February 10, 2009

Key Lime Pie

I recently got back from a fabulous trip to Key West, FL. I ate a ton of great seafood, as you can imagine. This trip also allowed me to devour key lime pie...every day. This is a picture of the key lime pie from Blue Heaven...mile-high meringue!!I was a fan of key lime pie way before I actually made it to Key West, but it was a joy to try the real deal. Here's my version that I've served a several dinner parties and always is a hit. I love how easy it is to put together. The most time consuming part of this recipe is juicing the limes. I've posted this recipe before, but here's a refresher!
Lime Tart with Gingersnap Crust
(recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated,
The Best Recipe)

1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs, ground in a food processor from gingersnap cookies
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter, melted
dash of cinnamon

Pulse the gingersnaps in a food processor until uniformly ground. Add the sugar and cinnamon. Pulse a few more times to incorporate. Remove the gingersnap crumbs to a mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a buttered tart pan. Using plastic wrap helps prevents the crumbs sticking to your fingers.

Bake the crust at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes. You don't want to pour the filling into a piping hot crust.

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice, strained
4 egg yolks
2 Tbsp grated lime zest

Whisk together the egg yolks and lime zest in a medium bowl for several minutes. (Cook's Illustrated says this turns the yolks a pale green, but I didn't find this to be true.) Whisk in the condensed milk and then the lime juice. Let this mixture rest just a few minutes to thicken.

Once the crust has mostly cooled, pour the filling into the crust. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-17 minutes or until the filling is almost set, but still wobbly in the center. Cool again until the tart is at room temperature, then refrigerate for about 3 hours until well chilled.

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar

Beat the heavy cream on medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until smooth and stiffer peaks form. Using a pastry bag with a small star tip, pipe the whipped cream over the tart in whatever way your technique allows! OR when I don't have much time to put it together, I skip the pastry bag and decorate the top with fruit.

7 comments:

John said...

Wow!
It looks colorful and delicious
Thanks for sharing your recipe
www.ahacook.com

betty said...

Wonderful,yummy site-thanks for the pictures and info! Betty

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Angela said...

That looks fantastic, as does the beautiful shepher's pie below. I am glad I found your blog; you have some great recipes.

shararehali said...

Hi, browsed through all your post. Really liked them. Why did you stop? Would enjoy new entrys.
Greetz from Germany

Sarah boo said...

You should try putting it into your freezer overnight. SO GOOD. Then add the cream in the morning.

kmpdc said...

Look for Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice. It is sold in most grocery stores. It is a very easy way to get real key lime juice for pies!

Also, you can add a little splenda to it and it makes a great margarita mix.