I had no idea I was a key lime pie fan. If key lime pie was on a dessert menu, I was sure to pick anything but that. Until recently, I had never been a fruity dessert lover. Give me anything chocolate or warm and I was happy. Citrus? try again. That was until I had my boyfriend's (Seth) grandma's key lime pie last thanksgiving. I was hooked. HOOK. LINE. SINKER. Now I am here for all things citrus and all things easy.
The whole point of this blog is to share recipes that make you wanna bake!!! or at least that's my goal. I want to take recipes and make them easier while still retaining the best end result. Enter in this key lime pie.
You guys. It is SO GOOD. It is the perfect creamy texture that sets up to this silky custard that melts in your mouth immediately. The perfect balance of sweetness mixed with the tart key lime. Paired with the graham cracker crust and homemade whipped cream, **swoon.**
For this recipe, I used a store bought graham cracker crust. I know I know I know but here's the thing they really aren't much different from a homemade version and they are significantly less work. I literally hate pulling out the food processor (mostly because ours is a dinosaur and has multiple pieces broken so that I have to physically hold the entire thing together to make it work. Could I get a new one? yes. Am I going to? probably not.) and I also despise trying to press the crumbs into an even layered crust. I don't know why... but I do. Also truthfully I made this pie both ways before deciding to do the recipe with a store bough crust and the store bought crust definitely held up better in the fridge over the course of a couple of days. The homemade crust got soggy edges after day one and the store brought had crisp edges even on day four. For the store bought crust I highly recommend Keebler (its the best) or if you are gluten free try a nut crust!
Even though I went easy on the crust I did include homemade whipped cream because I strongly dislike Cool Whip but I think key lime pie needs a nice light whipped cream to reach its full potential. Consider homemade whipped cream your fancy addition for the pie.
Let's talk about the ingredients and baking the pie really quickly. You need eggs + egg whites. Usually key lime pie recipes use yolks but I think whites make a much light pie which I prefer! A can of sweetened condensed milk- easy! And of course the star of the show, key lime juice. Do you really need key lime juice? no. I have made it both ways and it is delicious both ways. Key limes have a little lighter lime flavor and tend to be less sour but if you don't have key lime juice on hand or can't find it go ahead and substitute with regular lime juice. PS don't forget the zest! that's what gives it the little extra punch of lime flavor.
Baking the pie is simple especially with a pre-made crust. It takes around 25 minutes in the oven give or take 5. You are looking for the edges to have set and there to still be a slight jiggle in the middle. Again I HIGHLY recommend purchasing a food thermometer (subscribe to my email list to get the link to the exact one I use on amazon). The inside should be 145 degrees when you pull it out of the oven. Over baked key lime pie will curdle and get a weird texture similar to over baked cheesecake and that is no good. So just watch for the pie to have almost set in the oven and you should be good. Let it cool at room temperature and then pop it in the fridge to finish setting up!
Basically, the dessert couldn't be easier. Whisk the handful of ingredients together and then pop it in the oven for a few minutes. Whip up some homemade whipped cream (pun intended) and boom you look like a dessert master!
If you make it make sure to send me a pic on insta!
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