Key Lime pie

It's ages I've been posting any good little things...Bad blogger, I know. Time is so quick and I've been busy studying for my Master Sommelier class, which I have recently finished. So, here I am, posting a pie I actually baked some months ago. Key Lime pie, a very easy cake with a king ingredient, that I really really love: Mr Lime. When I'm doing my grocery shopping I always look for limes in the fruit section. Even though I know I will not buy them, I'm happy to see those nice little green balls, waiting to make someone's recipe a success. Yes, citrus aurantifolia -  that's the botanical name of lime -  is so perfumed and fresh ...it gives me the idea of something extremely clean and wonderfully aromatic. If I had to match the color green with another color I would choose white: the colors of hope and peace, that's perfect harmony for me! 

Lime is such a versatile ingredient, like lemon, but with a more exotic touch. Its origin is indeed in India and Malaysia and it is commonly used in Thai cuisine, as well as Vietnamese, Mexican and Latin American cuisines. It goes in main meals, soups, vinaigrettes, salsas, sauces, cakes, desserts, ice creams or sorbets. And not to forget, its role in cocktails, as one of the main ingredients of my favorite one, the worldwide beloved Mojito. If you are a wine lover like me, you will agree with this rule I recently read in a book: "Want to know the secret to pairing white wines? Think of a cool region wine with no oak on it- say, Sancerre, Pinot Grigio, or Tocai Friulano. Now, think of a lime. If you can put lime on your food, you can most likely pair it with an unoaked white wine". 

Well, it's time to reveal the "secret" of my Key Lime pie...here's the recipe!

Key Lime pie

(this recipe is taken from the book Torte dolci e salate, KeyBook. Makes 6-8 servings)

To make the dough:

250 g white flour

125 g soft butter in little pieces

2 - 3 tablespoons cold water

1/4 teaspoon salt

To make the cream:

4 yolks

395 g condensed milk

125 ml lime juice

2 teaspoons lime zest

Start making the dough by adding a pinch of salt to the flour. Then add the butter and work till you get a compound similar to grated Parmesan. Make a fountain and add water little by little to reach the right consistency. Wrap the paste with film and let it rest for about half an hour in the fridge. To make the cream work all the ingredients with an electric whisk for two minutes till they are all mixed well. Roll out the dough and lay it on a buttered 23 cm cake mold and riddle the bottom with a fork. Pour the lime cream in and level it with a palette knife. Bake the cake at 180 C for about 20-25 minutes, then let it cool for two hours in the fridge. You can use a slice of lime to decorate it and serve it with icing sugar and whipped cream.

Cranberry Nut Cookies

I found this simple recipe in a magazine while I was waiting my turn at the hair salon. These cookies are very fast to prepare, all you need is just a few ingredients, but be sure to use a very good extra virgin olive oil if you don't want your cookies smell of machine oil...You can make them with any kind of nut, I had walnuts at home, anyway the original recipe was with pistachios and dried cranberries. Here the recipe of these delicious Cranberry Nut Cookies, enjoy! 

Cranberry Nut Cookies

400 g white flour

200 g sugar

1 egg

3 egg yolks

80 g extra virgin olive oil

70 g dried cranberries

70 g walnuts

a pinch of baking powder

Beat the egg and the yolks with the sugar until they get light and frothy. Add flour and the rest of the ingredients. If necessary add some more flour to get a more solid compound. Create a sort of bread block and put it into a previously buttered oven dish.  Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for about 15 min. Let it cool and cut the block crosswise to form the cookies. 

Zelten...a traditional Christmas cake from Trentino Alto Adige

This is another cake I made during the Christmas holidays. Zelten is the traditional dessert prepared in Trentino Alto Adige in this season. The name comes from the German word "selten", which means "seldom" since it is baked only in this special occasion. The recipe can vary a little bit from village to village, it is mainly prepared with flour, eggs, butter, sugar and baking powder like a sweet bread stuffed with candied fruits and nuts.  In my version, I only used dry figs, raisins and a lot of nuts. The result is a very rich and tasty cake that can be cut in little cubes and eaten little by little on Christmas and the days after. Covered with film it can last indeed several days without losing its full taste. I read that according to the tradition all the members of the family should contribute to the preparation of Zelten and that it has to be eaten just after the Midnight Mass  as a symbol of Thanksgiving. Well, I did it all by myself...but my family was very active in eating and finishing it...Here the recipe, enjoy it! And a very Happy New Year to you all...hope it will be a year full of good little things...stay tuned! 

Zelten

(this recipe is taken from giallozafferano.it) 

1 glass of water (or milk)

500 g dry figs

40 g hazelnuts

40 g walnuts

40 g almonds

40 g pine nuts

40 g raisins

70 g dry raisins type Malaga 

2 small glasses of rum

80 g butter

1 sachet baking powder

3 eggs

100 g sugar

250 g white flour

Cut dry figs in little strips, the Malaga raisins in smaller pieces and grind grossly part of the walnuts. Put these fruits in a large bowl, add raisins, the rest of the nuts and the rum. Let this fruit compound macerate for at least one hour. In the meantime separate the yolks from the egg whites. Beat the yolks with half sugar, till they get  light and frothy. Melt the butter in a kettle. Add this melted butter to the eggs, stirring well. Add the macerated fruits, a glass of lukewarm water or milk (I used milk), continuing to stir. At this point add the sifted flour and baking powder. In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff with the rest of the sugar and add them gently to  the dough. Pour the paste into a oven dish (20x25 cm) previously buttered and sprinkled with flour. Decorate with additional nuts as desired. Brush the surface with a yolk and bake at 160 C for about 90 minutes. If the surface gets too brown, cover with an aluminium foil, riddling it with a fork (to let the steam go out).