Oh my Holy Amaze-balls!! This was delicious!!
When I asked Mike what he wanted to do for his Bday and he said just have a chill family day, and a home-cooked meal, I thought, well we do that every weekend.
BUT… Then he made his meal request. Filet Mingon (pretty standard celebratory meal), sides, AND… HOMEMADE KEY LIME PIE!! Whhhhhaaaaaaa?!?!
I’ve been married to this man for almost 6 years and never once has he asked me for Key Lime Pie…so I started doing my homework.
See we are primarily dairy free in this house, so I knew this dessert could present a challenge. Did I want to go full vegan or try my hand at Paleo.
I started researching online and luckily stumbled upon this recipe from Paleo Running Momma
I did a few minor tweeks to make it our own, but HOLY BE-GEEZ was this tasty!!!
The Pecan Coconut Crust alone was delicious enough by itself and I’ll be trying my hand at making it into nut bars in the near future. But in the mean time you MUST TRY THIS RECIPE. You will be soooooooo thankful you did!!
PALEO KEY LIME PIE WITH COCONUT PECAN CRUST
{Prep Time 40 Mins; Cook Time 30 Mins; TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 mins}
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CRUST:
FOR THE CRUST:
- Coconut oil for greasing
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- 1 cup dates, softened (boil in water for 1 min)
- ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tsp raw honey
FOR THE FILLING:
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp key lime or fresh lime juice (I couldn’t find “key” limes so I just squeezed fresh limes, just under ½ cup total)
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp raw honey (Add an extra 2 tsp – 1tbsp honey if you prefer a sweeter pie filling)
- ½ cup organic coconut cream
- 1 tbsp finely grated lime zest
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
FOR THE COCONUT WHIP CREAM:
{ I went the easier route and picked up some So Delicious Coco Whip from Whole Foods, which worked beautifully) BUT if you’re determined to make yours from scratch here you go…
- 1 can organic coconut milk – separated – thick part only** OR ½ can coconut cream (*Refrigerate canned full fat milk coconut to get it to separate into water and cream, then discard the water and use only the cream. Alternatively, you can purchase canned coconut cream.)
- 1 tbsp grade B pure maple syrup OR Raw Honey
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare the Crust:
Grease a 9.5 inch pie dish with coconut oil
In a food processor, combine all crust ingredients and process on high about a minute, until you get a thick pasty mixture. Press this mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish and set aside while you prepare the filling.
Prepare the Filling:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, (or in the bowl of a mixer) whisk or blend together the eggs and yolk with the honey*. Then whisk in the coconut cream, lime juice and zest, and tapioca and mix well until very smooth.
Pour the filling into the crust (I made a 9.5 pie so if yours is smaller, you may not use all the filling) and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, cover the top of the pie loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning too much. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes until just set (the center will still jiggle a bit) for a total of 25-30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely at room temp, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before topping with whipped cream.
For the Coconut Whipped Cream:
Beat or whisk the coconut cream (Thick Part) until light and creamy (you can use an electric mixer or do it by hand) and lumps are removed, then whisk in the sweetener (honey or maple) and vanilla.
Top the chilled pie with the whipped cream and garnish with extra lime zest if desired. Cut into pieces and enjoy!
