Key Lime Pie

Well, my husband has been asking me to make his favorite key lime pie for a while and I broke down and made it last night. It isn't difficult. It just takes a while to juice all those little limes!

We first saw this recipe on Paula Deen's show last summer. The first time I made it, I used bottled key lime juice. The next time, I just juiced the limes myself (doesn't take too long to get the 1/2 cup) and the taste was much more tart and delicious. The key here is to use KEY limes... not those huge limes in the grocery store.

Bubba's Key Lime Pie (taken from Food Network's website)

Crust:
Ready-made graham cracker crust
If you want to make your own crust, the recipe on the Food Network's website provides details how to do it (theirs has almonds in it). We opted for the "easy" way out.

Pie:
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Key lime juice
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of zest. Blend in the egg yolks. Pour the filling into the crust.

For the meringue, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and remaining zest until the mixture is stiff. Spread the meringue over the filling, spreading it to touch the edge of the crust all around. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.


Last night we cut into the pie a little prematurely and it wasn't super firm and wasn't cold enough (see photo). Today we had a piece and it was the perfect consistency and nice and cold! Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to let it get cold. It really brings out the tartness of the limes and seems to increase the smoothness of the filling.