She put the lime in the coconut....

Whoa, it's been a solid month since I've updated this blog! The last few weeks have been a flurry of traveling and getting invited out and my cooking has been minimal, at best. But fear not, I'm back with a yummy new recipe :-)

I was actually away this past weekend, too. I went to New York City to visit some friends, and I was invited to a Mexican themed Shabbos lunch. (I guess Mexican themed meals are popular among the young Modern Orthodox crowd? Who knew?) I went up on Thursday afternoon, and I knew I'd have some time on Friday to cook and prep some food, so I told my hosts I'd be more than happy to bring dessert....it's how I make friends, after all :-P

Mexican meals call for something citrus-y, don't you think? You already know about my thing for lemon, and lime doesn't fall too far behind in my list of favorite flavors. I created a similar recipe to this for another Mexican themed meal back in the spring, and I actually posted it here on a cooking website. But for this meat meal, I needed to adapt the key lime filling so it was pareve. Ina Garten's lemon curd hasn't failed me yet, so by one-and-a-halving it and changing up the lemon to lime, I created this super tart curd that layered perfectly with the moist cake, sweet whipped cream, crunchy coconut, and just a hint of tequila. I actually made the curd in my own kitchen in Baltimore the night before I left and stored it in a tupperware container. (Yes, Mom, I had it on ice :-P). It traveled great, and then pretty much all I needed to do was assemble when I got to NYC. And it was a hit! I think I'm welcome back on the Upper West Side....I hope!

Mexican Key Lime Trifle

Key lime curd:
6 limes, zested
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks margarine
6 eggs
3/4 cups key lime juice

Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix, baked according to package directions in a 9x13 pan, cooled
1/4 cup tequila
2 cups pareve whipped cream, whipped
1 1/2 cups coconut, toasted in a dry pan until golden, cooled

To make key lime curd:
In a large bowl, cream zest, sugar, and margarine with a hand mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, to incorporate. Slowly add lime juice. Pour mixture into a sauce pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes until thick. (Initially it will look like it has curdled. This is okay - just continue cooking until smooth; then it will thicken.) Cool completely.

To assemble trifle:
Cut the cake into 1-inch cubes. Layer 1/3 of the cubes in the bottom of a glass trifle dish (or any clear dish). Douse the cake with tequila. Pour 1/3 of the lime curd and spread evenly. (Want to make it more alcoholic? Add some more tequila for fun - far be it for me to get between a you and a good time :-P) Spread 1/3 of the whipped cream over the lime curd and then sprinkle with toasted coconut. Repeat this process 2 more times. Refrigerate for 6 hours to overnight so the trifle can set. Scoop to serve.