Key Lime Pie Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons graham-cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoons grated lime zest
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh or bottled Key lime juice*
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners'sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine graham crackers, butter and sugar. Press mixture into bottom and sides of a buttered 9-inch pie pan, forming a neat border around edge. Bake crust about 5 minutes or until set and golden. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and a nonreactive bowl, beat egg yolks and lime zest at high speed about 5 minutes or until very shiny. Gradually add condensed milk, and continue to beat 3 to 4 minutes or until thick. Reduce speed of mixer to low. Add lime juice and mix just until combined. Pour lime mixture into crust. Bake about 10 minutes or until filling has just set.
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. To serve, place pie in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. In an electric-mixer bowl, combine cream and confectioners' sugar. Whisk until nearly stiff. Cut pie into wedges; serve very cold, each wedge topped with large dollop of whipped cream. Yield: 8 servings.
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Key Lime Pie II
This version of key lime pie has a lime-scented graham cracker crust, a dense sweet/tart lime layer, topped with a tangy, creamy lime curd. Fresh key limes aren't always to easy to find so feel free to use the more available bottled key lime juice.
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
Freshly grated zest of 1/2 lime
Filling:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice, strained
4 large egg yolks
Freshly grated zest of 1/2 lime
Topping:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup lime juice
8 large egg yolks
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon lime oil, optional
Whipped Cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons sugar
Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C). Spray a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. To make the crust, place the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and zest in a bowl. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate, and press with your fingers to create an even layer on the bottom and up the sides. Blind bake the crust for 5 to 7 minutes, or just until it starts to brown. Place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Whisk together the condensed milk, lime juice, egg yolks, and zest. Pour the mixture into the partially baked crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Then return the pie to a wire rack to begin cooling.
While the filling is baking, prepare the topping. Place the sugar, lime juice, and egg yolks in the top of a double boiler. Cook over simmering water until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. When you draw a spoon across the bottom of the pan, it should leave a small path. Stir in the lime oil, if using, off the heat. Gently pour the curd topping over the pie, completely covering the filling. Let the pie cool to room temperature on the wire rack. Then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Right before serving, prepare the whipped cream. Whip the heavy cream and sugar together until medium-firm peaks form. The cream should be whipped beyond the soft-peak stage, but not too stiff. Spread the whipped cream over the pie, all the way up the edges. Make peaks by repeatedly sweeping up the cream with the back of a spoon, up and out. Serve immediately. Serves 8, making one 9 1/2-inch pie. Source: Adapted from Bake it to the Limit by Dede Wilson (William Morrow, 1999).