Christmas favourites - 2

Christmas favourites

On the table tops of Café Sarwaa in Sasthamangalam, Thiruva­nant­hap­uram, this Sunday will be an assortment of cakes, cookies and pies from the kitchen of Jagee John of Jagee’s Cookbook. Coffee Walnut Cake, Lemon Cheese Cake, Orange Pound Cake, Flortentine Cake, Key Lime Pie and a bunch of other Christmas favorites. “You know it is Christmas time when the air is full of cinnamon. I remember the smells that come from the kitchen when grandmom or mom was inside. It is such a good way to welcome Christmas. I want the Sunday bake sale to be fun, because Christmas is all about love and sharing,” she says. At 4 pm the same day, Jagee will also be doing a free demo of some of her special dishes like the Pizza Omlet, the Calamarie Pasta Salad and a cocktail of wine and a little bit of Brandy and fruits. Here, Jagee gives the recipes to two of her bake specials.

Key Lime Pie

This refreshing and easy to whip up sweet lime pie originates from Florida and is named after the famous key limes that are grown in Florida, USA.
Ingredients for Crumb Crust

• Arrowroot biscuits 200 g
• Ginger powder (optional) 1/4 tsp
• Sugar 3 tbsp
• Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
• Unsalted butter (room temp & softened) 100 g

​For filling

• Condensed milk 400g (1 tin)
• Egg yolks 5
• Freshly squeezed juice of 3 green fresh limes and finely-grated rind of them

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C for 10 minutes.
• Lightly frease a 23-cm tart tin or a cake pan.
• To make the crumb base, process the biscuts into crumbs, add sugar, powdered ginger and cinnamon, and mix well. Blitz in the softened butter to the crumb mixture so that the mixture looks like wet sand. Do not over mix. Tip the mixture into the tart tin and press over the base and sides uniformly. Bake this biscuit base for 10 minutes .
• For the filling, beat the condensed milk, lime juice, lime rind and egg yolks together in a bowl until well blended.
• Pour the yummy filling mixture into the baked crumb crust. Return to the oven for a further 15-17 minutes, or until the filling is set (not coloured). Leave to cool completely.
• Cover and chill for at least three to four hours. Spread with whipped cream and serve.