Real Floridian Key Lime Pie

Serves: 8-10 slices depending on how thick you cut them

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Notes: Once the pie is done baking and you take it out of the oven, please let it sit and cool for a couple of hours then move it into the fridge for about 4 hours. This way you get that beautiful custard-like consistency that the key lime pie is known for.

Ingredients (For Crust):

  • 1 cup butter, soft, room temperature (save 1/2 for greasing pan)
  • 1/8 cup honey
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose-flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup crushed graham crackers

Ingredients (For Filling):

  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup key lime juice (you can do a 1/2 cup if you’d like it more tangy)
  • thin slices of lime (for garnishing)

Ingredients (For Whipped Cream):

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/8 cup powdered sugar

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. For the crust, beat the butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer or food processor. Slowly add salt and sifted flour and mix until everything is combined, being careful not to overwork it. The dough should be crumbly.
  3. Grease a standard 9 inch pie pan with soft butter. Sprinkle some graham crackers to cover the bottom of the pie pan. Scoop out your dough and press firmly into the bottom of the pan, leave the edges loose.
  4. Take your remaining graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle the edges of the pan, pressing the dough firmly into the edges after you get the crumbs in there. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Take the pie pan with crust out of the oven and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Now you’re ready for the filling…
  5. For the filling, mix the egg yolks in the stand mixer or food processor for 1 minute on medium-high or high. Add heavy cream and mix for 1 minute. The mixture should be fluffy at this point.
  6. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for about 15 minutes or until filling sets.
  7. Take pie out of the oven, set aside and let it cool for 2 hours. Meanwhile, make your whipped cream by combining the heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar in a bowl and whip until it forms stiff peaks. At this point, if you’d like, you can gently stir in a little bit of lime zest for deeper flavor. Scoop your cream into a piping bag and put into the fridge. After two hours are up, cover your pie and place in the fridge for 4 hours to let the custard form a nice gel-like consistency.
  8. When ready to serve, take out your piping bag of whipped cream and pipe dallops of cream all over the top of your pie. Take a slice of lime and gently twist the middle as you place the lime slice on top of a whipped cream dallop — do this for each lime. For a true Floridian experience, slice your pie and serve with orange sorbet and a mango-peach mimosa (I like to make mine virgin with sparkling water and about 2-3 tablespoons each of mango and peach nectar)… enjoy!