Key Lime Pie

A silky, tart custard of Key lime juice and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust, finished with whipped cream.

Prep

20 min

Cook

30 min

Total

4 hr 50 min

incl. 4 hr chilling

Yield

8 servings

Ingredients

For the crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
4 large egg yolks
1 tbsp finely grated lime zest
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz each)
⅔ cup Key lime juice, fresh or bottled
For the topping:
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Mix the crust ingredients and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes, then let cool.
Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest for 1 minute until pale. Whisk in the condensed milk, then the lime juice, until smooth and slightly thick.
Pour into the crust and bake until the filling is set at the edges but the center still wobbles slightly, 15 to 17 minutes.
Cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Whip the cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks and spread over the pie before serving.

Kitchen note

Bottled Key lime juice works well and saves squeezing dozens of tiny limes. Regular Persian limes are fine too, just a little less floral.

Where it comes from

Key West cooks used canned condensed milk when fresh milk was scarce. Key lime pie is now Florida’s official state pie.