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Key Lime Pie
For decades, the Florida Keys, and especially its terminus, Key West, were truly the end of the world, or at least the end of the Southern United States. It was not easy to transport food and other supplies, so local products (like Key limes) and foods with long shelf lives (like condensed milk and cookies) became essential foods. Here is Florida’s most well-known dessert, with a generous amount of filling and a billowy white chocolate topping.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
FILLING
Two 14-oz./390-g cans of sweetened
condensed milk
8 large egg yolks
1 cup/240 ml fresh lime juice,
preferably Key lime
CRUST
4 Tbsp/55 g unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups/120 g vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Topping
1 cup/240 ml heavy cream
2 oz./55 g white chocolate, finelychopped (see Note)
2 tsp confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 limes (more if using Key limes), for garnish
Instructions
1
To make the filling: Whisk the condensed milk and yolks together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the lime juice. Let the mixture stand while preparing the crust. (The reaction of the lime juice with the condensed milk will slightly thicken the filling.)
2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3
To make the crust: Brush a 9-by-1 ½-in./23-by-4-cm pie dish with some of the melted butter. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and sugar together in a medium bowl and stir in the remaining melted butter. Press the crumbs mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish. Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake just until the crust is set and smells toasty, about 10 minutes.
4
Strain the filling through a sieve into another bowl and pour into the pie crust. Return to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 300°F/150°C. Bake until the filling is barely set and jiggles in the center when the pie is gently shaken, 20–25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until tepid, about 1 hour. Refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
5
To make the topping: Heat ¼ cup/60 ml of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate and whisk until melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
6
Chill a medium bowl in the freezer or refrigerator. Pour in the remaining ¾ cup/180 ml cream and add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed just until the mixture forms soft peaks. Add the cooled white chocolate mixture. With the mixture on low speed, beat just until the topping forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat, or the topping could separate.
7
Transfer the topping to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-in./12-mm star tip, such as Ateco 826. Pipe the topping around the circumference of the chilled pied. Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest of half a lime over the topping. Slice the remaining limes into 8 thin rounds. Insert the rounds, equally spaced, into the topping. Slice the pie and serve it chilled.
8
KEY LIMES Key limes have pale, yellowish skin and a more rounded, tangy taste than Persian limes. They are also much smaller than Persian limes, only about the size of a walnut, so you will need at least 40 limes (about 1 ½ lb/680 g), to make the 1 cup/120 ml juice needed for this recipe. On the West Coast, Key limes are sometimes labeled Mexican limes. They are excellent in such cocktails as mojitos and margaritas, but you’ll need 3 Key limes to equal 1 Persian lime. Bottled Key lime juice can have a chemical flavor and should be avoided.
Key Lime Pie
For decades, the Florida Keys, and especially its terminus, Key West, were truly the end of the world, or at least the end of the Southern United States. It was not easy to transport food and other supplies, so local products (like Key limes) and foods with long shelf lives (like condensed milk and cookies) became essential foods. Here is Florida’s most well-known dessert, with a generous amount of filling and a billowy white chocolate topping.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
FILLING
Two 14-oz./390-g cans of sweetened
condensed milk
8 large egg yolks
1 cup/240 ml fresh lime juice,
preferably Key lime
CRUST
4 Tbsp/55 g unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups/120 g vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Topping
1 cup/240 ml heavy cream
2 oz./55 g white chocolate, finely
chopped (see Note)
2 tsp confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 limes (more if using Key limes), for garnish
Instructions
1
To make the filling: Whisk the condensed milk and yolks together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the lime juice. Let the mixture stand while preparing the crust. (The reaction of the lime juice with the condensed milk will slightly thicken the filling.)
2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3
To make the crust: Brush a 9-by-1 ½-in./23-by-4-cm pie dish with some of the melted butter. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and sugar together in a medium bowl and stir in the remaining melted butter. Press the crumbs mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish. Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake just until the crust is set and smells toasty, about 10 minutes.
