So I haven’t posted here since February, and none of you have even bothered to question whether or not I had died. I can forgive you though, as I’m pretty certain that the only people who read this blog are my Twitter followers (who know by my incessant tweeting that I am very much alive and well) and my Mum. My Mum calls me around five times a day, she’ll know I’ve died before I do.

Why all this talk of death anyway? I don’t know. I’m here to talk about desserts, so I shall stop drawing attention to the fact I am a lazy blogger and get to the point - my ‘(Not quite Key) Lime Pie’.

Those close to me will know that I bloody love limes. They can transform about a zillion different recipes, make your fingers smell pretty after a good zesting session and can be used for one of my favourite (albeit dangerous) confessional games - ‘Clue or Lime?’.

I think desserts are possibly the reason that I was put on this planet, both to make them and to consume them. I will happily eat salad all week long if it means that I can gorge on profiteroles, tiramisu and treacle tart on the weekend and not feel even remotely guilty. There are few things more satisfying than cracking the perfectly scorched caramel of a creme brulee and revealing the wickedly creamy loveliness of what lies beneath.

I am not at home this weekend and so I wanted to make my hosts something to thank them for having me stay. I needed a recipe that was simple and fuss-free as I didn’t want to take over their kitchen, I also couldn’t be bothered to go to the shops so I wanted to use ingredients that they already had. Raiding their fridge and finding a bag of limes I quickly realised that my ‘(Not quite Key) Lime Pie’ was going to be the winning recipe. I call it ‘(Not quite Key) Lime Pie’ because the limes are not actually from the Keys, apparently they were from the Co-Op, and because it’s not really a traditional pie, it’s more of a cheesecake. That being said, it would be just as inaccurate to call it a ‘Co-Op Lime Cheesecake’ because there’s no cheese in the recipe either.

I digress.

To make this scrumptious dessert you will need…

For the base:

200g digestives (graham crackers for my Yank friends)

50g softened, unsalted butter

1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (optional)

½ teaspoon of ground ginger (optional)

For the filling:

Zest and juice of 4 lovely limes

300ml of double cream

397g tin of condensed milk

What you need to do…

The good news is that this recipe is so simple that even a monkey could make it. Start by chucking the softened butter, biscuits and cocoa powder and ginger (if using) into the food processor and whizz away until they’re all crumby and sticky looking. Once they look like the right consistency, press them into a 23cm springform tin. Personally, I line the tin because I don’t trust it not to be a bloody nightmare to remove at the end, so I’d suggest you line it too. Once you’ve made your base, stick it in the fridge.

Now on to the yummy part, the filling. Using an electric whisk, blend together all the remaining ingredients until they’re thick, creamy and you can’t resist putting your finger in every five seconds to taste it. Pour the mixture over the base, spread it about a bit with a spatula to make sure it’s nice and level and then stick it back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or until it’s set).

I don’t know how many people to say this serves as I am exceptionally greedy and very generous with my portion sizes, but it’s probably between 8 and 12. I serve it with single cream.

And that’s it I suppose, a fantastically easy and naughty dessert. 

Do excuse the crap picture quality, blame the iPhone and the fact that by this point I was more concerned in eating it than photographing it.

Enjoy!