Frozen Key Lime and White Chocolate Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's embarrassing to admit that a dessert this easy to make helped build my reputation as a cook and is an often requested favorite of family and friends. Its initial creation was borne of harried necessity and I never dreamt that this combination of ingredients could possibly make a memorable dessert. It came about when I was in the middle of my "only from scratch" phase of cooking and had lost a race with time. That meant that dessert would have to come from outside my kitchen or be assembled with semi-homemade ingredients from the grocer's shelves. Refusing to bring a stranger's food into my home, I ran to the store to grab the ingredients I needed to make the creation that was forming in my head. I grabbed key lime juice, a couple of limes and heavy cream from the "real" food aisles. My cart also contained several not so real items, such as a ready-made graham cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk and a container of whipped topping. My plan was to create a key lime pie that would be made my own with the addition of a topping made from a mixture of heavy cream and white chocolate. I decided to make a frozen pie because I had no time to work with eggs and I'm not a big fan of gelatin desserts. That made my pie filling simple in the extreme. I mixed bottled lime juice with sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping and added some lime zest for extra flavor. I poured that layer of filling into the graham cracker crust and put the pie in the freezer. I then began to work on the next layer. I melted white chocolate in a bit of cream and brought it to body temperature before folding it into lightly beaten whipped cream. Be forewarned, that the cream will collapse if the chocolate is too warm or you attempt to beat it into the heavy cream. Folding is the prime directive here. I then spread the cream over the lime base and let the pie sit in the freezer while I went to work. About 8 hours later, I cut the pie into serving pieces before transferring it to the refrigerator where it sat for an hour or so before dessert was served. I cut the pie while frozen to assure clean slices. I refrigerated it to allow the filling to soften slightly before my guests had a go at it. Lovers of citrus desserts will adore this, though pipe and horn players should be warned that this is incapacitating and attempts to pucker-up may actually be painful. I do hope that, despite its humble ingredients, you'll give this pie a try. It takes all of 30 minutes to prepare and it is pure ambrosia for tired palates. Here is the recipe.

Frozen Key Lime and White Chocolate Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker pie crust
Filling
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces whipped topping
Zest of 2 limes
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice
Lime slices for garnish
Topping
4 ounces white chocolate
1-1/4 cup chilled whipping cream, divided use

Directions:
1) To make filling: Mix condensed milk with whipped topping and beat until well-blended. Add lime zest and juice and blend well. Pour into crust and freeze.
2) To make topping: Combine white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream in a small bowl. Set over simmering water and stir until chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove bowl and allow chocolate to cool to body temperature. Beat reserved 1 cup cream until soft peaks form. Fold in chocolate mixture. Spread over top of lime filling. Return pie to freezer. Freeze for 8 hours.
3) To serve: About 1 hour before serving, remove pie from freezer and cut into serving slices. Place pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with lime slices if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Key Lime Pie - Chaos in the Kitchen
Key West Lime Bars - One Perfect Bite
Lemon Yogurt Cake - Delish
Meyer Lemon Bars - Tasty Easy Healthy Green
Lemon Tart Brulee - Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Lightened Up Lemon Bars - Half Baked