Key Lime Pie

Hello, Friends! The myriad shades of green in our fair part of the world are just getting greener by the day, aren’t they? As silly as it sounds, all these luscious, vibrant green colors inspired me to bake this past weekend. I wanted something bright, tart, and green. Key Lime Pie hit all the marks!

Don’t worry if you can’t find key limes or key lime juice; regular, Persian lime juice will do just fine. Key limes are smaller and more tart, but Persian limes are certainly tart enough, so don’t sweat it. We live in Vermont, after all, not Florida, where this sweet-tart pie seems to have originated.

I didn’t do any major twists this time around, except with the crust. Where the recipe calls for cane sugar, I used brown sugar to get a more caramelized taste.

If you were going to experiment with the recipe, what would you do? Use Meyer lemon or clementine juice instead? I suspect most citrus fruits would work well in this recipe, which is SO EASY that I remembered most of it by heart. This is a classic recipe you will find in most dessert cookbooks.

One important tip: don’t skip the lime zest! It looks beautiful and adds depth of flavor. And maybe it’s just me, but I think zesting is fun!

Key Lime Pie w/ Graham Cracker Crust

Filling:

1 14-ounce can of sweetened, condensed milk

4 egg yolks 

Zest of one large lime (2, if using key limes)

½ cup key lime or lime juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk lime zest and egg yolks together in a bowl for 2 minutes. Add lime juice and sweetened condensed milk and whisk well. Set the mixture aside to reach room temperature.

Crust: 

14 whole graham crackers

⅓ cup light brown sugar (or cane sugar)

½ cup butter, melted

Place graham crackers and brown sugar into a food processor and combine until fully ground with no chunks. With the food processor running, drizzle in the melted butter until the mixture is evenly coated. 

If you don’t have a food processor, crush the graham crackers with a pestle, add in the brown sugar, and mix well with a fork or whisk. Drizzle in the melted butter until the mixture is evenly coated.

Press the crumb mixture into a 9” inch pie plate with your hands. You can also use a glass or measuring cup to help smooth the mixture along the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

Bake the crust by itself for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Notice the black paw in the upper left corner? That’s Dexter, trying to get a taste! Both cats were circling the table while I took photos!

Once the crust is cool, add in the filling and place in the center rack of the oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature on a wire rack while making the topping.

Topping:

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. lime zest

Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and use a hand mixer to whip the cream, being careful not to over whip. Start on low and increase speed as you see the mixture thickening (this avoids splashing!) 

You can be as creative as you want with your whipped topping! I kept it simple and just spread it over the filling and then added lime zest, but you can treat the whipped cream, the zest, and the limes as your art supplies for the day!

Serve it to your favorite people and watch them enjoy!