A splash of lime

LIMES are an integral part of our cuisine, they are used daily for our meats and fish, we use them when making pepper sauces as much as we include them in lip-puckering souses. Fresh lime juice is what gives the “zing” to a rum punch, and the coolness to a lime cooler. Lime juice is indeed refreshing, flavourful and very delicious thus making them an excellent choice as the star ingredient in desserts.

Key lime cake

Preheat oven to 350 F

3 tbs butter 1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup flour

3 eggs, separated

2 tsp lime zest

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1½ cups milk

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Grease and flour a 9-inchx9-inch baking pan.

Cream the butter until fluffy, add the egg yolks and blend until smooth.

Stir in the lime zest, lime juice, and milk.

Beat the egg whites until stiff with the salt and cream of tartar

Fold the whites into the cake mixture.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan; place in a shallow pan with about 2 inches of water and bake for about 1 hour.

Cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Trinidad key lime pie

Crust:

9 ginger or digestive cookies

2 tbs sugar

5 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

14 ozs condensed milk

4 egg yolks

½ cup freshly-squeezed lime juice

1 tsp lime zest

whipped cream to serve

Preheat oven to 350F

In a food processor, pulverise the cookies, add butter and combine.

Press into the base and up the sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Make the filling, beat the yolks with the condensed milk, add lime juice and zest.

Pour into the cooled cookie crust and bake for 15 minutes until set.

Chill well, preferably 8 hours or overnight before serving.

Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 8

Coconut lime blondies

Blondies are just a blond version of brownies, a lovely teatime treat, the coconut and lime give these a wonderful tropical and exotic flavour.

1 cup unsalted butter

1½ cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

2 cups freshly-grated coconut

1 tsp freshly-grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350F

Line the base of a 13x9 inch-baking pan with waxed paper, butter and flour lined pan and sides.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, remove from heat, cool slightly and stir in sugar and vanilla.

Beat in eggs until mixture is somewhat glossy.

Combine flour with baking soda, salt, pecans, 1½ cups coconut and lime zest.

Gently spread mixture in pan, sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Bake for 30 to 35minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool, remove from pan, peel off paper and cut into squares.

Makes 32 2-inch squares.

West Indian sponge cake with lime and coconut glaze

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

½ tsp salt

8 ozs unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line, grease and flour one 12x5 inch loaf pan.

Sift the flour three times and add the baking powder and salt, set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Add vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium low, and divide the flour into 4 portions and the milk into 3 portions.

Add the flour alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour.

Mix just until incorporated after each addition.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the side of the pan.

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in pan before turning out.

For the glaze

2 cups icing sugar

3 tbs fresh lime juice

⅓ cup white desiccated coconut

Sift icing sugar and add lime juice mixing to a thick and spreadable consistency.

Sprinkle with coconut.