I’m a sucker for a light dessert… Whether it’s a fluffy, espresso-filled tiramisu on the patio at Carmine’s in Chicago or a teeny creme brûlée at Brooklyn and the Butcher, there’s something about having a dessert that’s pale in color and whipped to perfection that I just love.
This isn’t to say that I’ll poopoo the idea of a massive chocolate layer cake or Bourbon truffles, but I prefer any dessert that looks fair and perfect. Pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream, a perfect panna cotta… I love ’em all.
A hundred years ago, when I was a young girl, Keebler began printing a recipe for a Cherry-O Cream Cheese Pie on their ready-made graham cracker pie crusts. Easy as can be, with just lemon juice, Eagle Brand Milk and cream cheese, the base felt like lighter, sweeter cheesecake, and in the house I grew up in, a canned cherry filling topped the confection, that only survived a day or two before being devoured entirely.
While I’ve long said goodbye to ready-made pie crusts and canned cherry filling, the base of that pie has remained a staple in my baking repertoire. To thank a neighbor for helping my yard along this Spring and Summer, I decided to try it with a lime twist in my favorite shortbread crust, and it turned out beautifully!
I replaced the original recipe’s lemon juice with fresh lime juice and grated the peel of one lime into the filling. Topped with thinly-sliced lemons and limes, more lime zest, the teeniest bit of grated white chocolate and sweetened coconut flakes, I really think it turned out beautifully. My friends returned my dish less than three days later, so I’ll assume the taste went over well as well!
An Easy Lime Tart:
1 block of full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 can of Eagle Brand Milk
1/3 Cup lime juice
zest of one lime
Beat all ingredients in a bowl until smooth, and pour into the crust of your choice. Told you it was easy!
** this post is not sponsored in any way. all thoughts and opinions are my own **
** photos by Don Lehman **
