Frozen lime pie

October 10, 2021

   

This is my second vegan pie mishap of our current lockdown. The first one didn't make it to the blog - it was a lemon tart with a lovely shortcrust and a cornflour-thickened curd that absolutely would not set. 

This time I was in the mood for something involving limes and condensed milk, and key lime pie popped up during my recipe browsing. I flicked between a taste recipe that used condensed milk and an Isa recipe that didn't use eggs, picking out the ingredients and techniques that most appealed to me. I wasn't all that keen on using agar, and hoped that a larger quantity of arrowroot might do the job instead. That didn't work out, and I was stuck with my second un-set tart of the season.

I decided to fall back on a trick that worked once last year: I froze my pie. It was set within a couple of hours, and a bit strange to cut, but an excellent texture to eat. The filling remained soft and creamy, not at all icy, and with a sweet-sour balance that suited me. I've been sprinkling toasted coconut on it and considering it close enough to a success. I might even like this frozen version better than I would a room temperature lime pie. Still: I really would like to figure out a nicely set citrussy vegan tart.

Frozen lime pie

(a recipe inspired by taste's key lime pie, 

and Isa Chandra Moskowitz's latchkey lime pie) 

pie crust

150g plain sweet biscuits (I used digestives)

75g margarine

filling

1/3 cup soy milk

3 tablespoons arrowroot (would increase this to 4-5 if attempting an unfrozen pie)

320g can sweet condensed coconut milk

1/2 cup lime juice

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

garnish

toasted shredded coconut

Crush the biscuits between baking paper sheets, using a rolling pin, and pour the crumbs into a bowl. Melt the margarine in a saucepan, and stir it through the biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture into a pie dish and refrigerate.

Whisk the arrowroot into the soy milk, in a small-medium saucepan. Stir in the condensed milk and set the mixture over medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until thickened. The condensed milk probably already feels thick, but you'll eventually notice your spoon dragging through arrowroot thickness on the bottom of the saucepan, and then notice a similar thickness permeating through the whole mixture. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and freeze or refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.

Serve slices with a sprinkle of toasted shredded coconut.