Key Lime Pie

I always thought Key Lime Pie was a poor substitute for a Lemon Meringue Pie, until I had an authentic one in Key West – and now it’s a firm favourite dessert!

Preparation time:  Around 25 minutes

Cooking time:  Around 15 minutes (plus chilling time overnight, or 3 hours minimum)

A good Key Lime Pie should never be a garish shade of bright green, as the colour comes from the lime juice (which is a very pale green at best).  I like using chocolate digestives for the biscuit base, but you could substitute for plain digestives or hob-nobs, or even a sweet pastry base if you fancied the extra work!  I use some lime zest for the final garnish, but if you’re a real chocoholic, you could always decorate with chocolate shavings instead.

Ingredients (1 pie):

• Chocolate digestives – 300g, finely crushed
• Butter – 150g, melted
• Egg yolks – 3
• Condensed milk – 1 tin (397g)
• Limes – 4, zested and juiced
• Double cream – 300ml
• Icing sugar – 1 tbsp.

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 140C.  Crush all of the biscuits into crumbs (I put them in a sealed plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin, but you can also use a food processor if you want), then mix with the melted butter.  Immediately press the mixture into the bottom of a loose-based pie dish, press flat with the back of a spoon, and place in the fridge to chill;
2. Using electric beaters, in a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks for a minute, then add the condensed milk and whisk for a further 3 minutes.  Then add the juice from the limes and whisk for a further 3 minutes.  Finally stir in most of the lime zest (reserving a little for garnish later);
3. Take the chilled base from the fridge, pour the lime filing into the pie dish, then cook in the oven for 15 minutes;
4. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool, then chill in the fridge overnight (or for at least for 3 hours);
5. Once the pie has chilled and you’re ready to serve it up, mix the cream with the icing sugar and whisk with electric beaters until it forms soft peaks.  Dollop the whipped cream on top of the pie and spread evenly, then garnish with the last of the lime zest, remove the pie from the dish and place onto a serving plate, and then you’re ready to serve!

Key Lime Pie