Everyone has a favorite dessert from a restaurant and no one can usually make it at home and exceed that food memory. My husband is a traveler and a foodie. He eats key lime pie wherever he goes and believes he knows what an authentic key lime recipe should taste like.

I’ve tried my best to recreate a recipe for an authentic key lime pie, one that has the brightness and intensity of  limes, the heavenly textures of a thick lime cream paired with an airy light whipped cream and a flavorful, crunchy crust.

How’s that for a classic dessert?

I have over 1200 recipes and I want you to know that I fret about them being right for you. It’s my desire for you to have a great experience in your kitchen.

So as we argued about texture, I remade the pie, and even came up with a gluten free crust as an option. I’m eating gluten free now, which is not easy, and hope to be bringing you more delicious gluten free dishes, and a post on why I’m doing this. It has nothing to do with trends, but is a health matter.

On my second go round I thought to myself, why can’t everyone be happy? I can make small tarts and vary the crust between traditional graham crackers and an almond flour gluten free option.

The first key lime pie was just a little too thick, so I added more lime juice. I also used a mixture of key limes and Persian limes. If you have a choice between the two, however, I would just go with regular limes because otherwise you will need 25-30 key limes.

Key limes aren’t juicy enough, but they are more tart and that’s what an authentic key lime pie recipe has to have. It has to be tart, but the tartness will be offset by the sweetened condensed milk and the combination is creamy heaven.

Have you ever wondered what sweetened condensed milk is? It’s milk and sugar with the water evaporated out so it’s sticky, rich and whatever you do, do not look at the calorie count.

How to Top the Key Lime Pie

You could top your key lime pie with meringue like Southern Fatty did, or go with my preferred method, and top it with a stabilized whipped cream.

The whipped cream can be applied and refrigerated and it will look just as good two days later. I show you how to do that in this video. You can also freeze the pie or small tarts before applying whipped cream. Take out 20 minutes prior to serving. They will taste just as good.

Authentic Key Lime Pie Recipe with a Gluten Free Option

Let me know if you make this authentic key lime pie recipe and if you like whipped cream or meringue?

Let’s connect on instagram and if you make any of my recipes I’d love for you to tag me at #spinachtiger.

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Authentic Key Lime Pie Recipe with Gluten Free Option

Authentic Key Lime Pie Recipe with a gluten free option, using both key limes and limes and a stabilized whipped cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham crackers
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

Gluten Free Crust

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar optional

Key lime pie filling

• 3 large limes
• 8 key limes see notes
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 can 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 4 large egg yolks room temperature

Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese softened room temperature
• dash vanilla

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

• Put graham crackers into a food processor until you have crumbs.
• Melt butter in microwave for 30 seconds in glass dish.
• Mix together, press into a pie or tart pan. If using a tart pan, first layer the bottom with oil or butter or a cooking spray and use a sheet of parchment paper. Butter the paper (or spray) before adding crumbs.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Almond Crust

• Combine almond flour with butter, and using same instructions for graham crackers, press iinto pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Filling

• Wash limes. Rinse. Zest to get 1 tablespoon of lime zest.
• Juice limes to get 1/2 cup lime juice plus 2 tablespoons.
• Beat egg yolks with mixer until golden and creamy.
• Add in lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and lime zest.
• Mix until well incorporated.
• Pour into prepared pans.
• This recipe will make one large pie or tart (9 inches) or 4-6 smaller tarts depending on size of your tart pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Center should not jiggle.
• Cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
• Apply Whipped topping before serving. If you stabilize whipped cream, you can apply whipped cream and put back into refrigerator for several hours to two days.

Whipped Cream

• Mix cream, cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, vanilla together for five minutes until stiff.

Notes

Lime Juice: You will want 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons. Key limes give very little juice, so you'll need 25 or more. I mixed key limes with Persian limes, which are much juicier.

Almond Crust: Some recipes call for adding an egg. I did not do that for this type of pie.

More Tart Desserts from Spinach Tiger

Lemon Shaker Pie

Lemon Tart

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Italian Lemon Ice, Lemon Simply Syrup

Pavlova Cups with Basil Lime Cream

The post Authentic Key Lime Pie Recipe with Gluten Free Option appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I have a thing for strong fruit-centric drinks (but not sweet drinks) and there’s a difference. The blueberry old fashioned packs its own punch as does the strawberry martini.

 Now you might not realize that the avocado is a fruit.

According to this article, they fit the botanical criteria for a berry, which surprised me.

As is true in many of the recipes here at Spinach Tiger, the avocado margarita was not on my white board or in any of my plans until just a few days ago.

My fitness instructor asked me on Monday if I was going to make a margarita for National Margarita Day. Since the whole class was watching, I said sure, and then in my head, thought, probably not. That is  until my friend who works out with me started raving about an avocado margarita  she recently had at this new restaurant aptly named Avo. She even gave me some black sea salt for the drink.

I left inspired to create an avocado margarita and somehow put my own spin to it.

