Lime Mini Cakes

One of my favorite foods that I've made so far this year is a lime curd recipe that I found on Salt and Chocolate, via tastespotting. We eat a lot of lime flavored food around here and this dessert is creamy, tart and just sweet enough to be satisfying.

I've done many things with the lime curd, I've put it in phyllo shells and topped it with raspberries, I've used it as cake filling, and as a fruit dip. After a failed attempt to make this month's daring bakers challenge, I used the rest of the sponge cake batter to make this dessert. I poured it into a pan and let it bake just to see how it would come out. The result was a light, spongy cake, with a texture similar to an angel food cake. I really enjoyed the flavor and texture of the cake, so I didn't want to let it go to waste. I whipped up a batch of the lime curd and made individual lime cakes as part of a dessert bar that I was making for my cousin's birthday dinner.

Lime Curd
(from Salt and Chocolate)

105 g lime juice

zest of 2 limes

72 g sugar

164 g eggs*

72 g sugar

206 g butter

In a medium (non stick is helpful) saucepan mix together the lime juice, zest and the first amount of sugar. Bring it to a boil.

In a seperate bowl mix together the eggs and the second amount of sugar.

Temper the eggs with about 1/3 of the lime juice mixture, and then add the egg mixture into the pan whisking constantly. Cook on a very low heat until the mixture reaches 165 degrees (hot enough to cook the egg). You'll be able to tell it is ready when it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the mixture from the heat and put it in a mixing bowl, let cool slightly. Stir in the butter. Once the butter is nearly completely incorporated, pour into a blender and blend. (An immersion blender would also work well here!)

Put the blended mixture into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap resting on the top of the lime curd, so it doesn't develop a skin. I use a 16 ounce solo cup, it fits the entire batch of lime curd, and it nearly fills the cup so the plastic wrap rests on the top easily.

Chill for at least 2 hours, but I usually chill over night.

*Eggs - 164 g of eggs is a hard thing to get. I find that it is approximately 4 large eggs. A large egg is between 57 and 64 grams. Something near 164 is fine, it doesn't have to be exact.