4
Strain the filling through a sieve into another bowl and pour into the pie crust. Return to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 300°F/150°C. Bake until the filling is barely set and jiggles in the center when the pie is gently shaken, 20–25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until tepid, about 1 hour. Refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
5
To make the topping: Heat ¼ cup/60 ml of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate and whisk until melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
6
Chill a medium bowl in the freezer or refrigerator. Pour in the remaining ¾ cup/180 ml cream and add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed just until the mixture forms soft peaks. Add the cooled white chocolate mixture. With the mixture on low speed, beat just until the topping forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat, or the topping could separate.
7
Transfer the topping to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-in./12-mm star tip, such as Ateco 826. Pipe the topping around the circumference of the chilled pied. Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest of half a lime over the topping. Slice the remaining limes into 8 thin rounds. Insert the rounds, equally spaced, into the topping. Slice the pie and serve it chilled.
8
KEY LIMES Key limes have pale, yellowish skin and a more rounded, tangy taste than Persian limes. They are also much smaller than Persian limes, only about the size of a walnut, so you will need at least 40 limes (about 1 ½ lb/680 g), to make the 1 cup/120 ml juice needed for this recipe. On the West Coast, Key limes are sometimes labeled Mexican limes. They are excellent in such cocktails as mojitos and margaritas, but you’ll need 3 Key limes to equal 1 Persian lime. Bottled Key lime juice can have a chemical flavor and should be avoided.
Key Lime Pie
For decades, the Florida Keys, and especially its terminus, Key West, were truly the end of the world, or at least the end of the Southern United States. It was not easy to transport food and other supplies, so local products (like Key limes) and foods with long shelf lives (like condensed milk and cookies) became essential foods. Here is Florida’s most well-known dessert, with a generous amount of filling and a billowy white chocolate topping.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
FILLING
Two 14-oz./390-g cans of sweetened
condensed milk
8 large egg yolks
1 cup/240 ml fresh lime juice,
preferably Key lime
CRUST
4 Tbsp/55 g unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups/120 g vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Topping
1 cup/240 ml heavy cream
2 oz./55 g white chocolate, finely
chopped (see Note)
2 tsp confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 limes (more if using Key limes), for garnish
Instructions
1
To make the filling: Whisk the condensed milk and yolks together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the lime juice. Let the mixture stand while preparing the crust. (The reaction of the lime juice with the condensed milk will slightly thicken the filling.)
2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3
To make the crust: Brush a 9-by-1 ½-in./23-by-4-cm pie dish with some of the melted butter. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and sugar together in a medium bowl and stir in the remaining melted butter. Press the crumbs mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish. Place the pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake just until the crust is set and smells toasty, about 10 minutes.
4
Strain the filling through a sieve into another bowl and pour into the pie crust. Return to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 300°F/150°C. Bake until the filling is barely set and jiggles in the center when the pie is gently shaken, 20–25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until tepid, about 1 hour. Refrigerate, uncovered, until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
5
To make the topping: Heat ¼ cup/60 ml of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate and whisk until melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
6
Chill a medium bowl in the freezer or refrigerator. Pour in the remaining ¾ cup/180 ml cream and add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed just until the mixture forms soft peaks. Add the cooled white chocolate mixture. With the mixture on low speed, beat just until the topping forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat, or the topping could separate.
7
Transfer the topping to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-in./12-mm star tip, such as Ateco 826. Pipe the topping around the circumference of the chilled pied. Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest of half a lime over the topping. Slice the remaining limes into 8 thin rounds. Insert the rounds, equally spaced, into the topping. Slice the pie and serve it chilled.
8
KEY LIMES Key limes have pale, yellowish skin and a more rounded, tangy taste than Persian limes. They are also much smaller than Persian limes, only about the size of a walnut, so you will need at least 40 limes (about 1 ½ lb/680 g), to make the 1 cup/120 ml juice needed for this recipe. On the West Coast, Key limes are sometimes labeled Mexican limes. They are excellent in such cocktails as mojitos and margaritas, but you’ll need 3 Key limes to equal 1 Persian lime. Bottled Key lime juice can have a chemical flavor and should be avoided.