As promised, here is my take on the key lime pie recipe. That being said, I’m not using key lime as they mainly grown in Florida, US. I haven’t seen any in Singapore. I’m using large Thai limes, which can be found in major supermarkets here. You can also use medium or small limes but that means you have to spend more time squeezing the juice. This is really an all-American dessert, using lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks. Sorry health fanatics, you may just want to exit this page now. I’ve also replaced the graham crackers for the crust with digestive biscuits.
Ingredients:
Pie Crust:
9 pieces digestive biscuits
2 tbsp (30 g) sugar
5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter – melted
Lime filling:
3 large egg yolks – room temperature
1 can (14 ounce /400 g) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice or regular lime juice
Note: Depending on the size of the limes, I use about 6 large Thai limes
zest of 1 large lime
Topping:
1 cup heavy cream / whipping cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Lime slices for decoration
Makes 6 – 8 slices
Recipe source: Woodland Bakery & Joy of Baking (with slight modification)
To get the most juice out of the limes, roll them around before juicing.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan with butter or vegetable spray and set aside.
Place the digestive biscuits into a large zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to pound them (like they owe you money) into sand-like fine bits.
This is also one of my favorite stress-relief method..haha!
Pour the melted butter and sugar into the bag and squish them all together, until the mixture looks like wet sand.
Pour the biscuit mixture into the greased pie pan and spread evenly. Use the bottom of a spoon to press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan evenly. Make sure the sides are covered.
I’m using a glass pie pan.
Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
Let’s make the filling. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed into a pale and thick consistency for about 5 minutes.
Use the whisk paddle.
It should look like this.
Slowly add in the condensed milk and continue to whisk the mixture for about 2 minutes.
Add in the lime zest and slowly pour in the lime juice while the mixer is on for about 30 seconds.
Zest only the green part and not the white as it has a bitter taste.
The lime juice provides acidity to the condensed milk mixture and balances the flavor nicely.
Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake at 180°C for about 10 mins or until set. It should not be watery and wobbles slightly when you shake it. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
You can see specks of lime zest in the filling.
Once it is cooled, cover with cling wrap (cling wrap should not touch the surface) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or best, overnight so it is completely chilled.
There are two types of toppings for key lime pies – meringue or whipped cream. Hubby prefers whipped cream. You can buy ready-made whipped cream or if you have some heavy cream in your fridge to spare, why not make some yourself?
Whipping cream is also known as heavy cream.
Put your mixing bowl and whisk into the freezer for 30 mins. In this way, it will be much easier to whip the cream and achieve the thick, rich consistency we are looking for. Take the heavy cream out from the fridge and pour it into the cold mixing bowl and add in the sugar and vanilla extract.
Main ingredients to make whipped cream.
Whip the cream on high speed for about 3 minutes or until you achieve stiff peak. Do not over mix or it’ll turn into butter. If it does, quickly add in a few spoons of cold heavy cream and beat if for a few seconds.
This is what you should achieve.
You can spread the whipped cream directly onto the cake and if you prefer something fancier, use a piping bag to pipe the cream. Here is how I make my piping bag.
I used a large zip lock bag and my 8mm star tube. Cut a small hole at the edge of the bag. Insert your star tube so it fits nicely.
Snip off a small part of the corner.
Put the star tube into the bag and gently push it through the hole and it should fit snugly.
Spoon in the cream and push it all the way down, until you see the cream at the tip of the tube. Rest it in a mug.
Pipe and decorate as much cream as you want on the pie.
Feel free to cover the whole pie if you like :-).
Put it back in the fridge to chill and take it out when you are ready to serve. Garnish with some lime slices to complete the effect!
Full instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan with a non stick vegetable spray or butter. Set aside.
Place the digestive biscuits into a large zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to pound them (like they owe you money) into fine bits. Pour the melted butter and sugar into the bag and squish them all together, until the mixture looks like wet sand.
Pour the biscuit mixture into the greased pie pan and spread evenly. Use the bottom of a spoon to press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan evenly. Be sure the sides are even.
Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
Let’s make the filling. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed into a pale and thick consistency for about 5 minutes. Slowly add in the condensed milk and continue to whisk the mixture for about 2 minutes. Once it is dissolved, add in the lime zest and slowly pour in the lime juice while the mixer is on for about 30 seconds.
Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for about 10 to15 minutes or until set and the filling wobbles slightly. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once it is cooled, cover with cling wrap, be careful not to let it touch the surface of the pie. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or best, overnight so it is completely chilled.
Whipped cream topping:
Put your mixing bowl and whisk into the freezer for 30 mins. In this way, it will be much easier to whip the cream and achieve the thick, rich consistency we are looking for. Take the heavy cream out from the fridge and pour it into the cold mixing bowl and add in the sugar and vanilla extract. Whip the cream on high speed for about 3 minutes or until you achieve stiff peak. Do not over mix or it’ll turn into butter. If it does, quickly add in a few spoons of cold heavy cream and beat if for a few seconds.
You can spread the whipped cream directly onto the cake and if you prefer something fancier, use a piping bag to pipe the cream. I used a large zip lock bag and my 8mm star tube. Cut a small hole at the edge of the bag. Insert your star tube so it fits nicely. Spoon in the cream and push it all the way down, until you see the cream at the tip of the tube. Rest it in a mug.
Pipe and decorate as much cream as you want on the pie. Put it back in the fridge to chill and take it out when you are ready to serve. Garnish with some lime slices to complete the effect!
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