The Best Key Lime Pie

Kristen Massad — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 20:16:25 +0000

Without a doubt, The Best Key Lime Pie is also the easiest dessert to make. It's sweet, tangy, smooth, and creamy all at the same time. This recipe is made with key lime juice, condensed milk, sour cream, and egg yolks and poured into the perfect light brown sugar graham cracker crust!

I sort of forgot about one of my favorite desserts until my daughter discovered her love for key lime pie. For years, I never really made it home, but I loved ordering it at restaurants. It was always especially delicious when we vacationed in Florida. They're definitely doing something right over there... Eventually, I decided to find the perfect key lime pie recipe so that we could have it at home whenever we wanted. It was a journey, but here we are.

Now that I have created and recipe-tested so many key lime pie recipes and have found the winner, it might be hard to order from a restaurant when making it homemade is the best way to go! Another great variation of this is Key Lime Pie Trifle. You should try out both - I don't see the harm in double the amount of key lime treats!

Ingredients

Graham Crackers- The main ingredient in the pie crust
Butter- Unsalted and melted
Egg Yolks- 5 egg yolks to make the filling rich
Sweetened Condensed Milk- For sweetness and creaminess
Key Lime Juice- I recommend using a high quality key lime juice (Nelly and Joe Key Lime Juice)
Lime Zest- To add extra flavor and to garnish the finished pie with
Sour Cream- Another creamy ingredient that will also make the filling more tangy
Heavy Whipping Cream- For the whipped cream topping
Sugar- Light brown sugar for the crust, and powdered for the whipped cream

Directions

Graham Cracker Crust

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, light brown sugar and melted butter until combined
Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a pie pan, pre bake the crust and allow it to cool while you are preparing the key lime filing

Filling

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, sour cream and lime zest until fully combined

Bake the Key Lime Pie

Pour the Key Lime Pie Filling in the pre baked graham cracker crust and bake until the filling is mostly firm but could jiggle a little in the center
Once the pie is baked, allow it to sit at room temperature until is cools and then refrigerate it for several hours or overnight.

Garnish and Serve

Once the pie has chilled for several hours, whisk the whip cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks have formed
Use a pastry bag for a more decorative look or you can spoon the whip cream topping for a more rustic style. Then it will be ready to be served!

Tips and FAQs for The Best Key Lime Pie

Make sure the graham cracker crumbs are very fine and if you have second pie plate, spread the crust around the pie plate and then press another pie plate on top of the crust to shape the pie shell
The very best key lime juice is Nelly and Joe Key Lime Juice. Real key limes are very small and do not produce a lot of juice to make an entire pie.
Make sure the heavy whipping cream is very cold to ensure that it will whip and be smooth and fluffy.
For an extra pop of flavor, garnish the whipped cream topping with fresh lime zest!

Can I use regular limes to make key lime pie?

Some say it's okay to use regular (Persian) limes that you can find at the grocery store, but then technically it's not a key lime pie. Key limes have their own perfect flavor for this pie, so I would personally recommend using key lime juice if you can.

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