Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie is one of those simple pies with only a few ingredients.  I have a Bearss lime tree in my yard that produces an abundance of beautiful, juicy limes.  The flavor is far superior to anything you can buy in the market.  I sometimes find myself with an abundance of limes (I once had 50) and so I am always looking for recipes that use lime juice.  I happened to come across this during the holidays last year and decided to give it a try.

I like to use honey graham crackers that have been crushed with a rolling pin for the crust.  The texture is much more flavorful and appealing than turning them into a powder in a blender. I am not really into fancy pies or decorations but when I saw how inviting this looked I thought why not?  Whipping cream only takes a few minutes to prepare and by using a disposable pastry bag clean up was quick and easy.  You can use any size decorating tip, I used Ateco #846 but any size you like will do.  The pie can be made ahead and makes a beautiful presentation. If you have key limes by all means use them but there is little if any difference in flavor if you don’t.

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Key Lime Pie

Preheat the oven to 375° and lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. I like to use pyrex. If you want to pipe the whipped cream onto the pie you will need a pastry bag and Ateco #846 star tip (or something similar). Place a stainless steel bowl and beaters in freezer for whipping cream (cream should be very cold when whipped).

Course Desserts

Cuisine Desserts

Keyword Desserts

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Filling

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lime juice freshly squeezed

Topping

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• To make the crumbs, place whole graham crackers in a resealable plastic bag or paper bag and crush with a rolling pin. In a small bowl add the graham cracker crumbs, confectioners sugar and melted butter and mix.
  
• Press onto bottom and up sides of greased pie plate. Bake in preheated 375° oven for 10 minutes. Set on rack and let cool while making the filling. Leave oven on.
  
• Place egg yolks and condensed milk in mixing bowl of stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment beat on high for 5 minutes. Add lime juice and mix until blended.
• Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Take bowl and beaters from freezer. Add cream, sugar and vanilla to bowl. If serving cream on the side beat to soft peaks.
• If piping cream, beat a little longer so it is stiff enough to hold its shape (less than a minute). Put cream in pastry bag and using star tip pipe onto pie. Refrigerate for at least an hour for cream to set. Enjoy!