A Different Kind of Pie - Maple Lime Custard

I had wanted to try the "Maple Lime Custard Pie" out of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds cookbook for a long time. For one thing, we have a key lime tree in Florida, and I use the lime juice to make regular key lime pies. We had a bumper crop of key limes this year, so Rich juiced many of them and froze the juice, which traveled back with us to Asheville. So I decided that I was finally going to try this pie. If possible, I like to try fruit pies when the fruit is at least closely in season.

The recipe is fairly simple, using lime juice, cream, sour cream, and eggs, but the unusual ingredient is maple syrup. The cookbook authors explained that this adds a sweetness to the tart lime flavor. The crust is a pecan biscotti crust, that is basically pecans and lady fingers with butter. This part is made in advance and then refrigerated. In my opinion, the crust is actually the best part of this pie. I could make a dessert of it!

The pie has the usual key lime pie texture - creamy and smooth. However, the maple definitely adds a twist. Problem is that the twist is not exactly an improvement over the usual key lime pie, in my opinion. When my husband tasted this pie, he said "this pie has a very strange flavor". From this comment, I gathered that he wasn't exactly crazy about it. I thought it was sweetly tart and liked the biscotti crust, but wasn't sure that it was worth the calories. Also, unlike the other pies I have made from this book, it was not exactly a great looking pie. (I did not take a picture).That being said, I will admit that the pie is almost gone now! I guess even a pie that is not totally delectable is better than no pie at all, particularly when you are a dessert fanatic like myself, or like my husband and will eat anything in the fridge!