Thursday 16 November 2017

Key Lime Lasagna

I grew up eating Gram's Special as a Christmas dessert.  But we don't call it Gram's Special.  We call it Sex in a Pan.

But in front of my 8 year old niece, we call it LOVE in a Pan.

And it's one of my favorite desserts.  It's just not Christmas without it.

Little did I know - there are a zillion variations of this beloved dessert!

Let's talk about this one.


In a large bowl, combine the flour,


and the sugar,


And the crushed macadamia nuts.  I whirred the macadamias through a food processor, so the crumbs were fairly fine, but you could leave them a little chunky too.


Add in the melted butter and stir to combine.


Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake.



The next thing to do is make the key lime pudding.  This needs to be cooked and cooled completely before adding to the pan.


In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the cornstarch,


Sugar,


lime juice,


Lightly whisked egg yolk,


And the butter.  Cooked until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.


Set aside to cool.  Once the macadamia nut base has cooled completely and the key lime pudding has cooled completely, prepare the cream cheese layer.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, and icing sugar.


Add in the Cool Whip.


And fold together.


Spread evenly over the macadamia nut layer.  Place in the fridge to set.


Add Cool Whip to the Key Lime pudding layer.  Add a little green food color if you'd like!



Spread this evenly over the cream cheese layer.  Top with additional Cool Whip and toasted macadamia nuts.


Chill overnight to set.

With my Mom's original recipe, it says that it may only need a few hours to set, but I've found with her recipe and all the others that I've tried, that overnight (24 hours) really is best for a solid set. 


I loved the very tropical feel of this version!  The combination of the tangy key lime  and the cream cheese was perfect for me.

One of the things I love the most about this particular dessert is that you can make it in advance.  So - you can make it the day before you have guests or a special dinner you might be making this for and that would give you more time - without sacrificing any quality.  Because not only does it take time to set - the flavour also improves overnight as well!

Question about when I would serve this....  Anytime.  During the Winter when I need something bright and reminds me of a beach vacation.  During the Summer when it's hot and I need something cool and not very heavy.

As for the key lime part.  When I travel to the States, I buy bottles of Nellie and Joe's Fresh Key Lime Juice and freeze it in 3/4 cup portions.  (My two favorite Key Lime Pie recipes both call for 3/4 cup of juice - hence why I freeze it that way).  If you can't get your hands on the Nellie and Joe's stuff, and if you have it in you and you see fresh key limes in the grocery store, you are welcome to juice those little guys.  But it'll take you forever.  You could buy regular sized limes - the flavour is different, but it'll serve the purpose.  Don't, PLEASE DON'T, buy the bottled stuff.  You're better off juicing limes by hand as the flavor is significantly better.

I'm waiting for the day we can order the Nellie and Joe's stuff from Amazon.ca.

Enjoy! - Heather

Key Lime Lasagna

Crust:
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped very finely

Cheesecake Layer:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
2/3 cup Cool Whip
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Key Lime Pudding Layer:
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup key lime juice
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
5 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup Cool Whip
green food coloring (optional)

Topping:
1 cup Cool Whip
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Make the crust: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, butter, and macadamia nuts.  Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
  3. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and cool completely.
  4. Make the Key Lime pudding: In a medium saucepan, combine the cornstarch and sugar.  Stir in the key lime juice, egg yolks, and butter.  Heat on medium low stirring constantly until thickened.  The mixture should coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from the heat, cool completely and chill for at least 2 hours.
  5. Stir in the Cool Whip and add the green food coloring if desired.
  6. Cheesecake Layer: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and icing sugar.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip and vanilla extract.  Spread over the macadamia base layer.
  7. Spread the key lime mixture over the cheesecake layer.
  8. Top with 1 cup of Cool Whip and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.
  9. Let stand overnight.

No comments:

Post a Comment