After a quick trip to buy some limes, I went home got out the tequila, avocados, cilantro and celery leaves. Instead of  typical triple sec, I used Gran Gala, a brandy based orange liquor from Trieste, Italy, and quickly I had my margarita up in time for instagram on the national margarita day amongst the other 84,000 posts.

Did you know that when you go to instagram, if you search with a hashtag, you can find all the ways people spend their day eating and drinking.

The Avocado Margarita Showcases My Love for Healthy Food

The avocado margarita combines my love for healthy green food, but don’t be fooled. There’s a good amount of tequila in each drink.  It’s creamy, yet tart, and maybe even a little too easy to drink. It’s not too sweet, but it needs the salt to balance it, so please don’t leave that out.

The Avocado Margarita Process and Gran Gala

I found the recipe at Bon Appetit, which was inspired by an avocado margarita made famous at Curra’s Grill in Austin. I added in the celery salt and instead of triple sec, I used Gran Gala, a VSOP Italian brandy based orange liquor.

Gran Gala has a velvety feel, and an intense flavor and can be used in any cocktail that uses triple sec or Gran Marnier.

I used half avocado for two drinks, and it was the right amount to get that lovely creaminess. I used a touch of cilantro and celery leaves (because I had them and I like that celery flavor). I could even see a dash of celery salt and a dash of cayenne if you want to take the drink to a zestier level.

You Can Freeze this Batch of Avocado Margaritas Ahead of  Your Party

I made these on Monday, but not ready to drink, so I froze the batch in a plastic ziplock. This is truly the secret to a nice iced cold cocktail that you can make in big batches and have ready for your party.

Simply take out until the freeze wears off and the liquid is still cold, or run again in your Vitamix frozen.

The avocado margarita is a good start to my dreams of weekly cocktails. Come back next time for a classic manhattan, as I love retro drinks. If you have a good recipe for something, please send it my way.

A Few of the  Cocktails featured here at Spinach Tiger

Best  Margarita with Fresh Citrus

Blueberry Old Fashioned

Bloody Mary

Strawberry Martini

More Cocktails from Spinach Tiger

Mexican Food from Spinach Tiger

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Avocado Margarita

Avocado Margarita, healthy, smooth, creamy and delicious, adapted from Curra’s Grill in Austin, via Bon Appetite Magazine.

Course Cocktail

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or gourmet salt of your choice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime or 1 teaspoon finely minced green herb
• 1/2 avocado pitted, peeled
• 4 ounces tequila
• 3 ounces gran gala a triple orange liquor (or triple sec)
• 3 ounces fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon agave or simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon orange juice or squeeze fresh orange
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and optional celery leaves combined
• 4 lime wheels

Instructions

• Rim 4 medium sized glasses with a lime wedge and dip into crushed salt. Salt should be moderately course. You can mix the salt with some lime zest or finely chopped parsley (or cilantro)for added color.
• Combine all ingredients into a blender.
• Pour into glasses.
• Garnish with lime wheel.
• This makes 2 to 4 margaritas.

Notes

You Can Freeze Ahead

I froze the batch in a plastic ziplock. This is truly the secret to a nice iced cold cocktail that you can make in big batches and have ready for your party. Simply take out until the freeze wears off and the liquid is still cold, or run again in your Vitamix frozen.

This recipe makes 2-4 margaritas, depending on size of glass.
To make the drink a little greener, I added in some parsley on the second batch, which you don't really taste much of and cilantro would be too overpowering. Mix up a little with the sea salt and rim the glass.

The post Avocado Margarita with Gran Gala Liquor appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How pretty are these purple fries? And, the best news aside from being on one of those healthy purple foods I talked about here, they are roasted, not fried and they are smacking good.

Usually, when your health is at risk, you are told to stop eating fries.

These are fries that are actually good for you. It’s that purple pigment known as anthocyanin that has been known to fight heart disease, is anti-aging and a cancer fighter.

The Process
I peeled off the skins  with a potato peeler, making sure I didn’t scoop away any good potato part. Once peeled, you can julienne or slice the potatoes in many different ways, taking care to practice safe knife techniques. Use a sharp chef’s knife on a stable end grained wooden cutting board like a Florence Adams Boos Block, and since the sweet potatoes are round and tend to roll, make sure you first cut one side so that the sweet potato can sit on a flat surface and not roll. I flavored sea salt with lime zest and flavored the olive oil with a squeeze of lime. I roasted until near crisp (watch your oven, because sweet potatoes can go from crisp to burned very quickly).

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Purple Lime-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Purple sweet potato fries with lime and why purple food is good for you.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 purple sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• zest of 1/2 lime
• juice of 1/2 lime

Instructions

• Peel potatoes. Slice into strips.
• Add lime zest to olive oil
• Toss with olive oil and salt
• Roast on shallow baking dish at 350.

I’m happy with simple lime and salt, but I spotted some options for dipping prepared by other food bloggers which you may enjoy:

Lime Aioli (with Cauliflower Croquettes) from Not Eating Out in New York
Basil Aioli from The Fresh Dish
Lime Chipotle Aioli from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Lime Habanero Mayonnaise from Lisa is Cooking

The post Purple Lime-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries appeared first on Spinach Tiger.