A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Linda a valued reader, Â requesting a good key lime pie recipe. Â I have never made a key lime pie before, but I was all over the challenge. Â So last weekend I made a bunch of key lime pies. Some were good, some were bad, and others were interesting. Â I have pieced together the best of all of them and created the ultimate Key Lime Pie. Â It is over the top awesome, with just enough tartness to make it a delicious key lime pie.
The pie was topped with a little lime zest for a little added lime flavor, plus it looked pretty cool.
What is a key lime? Â A key lime is a smaller variety of lime that is more tart and bitter than the common variety of lime. Â Plus, it takes a bunch of them to make enough juice for a pie. Â I only used freshed squeezed juice for my testing, but you can find the juice in the store. Â Since I did not try the juice, I have no idea if it has been sweetened or not. Â Try at your own risk.
Key Lime Pie
The Crust
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.
Or you can use a store bought graham cracker crust. Â I will not tell anyone.
Filling
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Juice roughly 2 lbs of key limes for 1 cup of juice. Â It is a lot of work, but totally worth it. Â If you are having trouble finding key limes, they are usually in the exotic fruit section of the produce department. Â They usually come in bags of 15-20 limes. Â This should be enough for 1 cup of juice. Â The juicing took a long time, but luckily Dana’s friend Kristy dropped by and was excited to do some juicing.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs.
Place the ingredients into the cooled pie shell. Â Ok, I used a store bought one for this picture. Â I made a lot of pies and quite honestly, it was easier. Â When pouring the filling, it will come right up to the top. Â We are making a huge pie, so this is just fine. Â If there is just a tad too much filling, just fill the pie up to the edge of the shell. Â This varies based on the size of the eggs. Â Sometimes it is perfect, sometimes it is just a tad bit too much.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Â Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack till room temperature. Â Roughly 45 minutes. Â Then allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Topping
Spread the topping over the chilled pie. Â Start by piling the whipped cream in the center of the pie and moving it towards the edges.
Zest the peel of 1 lime over the top of the pie.
Serve immediately. Â You can prepare the pie without the topping up to a day in advance. Â Then top with the cream right before serving.
Thanks for the email Linda. Â Hopefully you enjoy this pie as much as I did. Â Remember, if you have any questions about food or a recipe, drop me an email using the Ask Rex link above.
That looks delicious! A perfect summer dessert. 🙂
Jenn
Thanks Jenn. It was super refreshing. One of the best pies I have ever made.
Interesting, thank you! I spent my childhood in Yorkshire in the UK, and I’ve been trying to find a recipe for this tasyy pie I remember eating all the time, but can’t remember what we called it!!! Do you know any famous pie recipes from Yorkshire?