This key lime pie makes for the perfect summer dessert! It’s actually a simple recipe, with a graham base, zesty melt-in-your-mouth custard-like middle, and finally the iconic whipped cream on top.
I personally like to have a balance between the flavourful lime custard and the creamy whipped cream. So, this pie is not too sweet, too, zesty, nor do you lose that lime taste to the cream. Then there’s the graham crust that just bends all the flavours in the most impeccable way! (This graham crust is also used in my mom’s traditional cheese cake.)
You can use canned lime juice for this recipe, but I’ve always used freshly squeezed juice from about 3-4 limes. Of course, squeezing your limes would add maybe another 10 mins to your prep time. Depending on how ripe they are, the quantity of juice squeezed can vary… So I buy 5-6 limes in case, and repurpose the rest for drinks like a lemonade or mojitos.
When it comes to the pie dish, they vary in size between 8.5 inches to 10 inches. If you’re worried about the size of the dish, whichever is fine – Mine is a 9-inch, generously donated by my mom as I moved out. It should have a depth of about 1.5-2 inches.
Melting butter: I cut the butter up into squares and put it in microwave for 15-second intervals. We want to avoid boiling butter explosions in the microwave…
Recipe
Useful Info
- Servings: 8-12 (depending on how you cut your pie)
- Prep time: 25 mins
- Cook time: Total of 15 mins (5 mins for crust + 10 mins for batter)
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp of graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- zest from 1 lime (about 1 tsp)
- 1 can of sweet condensed milk (14 oz or 378 ml)
- 2/3 cup lime juice (approx. 150 ml)
- 1 cup 35% heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees .
- Crust: Mix the graham crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Slightly grease the pie dish with more butter, and press the graham mixture into the bottom and sides. Bake for 5 mins; While the crust is in the oven start the lime filling. When crust is golden brown, remove from oven and set aside. Leave the oven running at 350F.
- Lime custard filling: Beat the eggs and lime zest at high speed for 5 mins. Gradually add in the condensed milk and continue beating for another 3-4 mins until thick. At low speed, add the lime juice and mix for another minute until just combined. Pour the batter into the pie dish with graham crust, and put back into oven to bake for 10 mins at 350F. By then, the filling will set like a custard. Remove from oven and let it cool for 30 mins before putting it into the fridge.
- Leave the pie in the fridge until it is time to serve. Make the whipped cream topping right before serving. This prep takes about 10 mins.
- Whipped cream topping: Beat the whipping cream & icing sugar until they form soft peaks. Remember to not overbeat, so watch carefully, testing the peaks as you beat. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cooled pie. Grate some extra lime zest on top if you’d like!