Yep, that’s right.

But that’s to be expected, you see.

I am honored to have Miss Thang herself, Clara of I Heart Cuppycakes Guest Blogging here today.  And what would you THINK she would make? Bon bons?  Of course not.

Kids…if you don’t know Clara, you are in for a real treat.  And not just the Key Lime variety.

Take it away, CB.

WARNING:  Nerd Alert! Nerd Alert!

Did you know that this Sunday is March 14^th? I see you look confused. Not catching on yet, huh? Come on! March 14th … 3.14. Get it? PI. You know? The ratio of a circle’s area to the square of its radius. I thought everyone knew that.

What about to the 50^th decimal?

I do.

3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510

Wait wait.  Don’t leave!  I promise I have a point.

But I know I can’t be the only one excited about this? There’s gotta be some other nerd science bakers out there. No.  Ok fine.  It’s just me.  Well I don’t know about you but I have to celebrate with … a pie of course!

I knew as soon as Susan of DoughMESStic contacted me about guest blogging on her blog, I had to make a pie. Susan’s kind of a pie person. She even started a pie inspired group, You Want Pies With That, has won awards for her pies and has more than just a couple pie recipes on her blog.   Me?  I like pies but I’m not a pie person.  Pies don’t have frosting.  So what’s the point?  Since I’m a cupcake person, I couldn’t just do any ‘ol pie. I had to do a Giant Cup-Pie.  Huh?  Huh?

*reader groans*

Dude. That is totally funny. Man! Rough crowd tonight.

Happy (early) PI Day, Readers.

Hope my Graham Cracker Key Lime Cup-Pie inspires you to bake this Sunday.

Don’t just stand here.  Come to the nerd side.  We have pi.

Key Lime Cup-pie

Recipe adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop and King Arthur Flour

INGREDIENTS

For the graham cracker crust*
2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

* You may not use all the graham cracker crust depending on how thick you make it.

For graham cracker cupcake
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For key lime filling**
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel instead)
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup key lime juice (I used Stirrings 100% Key Lime Juice)
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

** You can probably half the key lime filling but I found it easier to make the full recipe at the time.

For the meringue
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

To make filling:
In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add condensed milk and mix to combine. Reduce speed to low and add key lime juice. Then add sour cream and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. While you’re waiting, bake up the cupcakes!

To make giant cupcake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Create a foil liner (I recommend Reynolds non-stick foil) for the cupcake “bottom” and lightly spray with PAM.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 cup of graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Spoon into the giant cupcake “bottom”, pressing with a class cup to cover the bottom and sides. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat butter on high speed until soft, about 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Combine milk and vanilla together. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Fill cupcake bottom with the cake batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before fill and frost.

To make meringue:
In a stand mixer with a clean dry mixer bowl and whisk attachment, whip the egg whites at medium speed until opaque. With the mixer still running, add the vanilla extract and sugar in a slow stream and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form firm peaks.

To assemble giant cup-pie:
Remove center of the cupcake using the cone method. (I like to use cookie cutter for a guide line.) If you aren’t familiar with the cone method, check out Nicole of Baking Bites step-by-step pictorial instructions (here). Fill cupcake with key lime filling using a spoon. Reserve some meringue in a piping bag + Wilton 1M tip (or your favorite star tip). Spread the meringue on top of the cupcake. Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and then pipe rosettes around the edge of the cupcake. Use a creme brulee torch to brown the meringue. Garnish with a few lime slices and graham cracker crumbs.

ENJOY!

Click here for    Printable recipe created by CB ©http://iheartcuppycakes.com