Taking the Taste of Maui Back to Your Own Home

Key Lime Pie - SouthPacificEngagement
Key Lime Pie Photograph by Kendra Thornton

Today is our great pleasure to have Kendra Thornton for our first guest post.  The dessert she will present is ‘Key Lime Pie’ with her favorite recipe from Hawaii. Thank you Kendra!

I have mixed my excitement for travel by bringing the taste of authentic cuisine to my own home with some of my unique recipes. This recipe below is from my travels to the Hawaiian Islands where I stayed at one of the top hotels in Maui and had this fabulous dessert!

As I watch the snowflakes fall past my kitchen window, a wonderful aroma is wafting from my oven. I am transported back in time from a Chicago winter day to Maui, one of Hawaii’s beautiful islands. I am once again at the Kapalua Resort where I had my tasty treat!

Kapalua sprawls over 22,000 acres alongside the splendid northwest shore of Maui. It is a true paradise for nature lovers and avid golfers. There are white sandy beaches to stroll, pools and spas for relaxing, and a premier golf course nestled in between pineapple groves and lush tropical greenery and great places to dine.

The key lime pie I am baking will allow me to share a taste of the islands with friends and family. It is my favorite dessert at what has to be the restaurant with the best traditional Hawaiian cuisine and the most spectacular view anywhere.

I sigh as I remember, and then I turn from the snowy scene to check on my key lime pie. I shall return to Kapalua Resort again someday, perhaps for the Kapalua Wine and Food Festival or maybe even just for another fabulous vacation and stay at one of the top hotels on the island. However, this piece of pie will warm my heart and the memories while indulge.

Ingredients for Key Lime Pie (crust)

– Purchase a prepared graham cracker crust pie shell, or bake from scratch with the easy crust recipe.
– 1 and 1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs
– 1/3 Cup melted butter
– 1/4 Cup Sugar, or less

Instructions for Pie Crust

– Place crumbs in medium bowl
– Add just enough sugar to sweeten
– Moisten dry ingredients with melted butter

– Press into a pie tin and set aside

Ingredients for Key Lime Pie Filling

– 3 Eggs, yolks only
– 1-2 Cans sweetened condensed milk (depending on pie shell size)
– At least 1 cup key lime juice (adjust for pie shell size)

Instructions for Key Lime Pie Filling
– Separate yolks from three eggs
– Mix egg yolks with condensed milk and blend well
– Add key lime juice to taste for tartness
– Pour mixture into pie shell
– Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 345 degree preheated oven

– Take care to not  over cook
– Cool on rack for 15 minutes
– Refrigerate until serving time
There you have it! You’re very own taste of paradise right in your own home. I hope you enjoy this dessert just as much as I did. Malaho!

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About Kendra Thornton: Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. She is a long time travel expert who has been packing her bags and traveling the world since she was 3 months old! She has found her utmost desire in life is right here in her own home.