I don’t eat dessert that often, BUT, when I do, I want a nice piece of tart key lime pie. I live in South Florida and I get the chance to eat try Key Lime Pie pretty often, so I know what to look for in an authentic key lime pie.
I don’t want to see any meringue (that is not real Key lime pie) and a bunch of random stuff that doesn’t make sense (raspberry sauce, etc). After much recipe testing, here is a key lime pie that you can be proud to serve and say “this is the real deal”.
I made this recipe for my recent “Cook Book Club” meet up where the theme was “Floribbean” and everyone asked for the recipe so I know it was a hit. Also, you should have a brief primer on key lime pie.
History of Key Lime Pie
Research says that Key lime pie originates from Key West in late 1800s. At this time, Key West didn’t have many cows for milk, there was no refrigeration, but there were key limes, eggs and sweet condensed milk available.
Supposedly a woman named Aunt Sally, the cook for Florida’s First Millionaire, William Curry, concocted this recipe. I got this info from a site called Key Largo Sunsets that gives a ton of history on key lime pie.
Additional Notes
Also note that the acid from the lime juice combined with the eggs and sweetened condensed milk will cook itself and historically key lime pies were not baked. But, there is this pesky thing called Salmonella and therefore baking is a requirement unless you can find pasteurized eggs.
Note that I was feeling a little sassy and made a ginger snap pie crust that was out of this world but traditional pie crust would be made from graham cracker.
Without further ado, let’s make some Key Lime Pie!
Key Lime Pie Lover's Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs OR ginger snap crumbs (I did this and it was delish!!)- you can make these by putting either graham crackers or the ginger snaps in the food processor
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Filling:
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp key lime juice – you must use Key lime juice, I used “Mrs Biddle’s Key West Key Lime Juice (or, the juice of about 18 key limes. I would go with bottled, juicing key limes is a LOT of work!!)
- 1 tbsp lime zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. Next, melt your butter and then combine it with the graham crucker crumbs in a bowl and mix it to ensure the mixture is uniformly mixed and moistened.
Next, pat the crumbs into a pie plate to form a pretty crust.
Bake the crust in the oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees.
Separate the yolks into a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs for about 30 seconds with an emulsion or stick blender until they are a little fluffy. Now, add the sweetened condensed milk. Add half of the lime juice and mix everything together for 30 seconds. Next, add the remaining lime juice while mixing and blend until everything is mixed well, about a minute. Add the lime zest at the end and give it a quick mix or stir with a fork.
Pour the filling into the crust and bake it at 325 for 15-17 minutes, or until it appears to be set. (it doesn’t need to baked that long, you are essentially just cooking the eggs).
Chill in the refrigerator as long as you can stand not to eat it! It’s great on it’s own, but if you must a little whipped cream is a nice addition too.
Experience Key Lime Pie Bliss!
If you really love key lime pie, this is the recipe for you.
If you liked this recipe, try out these yummy treats!
Robyn ~~was surprised no sugar added to the crust but then once again the crumbs are sweet ~~nothing goes as well after a summer Barbecue than a cool Key lime pie or frozen Margarita pie with pretzel crust ~`both are nice ~~say as a side note it was so fun to catch up on all your photos from this past weeks National BBQ conference in Texas~~looked like ever so much fun ya’ll had ~~smile
Denise- yeah I used the cinnamon graham crust as well as did one with ginger snaps and they were already sweet. I did actually sprinkle a little citrus sea salt on believe it or not to compliment the sweetness and help bring it out but didn’t mention it in the recipe. Yes, It was nice to stop over and say hello to my bbq peeps. Always good to see everyone. Thanks for the feedback!
oh and just a thought ~~why not use those left over egg whites to make a meringue topping instead of the whipped cream ~~that way all product is used to it’s best advantage ~`smile 🙂
Im not a meringue fan but I’ve seen plenty of recipes calling for meringue with Key Lime pie so that’s a great suggestion 🙂
That is a winner for sure.
My Big Green Eggs aren’t pasteurized but can I still cook it on them? ha ha
This is one I need to make up this summer for eating by the pool in the evenings.
Thanks David. If you try let me know. I recommend making it with the ginger snap crust! Awesome!
Chris, don’t wait til summer, make it now. It will take you back to your Florida days! 🙂
I’m with you, not a dessert fan, but love Key Lime Pie. And I don’t have a good recipe. Thanks for this Robyn. Pinned.