Key Lime Pie

Last Saturday at my food co-op, I got handed ten limes.  Not being big drinkers of Corona in this household, I needed to figure out what to do with them.  It didn't take long for it to hit me that I could make a classic dessert with my new fruit and hopefully pass on a good recipe at the same time.  I plan on making this today and sharing it tonight with my family.

Key lime pie has been around since at least the mid 1800s.  With the advent of canned sweetened condensed milk, Floridians created this delicious pie.  At the time it was created, it was in a typical pie crust and would have been covered with a meringue topping.  In the late 1940s however, the graham cracker crust was added and refrigeration made possible a whipped cream topping.  So, the version I've included would have been the most popular starting in the late fortiess and through the fifties.


Key Lime Pie 

4 Large egg yolks
4 tsp lime zest
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/2 cup key lime juice
Baked 9 inch Graham Cracker Crust (see below)
Fresh whipped cream

Whisk together until thick and light green:
Eggs and lime zest
Beat in sweetened condensed milk.
Beat in lime juice.
Set aside at room temperature until thickened.


Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Make the crust:
Using a fork, mix together until blended 11 graham crackers and 3 Tbsp sugar.
Add in 5 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
Put crumb mixture into 9 inch pie pan and, using a measuring cup,  press into the bottom and up the sides.
Bake on a center rack for 15 minutes (until lightly brown)
 
Remove and cool to room temperature 

Then pour the lime filling into the crust and bake for 15 minutes or until set (it still should wiggle when shaken).
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled.

Top with whipped cream.