Key Lime Pie

Feast your eyes on this perfect summer dessert that the whole family will surely love. It is made with a beautiful blend of creamy, citrusy filling in a buttery graham cracker crust - such a heavenly delight filled with creamy, velvety, and melt-in-your-mouth goodness with every bite. A second slice is a must!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Chill Time 3 45

Total Time 4 25

Servings - 10

Calories 453kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

Graham Pie Crust

2 cups (250g) graham cracker crumbs
cinnamon, optional
¼ cup (55g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120g or 4.2oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

Pie Filling

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
½ cup (118ml) sour cream
3 large egg yolks
⅔ cup (158ml) key lime juice, freshly squeezed or store-bought
2 teaspoons lime zest

Topping

1 cup (8oz) heavy or whipping cream, chilled
2 tablespoons (30g) powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

The Crust

Preheat the oven to 375℉/190℃ and set an oven rack in the middle position.
Grease a 9x1.5-inch pie pan with baking spray or butter. Set aside.
In a food processor, add graham crackers, and pulse several times until crumbs are fine. Or crush them manually, as shown in the photos.
Add sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter, and continue grinding until thoroughly mixed. (If using ground graham crackers, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined – proceed with the following steps.)
Press the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pie pan with the bottom of a measuring cup. Keep pressing until the crumbs are firmly positioned on the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Bake until set, about 8-10 minutes, or until slightly brown. Remove and place on a rack to cool.

The Filling

Carefully grate the skin to get the key lime zest. Then cut the key limes in half and squeeze out the juice.
Combine sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, egg yolks, key lime juice, and zest in a large bowl. Whip or beat the mixture to increase the volume and thicken it slightly.
Pour the thickened mixture into the warm graham cracker crust.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until the filling is almost set; it should wobble slightly. Let it cool at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, then place it in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, about 3 hours.
Pour the whipped cream into a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until medium peaks form.
Pipe whipped cream mixture decoratively on top of the pie. Alternatively, you can place the mixture on the pie without piping. Decorate the pie with the lime zest and lime slices.
Store the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
When ready to slice, place the knife in hot water and slice into wedges, wiping your knife clean in between slices. Wiping the knife produces a clean cut. Serve cold.

Notes

You can replace key lime with regular lime if you don’t have them in your area. However, you’ll need to adjust the amount of juice since they have different acidity, and note that the taste will be slightly different.
Do not overmix the pie filling mixture to prevent incorporating too much air. Overmixing causes the filling to inflate during baking and deflate after baking, causing a crack on the pie surface.
The filling should be a little jiggly in the middle. But don’t worry because it will set as it cools down and after chilling.

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