My mom and I decided to tackle homemade Key Lime Pie last night. We combined a few recipes to create our very own. It’s not hard (at all), but is a little labor intensive, since it takes hand squeezing all of these:
Keylimes Before
The end result:
Squeezed!
It took 10 minutes just cutting the limes in half and squeezing them to give us enough juice for the pie.
Key limes are very special and hard to find (we had to get ours sent in from Florida. I know… we have good friends! They didn’t even get a bite!). I wasn’t aware quite how small key limes were until I saw them.
This is what your everyday Mexican lime looks like next to key limes (it’s almost 3 times the size!):
Mexican Lime vs. Key Limes
Minus the squeezing, the rest of the recipe was easy. The only major change we made was baking our pie instead of freezing it. This seems safer since it has raw egg.
I brought it into work today (we can’t keep things like this in our house or else we would eat it all)
So yummy!
Key Lime Pie
Makes 1
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers) (We put them in the Cusinart to make crumbs)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons grated lime zest
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (25 key limes, we cut them in half and then hand squeezed them. Koko hint: make sure there isn’t any pulp or seeds in the juice or it will be bitter.)
For the whipped topping:
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 lime wedge
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. We use the bottom of a cup to press the crust in evenly. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool completely.
For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. (This feels like a really long time, but just start juicing your limes during this time.) With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the pie cools a bit, put it in the fridge overnight.
The next morning make the topping. Beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon onto the pie and decorate with a lime.
We adapted this recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
thanks for this recipe! looks amazzzing. now I need to find key limes… xo.
In a pinch you can use Mexican limes! The key limes have a slightly more bitter flavor (and take longer to juice), but regular limes will make a delicious pie too!
Koko,
Your pictures of the limes would make a lovely painting.
Pat
oh my goodness, look at you go!!!!!
making this today… had to search for your recipe. I remembered that you posted it a while back. Thanks for your index. Looks even better than I remember. Have a basket of Key Limes from the Farmer’s Market. Better start juicing!