Kiwi Pie by Ree

I wanted to make a kiwi pie a few months ago, and on my first try, I pureed the kiwi and integrated it into the pie mixture itself. While I loved the idea and it looked pretty at all, it had a weird, tannic aftertaste that was a little too strong and persistent to be okay. So I tried it again, this time taking the safe route, and declared the new version good to go!

My “safe route” was simply to make my standard key lime pie (which isn’t really key lime pie at all, but that’s another story for another time) and completely cover it with a layer of sliced kiwi. Oh, and then completely cover it with a cloud of billowy whipped cream. Oh, and then sprinkle on plenty of chopped macadamia nuts.

Oh dear, is all I can say.

 

First, make a luscious graham cracker crust! Throw some graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor…

 

 

Along with—help me, Rhonda—some macadamia nuts.

I have a question. Are you like me around macadamia nuts in that you can not control yourself in their presence?

Good. I feel less alone.

 

 

Pulse them until the crumbs are nice and fine…

 

 

Sprinkle in some sugar…

 

 

Then pulse everything together while slowly drizzling in melted butter.

 

 

The crumbs should be nice and moist! So just pour them into a pie dish…

 

 

And use your hands/fingers to press it into the bottom and a little up the sides.

 

 

Bake it at 350 for about 5 minutes, until it’s just barely golden and set. Set it aside to cool while you whip up the pie filling.

 

 

Zest a couple of limes…

 

 

Then add it to the bowl of a mixer with some lime juice…

 

 

A couple of egg yolks…

 

 

And some sweetened condensed milk.

 

 

Then just beat it! (Beat it.) Beat it! (Beat it.) Otherwise you’ll never eat it!

(Sorry. I’m overtaken by song sometimes.)

 

 

When the mixture is slightly thick…

 

 

Pour it into the crust…

 

 

Smooth out the surface…

 

 

And bake it for 15 minutes until set. Then pop the pie into the fridge to let it cool and chill!

 

 

Peel and slice a bunch o’ kiwis…

 

 

And lay them all over the surface of the pie. (If the kiwi are overly juice, just dab them a bit with paper towels first.) I was going to add a layer of kiwi on top of the crust before I poured on the filling and baked the pie…but I wasn’t sure about that one. So I decided to keep the kiwis fresh and cool.

And also: How beautiful are kiwis? My goodness. Dramatic and striking.

 

 

Whip some cream until soft peaks form (maybe a little farther) and plop it right on top of the pie.

 

 

Slice some of the kiwi slices in half…

 

 

Arrange them around the pie…

 

 

Then sprinkle on some extra macadamia nuts.

 

 

I don’t know what to say, other than this was utterly dreamy. I tasted the macadamia nuts with each bite of pie, and the cool, sliced kiwi really stood out on top of the sweet lime custard.

I loved every single bite!

(All 4,000 of them.)

Here’s the handy dandy printable.