Lime Marshmallow Pie                      
Posted by: Elaine Fri, 20 Feb 2004, at 4:01 p.m.
 

Makes 1, 9-inch pie, About 8 servings

The graham cracker crust:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

The lime curd filling:
(About 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (4 to 5 limes)
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Grated zest of 2 limes

The marshmallow topping:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup cold water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
2. First make the graham cracker: Mix together the flour, cinnamon, and ginger. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or your fingers, until the butter is in small pieces the size of grains of rice.
3. Knead in the honey until the dough is smooth.
4. Pat the dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thick on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely, then crumble about three quarters of the cracker into a food processor and grind into 1 1/2 cups fine crumbs. (Eat the remaining quarter.) Or seal the cracker pieces in a plastic freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin.
5. To make the graham cracker crust, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Butter a 9-inch pie plate and pat the moistened crumbs into the pie plate in an even layer on the bottom and halfway up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
6. To make the lime curd filling: Whisk together the lime juice, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, butter, and zest in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens to the consistency of runny mayonnaise. Pour the filling into the baked crust through a coarse strainer. Bake the filled pie for 8 minutes, until the filling is just set. Remove the pie from the oven.
7. Re-position the oven rack in the upper third of the oven and increase the heat to 450 degrees.
8. To make the marshmallow topping: Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl. In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the remaining 1/3 cup water with the corn syrup and sugar. When the sugar syrup reaches about 210 degrees, start whipping the egg whites. When the egg whites are frothy and the syrup temperature has climbed to 245 degrees, increase the mixing speed to high and slowly dribble the syrup into the whites as they are whipping, being careful to avoid pouring syrup on the beaters. (The beaters will fling off the syrup and it will stick to the sides of the bowl.)
9. Scrape the softened gelatin into the warm pan that was used to make the syrup, and stir until dissolved. Slowly drizzle the gelatin into the whites as they are whipping. Add the vanilla and continue to beat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is at room temperature.
10. With a spatula, swirl the marshmallow topping over the entire top of the pie, making billowy peaks. Bake the pie for 4 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown. Remove to a wire rack.

Serving: Serve at room temperature, or chilled. Use a sharp serrated knife dipped in warm water to slice the pie cleanly