Key Lime Piecaken: Key Lime Pie in a Vanilla Cake

This delicious key lime pie is sandwiched between two layers of vanilla cake and topped with Lime-Infused Buttercream icing and shredded coconut. What a perfect summer dessert.

The truth is, this Piecaken is actually a Faken Piecaken - a term created here on Manitoulin Island a few years ago when we held a sort of Piecaken Festival. You see, a 'real' piecaken is the art of baking a cake, with a whole pie inside. But some pies cannot be put back in the oven a second time, like a banana cream pie, chocolate pie, or a key lime pie.  This category also covers off those who want to be lazy bakers, because let's face it, a 'faken piecaken' is a lot easier to make and requires much less cooking time than a regular piecaken!

And so, since I had a request to make a Key Lime Pie inside of a cake, I had to make it the Faken Piecaken way. This was just fine with me, because my cake could bake for just the right amount of time, and the whole thing layered really nicely. In fact, it turned out beautifully, with the key lime pie being the perfect filling for a vanilla cake.

Key Lime Pie

A similar recipe was on the Taste of Home website, but has since been removed before I could write it down.  This is the original link. But then I made the pie a few more times from memory.  The ingredients may not be exactly the same as the original, but my version is working out very well! Also, the whipped white chocolate cream topping is ALL MINE! I made it up on the spot and it was delicious! So even if you don't put this key lime pie inside a cake, it is delicious all on it's own with the whipped white chocolate cream and some white chocolate shavings.  Probably the best key lime pie you will ever eat. EVER.

Ingredients:

Filling (may be enough for 1 pie + 1 small pie, or use remaining filling as a custard or pudding)

• 2 cans of condensed milk
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp. grated lime peel (Key Lime or regular lime is fine)
• 3/4 cup lime juice (Key Lime or regular)
• 2 tsp vanilla

Crust

• 2 cups crushed graham wafer crackers (or crumbs)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter (unsalted preferably, but either is fine)
• 1 tbsp. butter for greasing pan
• 1 round of parchment paper larger by 2" all the way around than the 8" base of the cake pan
• 1 8" round cake pan

Whipped White Chocolate Cream Topping (if not putting the pie in a cake, or to top cake with)
Click here for recipe.


Important tools:  At lease two 8" cake pans, but preferably 3 of them. Two 8" pans and an 8" pie plate would be fine too.


Key Lime Pie Instructions:

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

1. Prepare your 'pie plate' (8" cake pan) by lining it with a round of parchment paper that comes higher than the pie crust edges will be. Butter the cake pan bottom and sides, then press in the parchment paper and stick it to the pan.  Make cuts all the way around down the sides to get the paper to overlap and lay smooth against the sides of the pan (I'll try to post a picture or video to demonstrate this). Then grease the parchment paper as well.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds or in a small saucepan on the stovetop, depending on your preference.
4. Place your crumbs and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.
5. Pour in the butter and mix with a spatula until the crumb-sugar mix is moist.
6. Press the moist mix into the cake pan and
7. Bake crust for 10 to 14 minutes, until top edges start to brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack while you make the filling.

For the filling:

1. Place the sweetened condensed milk in large bowl. Add the sour cream, vanilla and lime juice.
2. Grate your lime zest with a small grater (the style for Parmesan cheese). Then sprinkle in and blend with a hand mixer, blender, whisk of a stand mixer or a submersion blender (basically whatever you have to blend!).
3. Pour into the baked and cooled pie crust.
4. Bake in a preheated 350º F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the very edges of the filling start to bubble.  No browning for this pie! It just needs to stiffen up a bit in the oven.
5. Let cool on a cooling rack for an hour or more, then place in the fridge to chill until cold (about 6 hours). Meanwhile, make your cakes for the Piecaken.

If you decide to make just the pie and want a great topping with white chocolate in the whipped cream (which will hold for days), click here for the recipe on my chocolate blog.

For the Cake:

You can use a packaged cake mix if you like, such as a white cake or an Angel Food Cake baked in 8" pans, or follow the recipe below, which my daughter modified from my own 'secret' recipe that I use for my business.

You need:

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• Vanilla Buttercream Icing: get recipe here: http://ultimatelychocolatecakes.blogspot.ca/2014/07/vanilla-buttercream-icing-recipe-for.html or use store-bought.

White chocolate shavings or shredded coconut for pressing into the sides of the cake.

Instructions:

1. Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Lightly beat for 10 seconds to disperse the ingredients. Add the canola oil and beat on medium until it is worked in and dry ingredients are moist (20 seconds), then add the eggs and beat for another 20 seconds to incorporate.
2. Using a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and blend again on medium high for 10 to 20 seconds until mixture is smooth. Do not overbeat. Add the milk and vanilla extract and beat just until they are incorporated.
3. Pour into two 8" greased and parchment-lined cake pans. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, just until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.

Assemble the Piecaken

1. On your cake serving plate, place one of the vanilla cake rounds. Ice it with vanilla buttercream (see recipe, if needed) and ensure there is about 1/8" to 1/4" of icing.
2. Carefully remove your chilled/cold pie from the pie plate and parchment paper. You can lift the parchment paper out of the pie shell by holding it by the upper edges and then carefully unwrap (you'll see here why it is important to have a well set and very cold pie!). Place the pie on top of the cake round, ensuring it is evenly in the middle.
3. Ice the top of the pie with the vanilla buttercream, again 1/8" to 1/4" thick.
4. Place the second cake round on top. Gently ice the entire piecaken with a thin layer of icing. 
5. Refrigerate for about 20 to 30 minutes to harden the thin layer of icing, then remove fromt he fridge and completely ice and decorate the cake, either with more buttercream or lime-flavoured buttercream (see tip below)*. Press coconut or white chocolate into the outside of the cake while the icing is still room temperature, or grate a little lime rind on top for a pretty colour.


Voila! You have Key Lime Piecaken! Serve within 2 days, otherwise your cake will dry out.  The pie will likely be good for about 4 days.

*Tip for Lime-Flavored Icing:
-flavour your buttercream with lime oil, or key lime pie flavouring, or if you don't have access to flavourings and oils, simply soak large pieces of lime rind in the icing sugar for 24 hours before making your icing - then remove the rind pieces just before incorporating the icing sugar into the icing recipe.