A few weeks ago I wrote about our burgeoning love affair with the lowly lime.
Well, the love affair continues, and we’ve made a major breakthrough in our lime related research.
For several years now we’ve been on the prowl for an exceptional Key Lime Pie recipe. Yep, Key limes even make it as far north as the lime-free wilds of Montana, though their price seems to increase on a function related to the square of the latitude north of the equator.
Some days the price is just worth it no matter what.
Key lime pie perfection is really pretty damned easy to define.
The first bite has to burst with puckering lime goodness with just the right amount of sweetness quickly following that sensation – not cloyingly sweet – but smoothly offsetting the citrus twang.
The custard needs to be silky smooth (neither runny nor too firm like so many imitators) and the crust needs to be firmly crisp but not crunchy. Key Lime Pie aficionados will argue that the crust must have some additional flavor as well….the almonds here add a nutty flavor that’s hard to pin down but is simply damned good.
Finally, we were after a recipe that a monkey could make (simplicity rules) and could be easily reproduced time after time.
We’ve have probably finally found the Key Lime Pie recipe we’ve been searching for.
Yes, you do need key limes, and yes, a lime squeezer makes things go a hell of lot faster.
If you’re a Key Lime Pie fan we dare you to find one better.
Crust
8 full graham crackers (2.5×5), broken into pieces
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick melted unsalted butterFilling
2 cans (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
Grated zest of three key limes
1 cup fresh Key lime juice (takes 2 lbs.) – don’t skimp here
5 large egg yolks, beaten
2 tsp orange liqueur
Make the crust. Preheat your trusty over to 350. Using your trusty food processor, combine the graham crackers, almonds and sugar; pour into a bowl and mix with the melted butter. Transfer to a lightly buttered 9 inch pie plate and press the crumb mixture up the sides and distribute evenly. Bake for 9 or 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool.
Whip up the filling. Whisk together the filling ingredients until smooth; pour into the crust – it will be full to the very rim. Bake until just set in the middle (18 to 20 minutes).
Cool it. Cool the pie completely; this takes 7 or 8 hours according to the experts. We can hardly ever wait that long unless quasi-important company is coming over, and when you sit down and think about, no company is really that important.
To really go all out top with lightly sweetened whipped cream (yep, the full fat version).
Sit back and enjoy this one.
Tags: Friday Feast
