pies and tarts: luscious key lime pie

key lime pie is one of my mom’s favorites. i brought her this pie after class. she later confessed that she ate nearly the whole thing herself over a few weekends. “and,” she added. “i didn’t tell dad that i had it. i kept it for myself.” “oh well,” i reassured her, laughing. “dad’s not much of a dessert guy anyway.”

key lime pie is easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. you can certainly buy the graham cracker crust, but making it is a cinch, and i love the way a few crumbs flake off and shower the plate. i learned that the sugar in the crust plays a much more important role than to simply sweeten it. when it’s baked, it melts and then hardens, becoming the crust’s glue that holds it together.

key lime pie

graham cracker crust

1/4 lb. graham cracker crumbs
2 oz. sugar
2 oz. butter, melted

filling

4 egg yolks
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
5 oz. key lime juice

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. mix the crumbs and sugar with your fingers in a mixing bowl. add the melted butter, and mix until all the crumbs are coated in the butter. the crumbs should clump together when you grab them and make a fist.

spread the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a sloped pie pan. press another pie pan or a flat-bottomed cup on top to pack the crumbs evenly around the pan. bake for 10 minutes. set aside to cool thoroughly.

lightly beat the egg yolks, then stir in the sweetened condensed milk. add the lime juice, and beat the mixture until smooth. pour the filling into the cooled, baked graham cracker crust. refrigerate for at least eight hours. while the pie appears to be resting in the fridge overnight, the acid is hard at work coagulating the egg and milk proteins. when you remove your pie the next day, the filling will be firm.

slice, and top each piece with whipped cream and fresh lime zest. store the pie in the refrigerator for up to seven days, though it may not stay around that long. and don’t feel guilty if you hide it from loved ones. it is your pie, after all.