Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie was invented in Key West, Florida in the 1800’s, but I’ve had versions of it many times in the Caribbean islands. My favorite was in Costa Rica at a beachside café where it was made with Mandarin limes, native to the island, and tasted less tart than a traditional key lime pie. At home I use bottled key lime juice, which saves a lot of time since key lime are so small and require a lot of squeezing. My favorite part of this recipe is the cream topping. I learned it from my chef friend, Hope Egan, who makes the best key lime pie on the planet. Her addition of cream cheese and coconut put this pie at the top of the pie chart!

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Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs 

• 3 tablespoons sugar 

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted 

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

Filling:

• ½ cup lime juice (I use bottled key lime juice) 

• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest 

• 5 egg yolks 

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 

Topping:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream 

• 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese 

• 1 cup powdered sugar 

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

• 1 cup sweetened coconut

Process

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs with sugar. Add butter and almond extract and blend. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. 

Filling:

Put yolks in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until thick and frothy. Stir in zest, juice and condensed milk. Pour into cooled pie crust and return to oven to bake 15 minutes. Removed from oven and cool at room temperature. Top with whipped cream and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.  Grate lime zest on top, if desired. 

Topping:

Whip the cream and cream cheese in a large bowl until just starting to thicken. Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat until soft peaks form. Stir in coconut.