Following the success of the Coconut-Lemon squares, I decided to make its sister recipe, i.e. using limes. I love limes even more than lemon, so I looked for a recipe which used lots and lots of lime juice and zest. Unsurprisingly, I found a great recipe at Epicurious. I seem to be practically living at Epicurious these days; possibly as I cannot get hold of either Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazines in the UK...
Happily, all went well. The voluptuous custard topping worked incredibly well with the nice short crust. The coconut flavour was much more pronounced in the crust of this particular recipe. This may be because I toasted the coconut in the oven this time, rather than the microwave - 180C/Gas 4 for five minutes, stirring occasionally. The coconut smelt much more toasted this time. Also, I didn't bother to sweeten the coconut before toasting it, and I don't believe that sweetened coconut would have improved the recipe at all.
The custard topping was awesome. Surprisingly it cooked to a glorious pale green; I thought that the colour would have been lost during cooking, but instead it seems to have intensified. The lime flavour was very intense and nicely fragrant. The extra coconut on top was slightly crunchy and made a really nice contrast. Texturally, it was very different to the lemon squares. The custard was very voluptuous (like a very thick curd) rather than very firm and slightly dry. This made the squares more suitable as a dessert than a snack food. I wasn't complaining though!!
Coconut Lime Squares
For crust
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
For custard
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 5 limes)
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest (from about 2 limes)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled
Make crust:
Preheat oven to 325�F / Gas Mark 3 and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
In a bowl blend together with fingertips flour, butter, coconut, confectioners' sugar, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Reduce oven temperature to 300�F / Gas Mark 2.
Make custard:
In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in flour, lime juice, and zest.
Pour mixture over crust and bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Top custard with coconut and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, or until just set. Cool confection in pan on a rack and chill 1 hour.
Makes sixteen 2-inch squares
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Comments
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Gorgeous, Angela! Those look good enough to lick the monitor...!
1. Posted by Jennifer on November 19, 2007
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Don't you just wish the internet was Scratch and Sniff? :) If you ever have any spare limes lying around, then give these a go. They are definitely worth making. Thanks for the compliment :)
2. Posted by Angela on November 19, 2007
Have just found your blog and am working my way through it! Wonderful!
With regard to not being able to get Bon Appetit and Gourmet, I get it in Edinburgh from Borders Books. They also have a branch in London where you can get it. Keep up the good work.
3. Posted by Anne on January 24, 2008