Key lime pie

Method

1. The day before making the pie, prepare the poached lime slices for decoration. Place the sugar in a pan with 125ml water and bring to the boil. Infuse with half the mint leaves. Poach the lime slices in the syrup for about 10 minutes.

2. To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter. Add the sugar, egg yolks and water and mix to a soft dough. Leave to rest in a fridge for 30 minutes then roll out and press into a deep tart tin (8-10 inches).

3. Leave the pastry to rest for another hour in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 180?/gas 4. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and half fill it with ceramic baking beans or uncooked dried beans. Bake for 10 15 minutes. Remove the beans and cook for another 10 15 minutes until the pastry has turned golden.

4. For the filling, beat the egg yolks in a bowl until light and fluffy then beat in the condensed milk, lime juice and zest. In another bowl, whisk the whites and caster sugar until firm then gently fold into the lime mixture. Completely fill the pastry case with the lime mixture and bake for 20 25 minutes until set. Leave to cool.

5. Finally, whip the cream until it peaks and pipe around the edge of the cold tart. Decorate with the poached lime slices and some fresh mint.