Day 30 of 31 Days Of Pie is a lovely Key Lime Pie from America’s Test Kitchen.
Our 31 Days Of Pie is drawing to a close, and yes, I am sad to see it go! Will we stop making pies? Never. Will we take a quick break from them? Most likely, but I’m sure it won’t be long. Today’s pie comes from America’s Test Kitchen, and happened rather last minute as we looked at the calendar and realized we made 30 pies, not 31, over the course of the month. We were at home enjoying down time and not at the studio, so this pie was whipped up quickly at home and photographed in the backyard. A quick sidenote: I’m always trying to keep myself busy creatively and realized “hey! I have the afternoon off! hey! it’s sunny! hey! I want to photograph a little backyard vignette!” I’ve included that photo and it also explains why this luscious key lime pie doesn’t match the series all that much. But no biggie, right? As with all things America’s Test Kitchen, it works and is delicious. Whenever you crave that zippy zing of citrus I hope you’ll think of this.
Key Lime Pie from America’s Test Kitchen
INGREDIENTS
Lime Filling
4 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice from 3 to 4 limes
4 large egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
Graham Cracker Crust
11 graham crackers, processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Whipped Cream Topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 lime, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the Filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.
2. For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)
4. For the Whipped Cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.
Gosh, key lime is just the best. I have enjoyed this pie series and I think I have saved nearly all of them for future baking endeavors. You can never have too many pie recipes up your sleeves!
Key lime pie is one of my favorites and I’m always looking at a way to make it different. Last year for our 45th anniversary we went back to Panama City, FL where we went on our honeymoon. While there, we had the most delicious white chocolate key lime pie. It was wonderful, but I missed the taste of the condensed milk so, what did I do but mix two recipes together. I hope you will try my version. http://rosemaryandthegoat.com/2013/06/26/white-chocolate-key-lime-pie/ — Sherry
Tasty and easy. Was a little soft. Maybe more like a pudding. Put them in the freezer and they firmed up some. Will make them again