Kiwi, Lime and Savory Creams Pie: Take One

I had a bunch of kiwis leftover from a party where I'd intended to make a pitcher of kiwi martinis. For some reason, Kiwi-lime pie got stuck in my head, rather than "key lime pie." I've also been experimenting lately with some deconstruction of recipes, and so decided that a layered pie with a kiwi curd (like lemon curd) would be quite good. I couldn't find a recipe for kiwi curd, so I made up the one below. It could still use some work to get it a little thicker. The filling below that I came up with would work great with a lime or lemon curd, too. Flavor-wise this turned out very well, is very easy. As I mention below, as the kiwi-curd didn't quite set, when cut, it lost a bit of its "pie" aspect:

Kiwi Roy-ale Pie

Serves 12

NB: This will need at least to chilled in the freezer for several hours and should ideally be chilled in the refrigerator over night.

Kiwi Curd:
- 5 ripe kiwis (the ones I used were over-ripe, which is still good, but makes is much sweeter)
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 1/3 C sugar
- 3/4 C (1.5 sticks) butter
- 5 large eggs beaten to blend
- sale to taste (after cooked)
- worth trying: 1 tsp unflavored gelatin sprinkled over 2 T water

Savory Creams Filling:
- 8 ounces low fat cream cheese (room temperature)
- 8 ounces low fat sour cream
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream, chilled (you could also use Cool-whip to further reduce calories. if you do this, don't add any sugar or vanilla until the end. We just have an aversion towards whipped vegetable oil, even if it is lower cal).
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

Crust (or use pre-made graham cracker crust, this is easy enough, I think it's probably worth it for the richness it has. However, if you are doing individual tarts, definitely use pre-made):

- 12 whole graham crackers (should yield 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs)
- 5 T melted butter
- 1/4 C. sugar

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees if making your own crust.

For Kiwi Curd:
Peel kiwis. The easiest way to peel a kiwi is to pretend it's a planet, and cut it in half along the equator. Then scoop out the flesh on each side. If the hard stuff at the "poles" comes out, you'll need to remove it, as it doesn't blend well. Juice the two limes and put the juice and the kiwi flesh into a blender. Blend just until blended. It is very important not to overblend this, as you will start to chop up the seeds. If too many of the seeds are chopped, they confer a very bitter taste to the mixture. Next, in a sauce pan, start butter and sugar melting over medium heat, mixing frequently (DON'T let the butter brown). Add the kiwi mixture once the butter is melted. Stir the mixture until all of the sugar & butter are dissolved and incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and whisk in the eggs. Continue whisking for approximately 3 minutes, allowing the mixture to thicken. Remove from heat, and add a small amount of salt to taste. Cool in the refrigerator of freezer. One fast, easy way to cool is to put it all into a large ziploc bag, and put it in the freezer so a lot of surface area is exposed.

This curd was a bit on the runny side. It still tasted great, but never really set. Thus, when I cut the pie, it was like a very rich, thick sauce that I spooned out of the pie tin on top of the piece of pie. Tasted great. Next time I will try the following:

sprinkle 1 tsp of gelatin over 2 T of water, and let stand for 5 minutes. After eggs have been incorporated, while mixture is still warm, whisk in gelatin. The only problem with this, is you can't really just let it set and cool. You'll have to continually whisk so that the gelatin doesn't set up. But the whisking will aerate and help it to cool faster. You will want it to be fairly cool (approaching room temperature) before you stop whisking it, b/c it will be going straight onto the creams filling.

For Graham Cracker Crust:
You may do this while you are waiting for the kiwi curd to cool. If you elect to add the gelatin, you'll need to do the kiwi curd last instead of first.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Crumble graham crackers into a bowl. Using the base of a glass like a pestle, grind the graham crackers until they are crumbs, not chunks. incorporate the sugar. Pour the butter over the crumbs, and evenly mix in.

Press crust into a buttered 9" pie pan, or a non-stick one. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is browned.

Savory Creams Filling
You may do this while you are waiting for the kiwi curd to cool. If you elect to add the gelatin, you'll need to do the kiwi curd last instead of first.

Whip cream to stiff peaks. Whip in vanilla anc confectioner's sugar (don't over-beat). Whip in cream cheese and sour cream. Taste and adjust sweetness to your own preference.

Assembly:
Using a rubber spatula, spread enough filling over the bottom of the pie crust to cover it to a depth of 1/2." You will have left-over filling. You may freeze the remainder and use it for another pie later on, or some individual tarts (don't microwave to defrost, just let it defrost on its own.) Spoon the kiwi curd over the top, so that it to measures about 1/2 " deep. Cover with plastic wrap and chill till set (if you used gelatin). If you didn't use gelatin, the kiwi curd won't really completely set. In that case, just chill it over night, or for an hour in the freezer, followed by an hour or so in the refrigerator.

If you used gelatin, it would be neat to garnish this with kiwi slices.