Key Lime Pie Cream Puffs

I’m admittedly not much of a pie person – especially not a fruity pie person. So if I make fruity pie flavored recipes, then you know that they’re good. That incredible combination of tart and sweet is absolutely irresistible and will please all different taste palettes (trust me, I would know!).

So, confession time. I didn’t squeeze a bunch of key limes for this pie. Unless you live in the Florida Keys, key limes are near impossible to find, which is why I used key lime juice! My friend brought me a bottle from the Key West and I just had to use it somehow. But you can definitely find it the produce area of most grocery stores. However, if you have access to those delicious key limes and want to squeeze them, go right ahead! 🙂

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• Taste: ★★★★★
• Difficulty: ★★★
• Ingredients: ★★★
• Time: 45 min (assembly) + 30 minutes (baking) = ~1.5 hours total

Ingredients (makes ~6 large cream puffs)

Craquelin Crust:

• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4-5 tbsp flour
• 1 pinch salt

Choux Pastry:

• 1/2 cup COLD water
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Key Lime Filling:

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• Green and Yellow food coloring
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 – 3 tbsp key lime juice
• 2 tsp lime zest

Directions

Making the Craquelin Crust

1. Mix butter, sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl using a spatula. The mixture should resemble slightly crumbly cookie dough.
2. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper or inside a zip-loc bag. Press or roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Freeze crust until ready to use.

Making the Choux Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone mat.
2. Combine water, butter, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add flour; stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together into a smooth dough and pulls away cleanly from the bottom of the pan.
3. Transfer to a bowl and spread out with a whisk to speed up cooling. Cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
4. Whisk eggs, one at a time, into the pastry, mixing well after each addition. Scoop pastry into a pastry bag and pipe into 6 to 8 buns on the baking sheet.

1. Smooth out tops with a wet finger.
2. Use a cookie cutter to cut crust into circles about the diameter of the buns. Lightly push crusts onto the buns.

1. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 400 F (175 C) and bake for another 15 minutes. Transfer buns onto a cooling rack.

Making the Filling

1. Beat the heavy whipping cream, lime juice, and food coloring until soft peaks form (‘ribbon stage’).
2. Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Grate in lime zest and mix through.
3. Cut a small hole in the bottom of each cream puff.
4. Pour the cream mixture into a pastry bag and pipe the cream into the cooled choux until filled.
5. Enjoy!!