Vanilla Pound Cake

Ingredients
Nonstick baking spray with flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
6 large eggs, separated
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Black Cherry Sauce, recipe follows


Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 12 to 15-cup fluted pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.


In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the scraped vanilla bean seeds, beating until combined. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.


In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture, alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gently fold into the butter mixture. Spoon into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the almonds evenly over the top of the cake. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with Black Cherry Sauce, if desired.


Black Cherry Sauce:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup black cherry juice
1 (12-ounce) package frozen dark sweet cherries
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and lime zest. Stir in the black cherry juice, whisking until smooth. Add the cherries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 1 minute.. Remove from the heat and let cool.


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Key Lime Mousse Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

• 6 tablespoons fresh key lime juice
• 1 1/4 ounces (1 envelope) package unflavored gelatin
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 10 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
• 1 1/2 ounces white chocolate, grated or shaved into curls, for garnish
• Candied Lime Peel, for garnish, recipe follows

Directions

Crust:

Mix together the cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Filling:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the lime juice.Whisk in the gelatin and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 10 ounces of white chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

Using an electric mixer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar and lime zest in a medium bowl, until smooth. Slowly beat in the cooled white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture.

Using clean, dry beaters, beat the remaining 2-cups heavy cream in a small bowl, until it forms soft peaks. Fold it into the white chocolate mixture and pour into the pie crust. Cover and freeze overnight.

Remove from freezer and run a sharp knife around inside of spring form pan to help loosen the pie. Release springform ring from the bottom of the pan and transfer the pie to a serving plate. Grate or curl the white chocolate over the top and garnish with candied lime peel. Cut into wedges with a knife that has been dipped into hot water and serve.

Candied Lime Peels:

• 4 limes, peels removed and sliced into strips
• 2 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
• 2 cups water

Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the peels in and blanch them for a few minutes. Set aside.

Put the peels in another medium saucepan and cover with equal parts of sugar and water. Simmer, covered, over low heat for 1 hour. Remove the peels and drain until almost dry. Roll into sugar and set aside.

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Best Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Pie:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (12-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cups key lime juice
• 1 tablespoon key lime zest
• 1 pint half-and-half
• Fresh lime slices. for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press the mixture firmly into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake for 8 minutes and let the crust cool completely before spreading the pie filling over it.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat cream until slightly thickened. Gradually add the sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Add condensed milk and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in lime juice, lime zest, and half-and-half. Once the mixture as reached desired flavor and consistency, gently spread pie filling over cooled crust. Cover and freeze for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. Cut into wedges and garnish with fresh lime slices, serve cold.

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