Key Lime Pie

This has to be my partner’s favorite desert. The above photo shows my first attempt ever at such a recipe. This one isn’t so difficult to make as I thought it might be. I have included a few crust options so the recipe can be adapted somewhat to taste. Best of all, this is a sweetened condensed milk free recipe. Not much of a fan really. Anyway, this one is worth trying if you like lime pie.

Ingredients:

Crust:

For the crust you can use a 9″ ready made crust from the store or use your favorite dough recipe. I used a dough recipe for my first try but like this way better. So..

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Filling:

4 Eggs, separated
1/2 C Lime juice
1 C Sugar, separated into 2 halved amounts
3 Tbsp hot water
1/3 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp Cream of Tartar (Optional but helps firm up the egg whites)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 9 inch pie plate. Place in refrigerator until ready to add filling.

Combine the egg whites and the Cream of Tartar in a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add in a 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat to combine

Whisk the egg yolk until they lighten in color. Add the lime juice, salt hot water and remaining sugar. Cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Take around 1/3 of the egg whites and mix them into the egg yolk mixture, mix together. Taking 1/3 each again in turn, add to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold in. Take your time with this step and try not to be too forceful . We want to keep as much air in the whites as we can.

Pour into your graham cracker or pastry shell and make sure the mixture is spread evenly. Place pie container on a sheet pan in the middle rack of your oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to turn into a goldeny-brown color. Remove from oven, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Put in the refrigerator for a couple hours to finish settings up. Serve with whipped cream (optional).