Although key limes are typically in season from June to September, there are some varieties that are available all year. If you can’t find key limes in your local grocery store, substitute by using bottled, unsweetened key lime juice. Garnish each slice of the pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or lime or lemon sorbet.
Key Lime Pie Recipe
Adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling:
- 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons key lime juice
For the topping:
- ¾ cup chilled heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
For the crust:
Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a medium bowl using a fork. Continue stirring until all the ingredients are combined and the crumbs are moistened with the butter. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate or tart pan, being careful to distribute it evenly.
Place the pie plate in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden color. Remove from the oven and place the pie plate directly on a wire rack to cool. Leave the oven on.
For the filling:
Add the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks to a medium bowl and whisk vigorously with a large balloon whisk. Continue whisking until the two ingredients are well combined. The mixture should get a little thicker.
Pour the mixture into the pie plate on top of the piecrust and place it in the center of the hot oven. Bake the pie for 15 minutes and then remove it from the oven. Don’t worry if the filling doesn’t look like it has set. Place the pie directly on a wire rack to cool. Once the mixture has set and the pie has cooled down, cover the pie with plastic wrap and transfer it to the refrigerator.
For the topping:
When you’re just about ready to serve the pie, place the cream in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Top the pie with the whipped cream and serve immediately.
Variations:
Lemon Pie. Prepare the recipe listed above using lemon juice instead of lime juice.
Lemon Lime Pie. Prepare the recipe listed above. Substitute half of the lime juice for lemon juice.
Lemonade Pie. Prepare the recipe listed above. Substitute lemonade for the lime juice. This makes a much sweeter pie!
Coconut Key Lime Pie. Prepare the recipe listed above. Add 1 can of coconut milk and 3 more egg yolks to the condensed milk mixture and whisk as usual. Reduce the amount of lime juice by 1 cup and prepare the rest of the recipe as directed. Feel free to top the pie with coconut flakes after you add the whipped cream.