Key Lime Pie

I LOVE all desserts. I have such a big sweet tooth that it's kind of ridiculous. Cakes, cookies, pies, ice, cream, you name it. The list could go on forever. However, I am not a good baker/cook in any sense mostly due to the fact that I've have never ventured beyond making simplistic foods such as eggs or Top Ramen. To change that, I decided to get a book on baking. The first thing I baked was a key lime pie which was a relatively easy recipe for a beginning baker, like myself.

Ingredients:

• 9-in pie crust
• 2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 cup (8 oz./ 240g) fresh lime juice (from about 8 to 10 limes)
• Zest of 3 to 4 limes (optional) 
• Whipped cream (optional) (Zohn 194)

The first step seemed very simple when I read it. It read "To make the filling, in a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks until combined. Add lime juice and lime zest (if using) and whisk until well combined (mixture will thicken slightly" (Zohn 195). The problem that I ran into doing this was that I didn't know how to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites (I'm an amateur, I know). I was thinking, what am I to do? Well, 5 minutes and one YouTube video later, I figured it out and was able to successfully complete this step. (I didn't really know what to do with the 8 leftover egg whites though.)

The next step described how to bake the pie. It instructed me to "Pour filling into cooled crust, place the pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven until center is set...about 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack, about 30 to 40 minutes" (Zohn 195). This part was relatively easy for me and there were no problems that I ran into.

The final step told me to cover the pie and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours to a day (Zohn 195). I wanted to eat the pie right away; however, I couldn't because I had to wait at least the 3 hours. For me, this was actually one of the most difficult steps because it required a degree of patience I did not have.

However, when it was (finally!) done, I came to the conclusion that it was well worth the wait because it was very good and now I can say that I have made my first (successful) dessert.

Do you like to cook more complex foods or do you prefer to make more "quick and easy" types of foods (frozen foods, Top Ramen, etc.)?

Zohn, Alexandra. Baking. New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2014. Print.