Recipe Recap: Key Lime Pie

I saw several recipes online for Key Lime Pie.  There were a couple from some trustworthy blogs, some that got high marks on Allrecipes, and there were KLP cousins like bars and cupcakes.

But I knew where to go for a recipe that wouldn’t fail me: my Baking Illustrated cookbook.

First, I made the filling.  I whisked together the lime zest and the egg yolks.

Then I added the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice and beat those in.

While the filling spent about 30 minutes thickening, I made the graham cracker crust.  I’m a crust girl so I actually made 1.5 times the crust.

I squared off the top of the crust just as the recipe asked me to.  You know me, I like to follow a recipe.

Once set, I poured the filling into the crust and baked the pie for about 15 minutes.

Gotta love all those flecks of lime.

Just like in the olden days, I left my pie in the window to cool.

I liked this pie more than I thought I would, and I’m glad Bruce asked for it as it gave me a chance to break out of my cupcake box.  If you’re a fan of this kind of pie, definitely give this recipe a try.  (Hah, I’m a poet…)  The hardest part was squeezing the limes for their juice.

Recipe (from Baking Illustrated)

Lime Filling:

• 4 t. grated zest plus 1/2 c. strained juice from 3 or 4 limes
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces
• 2 T. sugar
• 5 T. unsalted butter, melted and warm

Directions:

1. For the Filling: Whisk the zest and yolks in a medium nonreactive bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken (about 30 minutes).
2. For the Crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. In a food processor, process the graham cracker crumbs until evenly fine (you should have 1 cup of crumbs).  Add the sugar and pulse to combine.  Continue to pulse while adding the warm melted butter in a steady stream; pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.  Transfer the crumbs to a 9-inch glass pie plate and evenly press the crumbs into the pie plate, using your thumb and a 1/2 cup measuring cup to square off the top of the crust.  Bake the crust until it is fragrant and beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes; transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
4. Pour the lime filling into the crust; bake until the center is set yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes.  Return the pie to the wire rack; cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours.  (The pie can be covered directly with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to a day).