Key Lime Pie

It's hard to believe I haven't posted my recipe for Key Lime Pie yet. It's one of my most time- and ingredient-splattered recipe cards for good reason: we all love it.

When we visited Key Largo over the Christmas holidays, I made it my personal mission to find the best Key Lime Pie in the state of Florida. I tasted some great ones, but I didn't find one that I like better than the one we eat at home.

This recipe has long roots. When I was in eighth grade, my family went to Florida. I came back with three things: a key chain from Disney World, a barely detectable suntan, and a recipe for Key Lime Pie. My mother made it for years, and when I moved out, it was one of the first recipes she gave me. The only significant change I've made is using fresh limes, even if I can't get key limes. To my taste, fresh limes always trump tinned key lime juice.

(By the way, as of last Tuesday, I've given up sweets for Lent, so this is the last dessert recipe I'll post for six weeks. Hope you don't mind coming along for the ride.)

Key Lime Pie
(recipe taken from the front of a postcard)

Shell:

1 cup graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
1 Tbsp sugar

Filling:

1 can condensed milk, chilled
4 egg yolks
3 ounces fresh lime juice
1 egg white (first amount)

Meringue topping:

3 egg whites (second amount)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp sugar

To make the pie shell, combine crumbs, butter and sugar and pat them into a 9" pie dish. Chill in fridge at least 10 minutes before adding filling.

To make filling, beat condensed milk, yolks and lime juice until thick. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg white until stiff. Fold into the lime mixture until just incorporated and pour into the crumb crust. (At this point, pie can be frozen or refrigerated until almost ready to serve. I like putting it in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm it up. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.)

To make meringue topping, beat 3 egg whites, adding cream of tartar and sugar, until stiff. Cover pie with meringue and put under the broiler until browned. Serve.

Gwen, my mom and I in the Florida Keys