Growing up in California, I never got the fuss over the Key Lime Pies that were so popular during the 80's. Until, that is, I took a trip to the Florida Keys in the summer of 2009. It was there, at a nondescript shack along the Oversea Highway, that I had my first taste of a real Key Lime Pie. I was there for the fried conch, but the pie in the case is what drew my appetite and I was soon devouring my first slice of many delicious Key Lime Pies, as I ate my way around the Keys.
I've tried making Key Lime Pie a number of times since then, but I've never been able to do that taste memory justice. Traditional Key Lime Pies are made with sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice, but because eating uncooked eggs is unwise, most recipes these days call for them to be baked in the oven. This not only renders the custard much firmer, the heat takes the fresh edge off of the lime juice.
I wanted to come up with a Key Lime Pie that doesn't require the filling to be baked. The breakthrough moment came when I made a yuzu posset a few months ago. A posset is an eggless custard that's set through a chemical reaction between boiled cream and citrus juice. The first thought I had when I tasted it was that I'd found my solution for making a delicious Key Lime Pie that you don't need to worry about eating. The best part is that this method makes it ridiculously simple to make the pie. The filling consists of only 3 ingredients, and comes together in under 10 minutes.
To ensure I got as much lime flavor into the filling as possible, I add both lime juice and lime zest, but I strain the zest out before filling the pie shell in order to keep the texture of the filling nice and smooth.
With a buttery graham cracker crust, and a cool silky filling that melts on contact with your tongue into a tangy pool of fresh lime flavor, this pie brought back delicious memories from my trip to the Keys. The rich, milky sweetness from the cream mellows the harsh acidity of the limes, and the temperature-sensitive filling sets firm in the fridge, but melts like a ganache in your mouth, giving it an indescribably smooth texture.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
For Crust
- 130 grams graham crackers
- 3 tablespoons evaporated cane sugar
- 70 grams cultured unsalted butter melted
For Filling
- 2 cups heavy cream 45% butterfat
- 110 grams evaporated cane sugar about ½ cup
- 4 grams lime zest zest of 1 lime
- ⅓ cup lime juice see note below
For Topping
- 1 cup whipping cream 35% butterfat
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Move your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 325 degrees F (160 C).
- Crumble the graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor and add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Pulse until they're fine crumbs (but not so long they turn into powder).
- Add the melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Dump the mixture into a pie plate and press the crumbs into an even layer along the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Using a heavy flat-bottomed object such as a glass helps ensure the bottom is packed tightly.
- Bake the crust in the preheated oven until fragrant (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Add the heavy cream and sugar to a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lime zest and lime juice.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then strain it into the pie crust through a sieve to remove the lime zest. Cover the key lime pie and refrigerate until the custard is fully set (2-3 hours).
- Whip the whipping cream until soft mounds form, Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue whipping until the cream forms well defined peaks, but not until it's hard.
- Add the cream a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip and pipe the cream onto the pie. You can also just mound the cream onto the pie.
Lisa says
Thanks so much for sharing this fabulous recipe! This one tastes so much fresher, better, and healthier than the typical recipe with sweetened condensed milk. I skip adding sugar to the graham crackers and skimp on the sugar amounts for the filling and whipped cream, and find that it's still sweet enough and sufficiently balances the lime tartness. Appreciated the response to the question about the filling not setting because that happened to me too. Keeping a rolling boil for the whole 5 minutes worked (suggest adding that to the recipe instructions :). I find that I need to increase the crust and filling amounts by 1.5 to fill a 9-inch glass pie pan. What size pie pan does the recipe calls for?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lisa, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this! Regarding the boiling step, did you use a 45% butterfat cream? I tested this a number of ways and with a 45% fat cream it reduces too much if you boil it for 5 minutes. For the pie plate, this was a 20cm (about 8 inch) plate.
Lisa says
I'm not sure of the % butterfat. I used Rockview Family Farms Heavy Whipping Cream if that helps. One of your other responses here says to turn the heat down but keep it at a medium boil for 5 minutes. Could you please clarify how high the heat should be for the 5 minutes after the cream comes to a boil. Thanks
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lisa, it doesn't look like it says on the front of the packaging for that brand, but in order for it to be called "Heavy Cream" the FDA requires a butterfat content of at least 36% which should be enough to make it set. As for the heat, it should be lowered enough so that it doesn't boil over, but it should still be bubbling.
Joanna says
I made this pie last night to have for dessert today but the filling still hasn’t set (it’s been about 16 hours now). Not sure what I did wrong. Is there any way to firm it up now? Maybe freeze it? I don’t want to ruin it
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Joanna, I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. Assuming you didn't make any ingredient substitutions, the most likely possibility is that the cream wasn't cooked for long enough. After coming to a rolling boil, you need to reduce the heat to keep it from boiling over, but you still want it at a medium boil. Freezing it is a good idea for salvaging it. Since there is no air incorporated into the cream it won't turn out soft like a no-churn ice cream, but you should still be able to slice it after leaving it at room temp for a bit.
Kathleen Forrest says
Just finished - really delicious! Worked out just great!
Kathleen Forrest says
Can I make this 2 days before I serve it?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kathleen, as long as it's refrigerated it will not spoil, however it will not be at its best. The peak time would be after about a day. By the second day, the crust absorbs too much liquid from the filling and starts to get very wet (though some people like this).
Debi Sosalla says
Best key lime pie ever!! NEVER again using sweetened condensed milk!
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Debi, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Sheri says
I’m considering making this pie. My expectations are about as high as they can be. My mom always talked about this lime pie she had once and she tried key lime pie anytime it was served anywhere we went. Sadly she never found the one she wanted so much. Anyway now that I’m older I’ve developed a taste for lemon and lime pies and I have found myself trying to figure out what she was looking for all that time. I like the idea of no eggs and how clever of you to add the zest to get that extra flavor, but then take it out so the texture isn’t compromised.. I’m probably in way too deep at this point. 😆 If you have any upgrades or improvements that aren’t shown in the recipe or even just tips for me I’d appreciate all the information I can get before I dive into the world of actually making pies.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Sheri, now I'm nervous😆 But I do feel pretty confident that this is the best Key Lime Pie I've tasted. I don't really have any revisions on this one right now, but please let me know how it goes!