Authentic Florida Key Lime Pie Recipes

FLORIDA KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• To Make Lime Filling: In a large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add condensed milk, lime juice, lime rind, and salt. Whip until mixture is smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly.
• To Make Topping: In a medium bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla or lemon extract and confectioners' sugar. Continue to whip until cream forms stiff peaks. Place topping in a fine-mesh sieve and place sieve over a bowl to catch liquid that drains off. Cover topping tightly with plastic wrap and allow to drain for 2 hours.
• Before serving, discard liquid that has drained from topping. Spread topping over pie.

AUTHENTIC KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk condensed milk and egg yolks together in a large mixing bowl. Mix in Key lime juice; mixture will be thin at first but will thicken as it is whisked. Whisk until smooth and thick. Pour into the graham cracker crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is firm to the touch and only slightly jiggly in the center, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate before serving, 5 hours to overnight.

AUTHENTIC FLORIDA KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Break up the graham crackers; place in a food processor and process the crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag; seal and crush the crackers with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined.
• Press the mixture into the bottom and side of a pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Lightly form a border up the sides. Bake the crust at 350 degrees until set and golden for 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack, let cool. Leave the oven on.
• For the filling, using a rasp or grater, grate 2 teaspoons of the lime skin. Then, using a hand press, squeeze 2/3 cups of key lime juice by cutting each lime in half and placing it in press (they are usually too small for a juicer).
• Next, separate the egg yolks from the whites. Set aside the egg whites for the meringue if you want to use them later. Have your sweetened condensed milk opened, your juice finished and your zest ready for the next step.
• In an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of lime zest at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the can of condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the 2/3 cup of lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack.
• For the topping, with a mixer, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until forming stiff peaks.
• Spread over filling and seal to edge of crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Note: Watch the oven and don't take your eyes off the meringue, it could brown quickly. Place in the refrigerator and let it chill for 2-3 hours.

" OLD KEY LIME HOUSE " PIE

Steps:

• FOR CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Add the melted butter and stir to coat well. Press crust into a 9-inch diameter glass pie dish. Bake 5 minutes. Cool.
• FOR FILLING: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Whisk all filling ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Pour mixture into cooled crust. Bake until center is set, about 25 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Then cover and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
• FOR TOPPING: using electric mixer, beat all topping ingredients in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Spread atop pie and serve.

TRADITIONAL KEY LIME PIE

Steps:

• Beat egg yolks.
• Stir in sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice and rind.
• In a small bowl, stiffly beat 1 egg white.
• Fold into pie mixture.
• Turn into baked pie shell.
• Beat the three reserved egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy.
• Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff but not dry.
• Spread meringue on top of pie, sealing carefully to the edge of the pie shell.
• Bake 15 minutes at 350° or until meringue is golden brown.
• Cool in refrigerator at least 6 hours.

FLORIDA LIME PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Toss in the butter cubes serially, to keep them separate while coating them evenly in flour. Using a fork, cut the butter into the flour, continuing to toss them as you do, until they're roughly the size of peas.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice water over the flour-and-butter mixture. Using your fork, toss to incorporate, then continue to add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough begins to come together as you stir it. Using your hands, fold the dough over itself a few times, adding just enough water so that it holds together.
• Form the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to a couple of days.
• When you're ready to make the pie, first prepare the pie shell: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 12 inches in diameter, then fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp edges, then, using the tines of a fork, pierce the bottom crust 8 to 12 times. Line dough with a sheet of parchment paper, and spread evenly with pie weights. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are set. You want it slightly underdone. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment, and let cool completely on a rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• Make the filling: In a large bowl, use a whisk to beat the egg yolks until they are thick, then gradually beat in the condensed milk, then the lime juice. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime zest.
• In a medium bowl, use a whisk to beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold them gently into the condensed-milk mixture. Pour into the cooled pie shell.
• Place the pie back on the sheet pan and bake until the filling is just set in the center, about 20 minutes. It need not be completely firm because the filling thickens as it cools.
• Cool the pie on a rack, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream and about 1 teaspoon grated lime zest.