Key Lime Pot de Creme

New Year's Eve is an interesting holiday, food-wise.  Thanksgiving has turkey and cranberry and pumpkin, Christmas has candy canes and potato salad (at least in my family).  But New Year's Eve has kind of a random flavor profile, if you will.  There's champagne, of course.  And…black eyed peas?  Hmm, no thanks.

So when our knitting group had an all-day get-together, aside from being complete with potluck spread of veggies, chips, dip, and fruit, it was entirely up to us what we wanted to eat.  There were no real traditional norms to guide us.  Ultimately, we decided that we fancied baked potatoes.  Because they are delicious.

Also delicious: lime.  Winter doesn't strike me as the time of year for citrus necessarily, although the last time I was in Central Market they seemed to be kicking off a citrus extravaganza, so maybe my mom just didn't realize how on-trend she was when she suggested a lime dessert.  Apparently her sister would always make her something called lemon posset, and that got her thinking about a lime pot de creme.

Essentially, a pot de creme is a custard.  Creme brûlée is a pot de creme that's been torched to have that fancy sugar shell.  Leaving out the brûlée part and adding in some tart citrus flavor makes for a super-simple dessert that tastes delicious.  And what makes it even more simple in the recipe I found was that it uses sweetened condensed milk, so you don't have to dissolve any sugar or anything.  Just mix, pour, bake, and chill.  And then, of course, enjoy.  That's the easiest part.

Key Lime Pot de Creme
Recipe from Bakin' Bit: Key Lime Pot de Creme

My Notes:

• Didn't use any key limes, just the regular, less pesky ones
• Added a little more zest, about a Tablespoon
• The recipe doesn't give a volume, but my mixture filled five 1/2-cup ramekins perfectly
• Tip: For water baths, to reduce the risk of splashing water into the ramekins when transferring into the oven, I don't put water into the pan until I'm putting it into the oven.  So just as you are setting it on the rack, carefully pour in the hot water.  It was helpful to have a second person around for this, but it can be done alone.  
• Served with freshly whipped cream and fruit