Oh, summer has never seemed so appealing. Now that I am done with finals and am in the midst of my last real summer vacation, I fully intend on making the most of it. To celebrate my last moments of freedom, I baked something--a sunny Florida Pie! I was disappointed that I missed out on this particular Tuesdays with Dorie selection last week due to finals, so I woke up bright and early on Monday morning and whipped it up. I would have liked to make the madelines that Tara of Smells like Home selected for this week's TWD, but I didn't have the special, pretty baking pan. It broke my heart because I ADORE madelines, but it wasn't meant to be this week. Maybe later?

The pie itself was easy to put together (well, I sort of cheated; I used a *gasp* store-bought graham cracker crust); so much so that I got ambitious and set out to make the meringue topping. It was all going very well...
But I got a hard lesson on rushing things in baking. Since I had a dentist appointment to make that morning, I thought I would be clever and make the meringue ahead of time while the pie cooled for a bit in the freezer. Once I got the firm, soft peaks of white, I fixed myself some lunch and got ready for a day out. Wrong move. When I was done getting ready and went out to the kitchen to finish the pie, my beautiful meringue was deflated. All that was left in the mixing bowl was a soupy mess of shredded coconut and egg whites.

Luckily, the pie turned out fine without the meringue topping. It wasn't as pretty, but it worked. The taste wasn't bad either. When I took my first bite, I thought that it was weird and not so delicious. I mean, I've never had key lime pie before; the idea of eating something tart as a dessert goes against everything that I stand for. As I devoured the slice below, the taste grew on me. Now I'm kind of addicted and have to sneak in a tiny sliver before and after meals. Oh, summer has never been such a sweet treat.

Ingredients (from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)

• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 4 egg yolks
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

Heat the cream and coconut over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is reduced to half its volume. Set that aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed until their smooth, thick, and paler in color. On low speed, pour in the condensed milk. Once that's all mixed in, mix in the lime juice, a half of a cup at a time.

Pour in the coconut cream into the prepared crust. SLOWLY pour the lime mixture on top. Smooth over the top with the back of a spoon before popping the pie into an oven preheated at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. Cool the pie for 15 minutes, and then place it in the freezer to set for at least an hour before serving.