AmericanKey lime pie
Key lime pie: tart, creamy lime custard in a buttery biscuit crust, the official pie of the Florida Keys
Key lime pie comes from the Florida Keys, the chain of islands south of Miami, where small, sharp Key limes and tins of condensed milk were kitchen staples long before fresh milk was easy to find. In Key West it is the dessert after a seafood supper, served cold on hot evenings. Lime juice and condensed milk thicken into a silky, sweet-sour custard over a crunchy biscuit-crumb crust, topped with whipped cream. It contains egg, milk and wheat. Older recipes leave the yolks raw; this one bakes the pie briefly so the eggs are cooked. If you cannot find Key limes, ordinary limes work well. The common mistake is overbaking: the filling should be set at the edges but still jiggle slightly in the centre, or it turns rubbery. Chef's tip: let the filling stand for 5 minutes after whisking in the juice before pouring; it starts to thicken in the bowl and sets more smoothly.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 8
- Per serving
- 420 kcal
Ingredients
For the crust
- 6 ½ oz digestive biscuit crumbs
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 ⅞ oz unsalted buttermelted
For the filling
- 4 egg yolkslarge
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk1 tin
- ½ cup Key lime or lime juicefreshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp lime zestfinely grated
For the topping
- 1 cup double or whipping creamcold
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Search Amazon for the rest
Fresh ingredients (6)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan). Mix 6 ½ oz digestive biscuit crumbs, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 2 ⅞ oz unsalted butter until it looks like wet sand.
Step 2: Press firmly over the base and up the sides of a 23 cm pie dish, using the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden, then cool for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 3: Whisk 4 egg yolks and 1 tbsp lime zest for 1 minute, until pale. Whisk in 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, then ½ cup Key lime or lime juice, until smooth. Leave to stand for 5 minutes; it will thicken slightly.
6 minStep 4: Pour into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are set and the centre jiggles slightly when you nudge the dish. It should not brown.
15 minStep 5: Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until firm enough to slice cleanly.
Step 6: Whip 1 cup double or whipping cream with 1 tbsp icing sugar to soft peaks and spread or pipe over the pie just before serving. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does key lime pie take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Apple & pear puree
A smooth, naturally sweet puree of gently stewed apple and pear, one of the first foods for babies of 4–8 months. The fruit cooks in a little unsweetened apple juice, so nothing else is needed. Serve it lukewarm; any leftover keeps covered in the fridge for a day, or freezes well in small pots.