggestion from the recipe and added food coloring as well. I initially used just the green, but it looked too green. So, I’ve been combining the yellow and the blue (maybe more yellow) to get the green that I wanted.

Here’s the final result of my experiments… Give it a try and let me know what you think.

  

Mad Gourmet’s “Key” Lime Yogurt Pie

Based on the Healthy Single-serve Key Lime Pie Yogurt recipe from Food.com and inspired by a couple of others

Ingredients

Stuff at the bottom (Crust)

• 4 crumbled vanilla wafers
• 1 1/2 tsp of butter (or coconut oil), melted
• 1/2 tsp of brown sugar
• Pinch of salt

Stuff that goes in the pie (Filling)

• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (preferably not Greek yogurt and low-fat)
• 1 1/2 tsp lime juice (about half a medium-size lime)
• Drop or two of vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tsp sugar
• Food coloring (2 drops yellow, 1 part blue - optional)

Directions

Making the crust

1. Crumble the wafers (I just use a ziploc bag to crumble to save on washing).
2. Combine with butter, the remaining sugar, and salt (I even mix this in the bag). 
3. Firmly press the crumb mixture into the ramekin.
4. Bake for about 1 min to set the crust. Let cool.

Making the filling

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.
2. If using food coloring, add it add this point.
3. Pour on top of the crust.
4. Chill for at least an hour. Serve with whipped cream or coconut chips.

Verdict

My husband loves this recipe. He said it is pretty close to key lime pie and is quite delicious.

The recipe calls for "regular" yogurt, not Greek. If you only have Greek Yogurt, it will result in a denser pie and you’ll need to use double the sugar. The texture is actually closer to a cheesecake. It is still delicious though.

Reminds me of a (revised) line from a movie: "There are two types of yogurt in the world: the Greeks and everyone who wish that they was Greek." 

Hmmm… that cheesecake consistency...Gives me an idea. Uh oh.