SCOUT’S KEY LIME CAKE

Do you watch The Bear?

I do.

Every season the first few episodes are rough: lots of yelling, swearing and anger. But then, somewhere around the third or fourth episode, the show comes together and I am drawn in.  Season 3 has had some wonderful moments, not the least of which is the final dinner at the restaurant Ever.

The episode begins with Chef Thomas Keller teaching Carmie how to truss a chicken.  Now obviously I don’t know Thomas Keller, but I every time I have seen him in an interview or lesson he is calm and soft spoken and clearly intelligent. He seems like a very nice man.  As he is showing Carnie how to wrap the string around the chicken he talks about how he feels about cooking and what it means to be a chef.

He says, “We cook to nurture people” and in so doing “we are a part of people’s lives”.  Not just the diners in the restaurants but the purveyors, the farmers, the staff, everyone who comes into the life of the chef and the restaurant.

When he said this, I understood for the first time what cooking with love really means.  Everytime I make a dish I think about the people who will be eating it, what they like and don’t like, and I make the dish to please them.  I have often gone out of my way to find out how to make a dish. Not just in the way most people make it, I try to figure out what is the key flavor memory that brings the person I am cooking for back to the dish.

Which brings me to Key Lime.  Key Lime pie is not a favorite of mine but it is a big favorite of some of my family.  Espcially one little girl who tasted and loved Key Lime Pie at the beach and wondered if she could have a Key Lime Cake.

The answer is yes, Scout, you can!

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KEY LIME CAKE

Author Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com

Ingredients

CAKE

• 2 c flour
• 1 ½ c sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 c canola oil
• 2/3 c key lime juice
• ¾ c sour cream
• Green food coloring optional

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMB

• ½ c graham cracker crumbs 9-10 crackers
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 ½ tbs sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

KEY LIME ICING

• 1 c butter softened
• 1 8 oz block cream cheese softened
• 6 c powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ c key lime juice

Instructions

Make the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of 2 8” cake pans with baking spray and line bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and lime juice until smooth. Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth.
4. Add the flour mixture to the eggs and fold in until no streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to over mix the batter. A few lumps may remain.
5. Stir in a few drops of green food coloring if desired.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until done.
7. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely

Make the Graham Cracker Crumb

1. While the cake is cooling make the graham cracker crumb.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt until well combined.
4. Turn into a quarter sheet pan and press flat. Bake for 5-7 minutes until set.
5. Cool in the pan then break into small crumbs.

Make the Key Lime Icing

1. Beat together the butter and cream cheese for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy, scraping down the bowl once or twice.
2. Add the powdered sugar and salt, then beat in the vanilla and lime juice.
3. Beat on high until well combined and a good consistency for spreading. Add a little more powdered sugar if it is too soft.

Assemble the Cake

1. Split each of the layers into two so you have a total of four layers.
2. Spread a layer of icing on the first layer and then sprinkle with graham cracker crumb. Make sure to spread the crumb even over the whole layer. Repeat until the top layer goes on.
3. Spread a thin layer of icing over the sides and top of the cake for a crumb coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes then spread the rest of the icing over the cake.
4. Garnish with graham cracker crumbs.

Recipe Notes

Note: The icing and crumb can be made the day before. Store the crumb in an airtight container and the icing in a container in the refridgerator.