Day sixteen (of sixteen days of GREEN) - Key Lime Mousse Pie for a great finish!

For over two weeks you've seen nothing but GREEN here.  After today that will change, but I hope you've gained a few new ideas for including this fresh color in every meal of the day.

I thought it would be best to end on a sweet note.  Irish cooking is certainly a unique cuisine, and I've learned a lot.  But I'm ready to change colors.

The only ‘heavy’ part of this luscious mousse pie is the buttery shortbread crust.  No eggs, no baking, and no fuss - all add up to a silky smooth dessert.  This could almost fool you into thinking it’s a mint pie, so you may want to add just a hint of lime zest.  This pretty dessert can be ready to serve in 2-3 hours from start to finish.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and we have maxed out on mint at my house.   I can’t forgo a green dessert, so I’ve turned to lime instead.  Lime and mousse seemed like a great pair, so I went hunting for a recipe that could be combined and piled into a crust.  I changed the crust on a mousse recipe from half-bakedbaker to a baked buttery shortbread.

Unlike many key lime recipes, this one has no eggs.  It does use sweetened condensed milk - which reacts with the lime juice and thickens into a tart and creamy custard.  Unflavored gelatin takes it from there to make it firm enough to slice and hold it’s shape.  

Making this pie in a springform pan makes serving easier.   Lining the bottom with parchment paper allows you to place the chilled pie on a pretty serving plate after a short set-up time.

For this sweetly tart recipe with photo tutorial, go to:

www.changeabletable.com

Maybe next St. Patrick's Day I'll look for recipes that call for a PINCH of this, and a PINCH of that?