Key Lime Pie Time

As mentioned previously I have made key lime pie.

2 Key lime pies to be exact.

I like key lime pie. I saw key limes in the store. Obviously I was therefore helpless in the face of my urge to make a key lime pie.

I am not from anywhere near Florida, so I really had no idea how an “authentic” key lime pie is made. (I think now I've done enough reading that I probably have a pretty good idea.) So I searched thru recipes, looking for what people gave good ratings and, similar to the graham cracker crust, was able to divide them into 2 categories- sour cream vs. egg yolk.

And therefore I had to make both.

Both were made in the graham cracker crust posted previously with an entire 1/3 cup sugar. The limes can handle it.

Recipe #1: Sour Cream

(a.k.a. Key Lime Pie VII posted on allrecipes.com with an average of 5 stars following 380! reviews. This is street cred if I've ever seen it.)

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

3 cups sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice (I used about 30 limes, however my juicer is not the most efficient with these little guys so that is a very rough estimate)

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

Review: This pie is just delicious, and it probably comes together easier then any other pie I have ever made. If it wasn't for juicing the limes, I would call it straight-up effortless. It produces a faint light green zest flecked pie.

I also found that this was WAY too much filling for my metal pie pans. But better to have too much then too little so I had prepared this in the smallish pan. It fits much better in my 9-1/2” Pyrex pan with handles.

Recipe #2: Egg Yolks

(adapted from this recipe found on The Pioneer Women's Tasty Kitchen)

2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup Key Lime Juice

4 whole Egg Yolks, beaten (discard Whites)

1 teaspoon lime zest

Prepared graham cracker crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, beaten egg yolks, lime juice, and zest. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.

3. Bake in preheated oven , until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie.

Review: First of all, I messed up a bit on this one, so maybe should try again one of these days to get it right. The total amount of condensed milk should have come too 14oz., I used 28. In spite of my blunder, this recipe too was delicious. It produces the tradition mild yellow color with slight zest flecking.

It did not set up quite as well as the other recipe, but was still firm enough to not be a problem. I suspect the flavor would be similar with slightly better set if ¾ cup lime juice and 1 tablespoon zest were used. Or maybe this problem would be fixed if I simply used the right amount of condensed milk.

This pie did not come together quite as easily, although it still wasn't difficult. I thought I had beaten the overall mixture together enough, but after pouring it into the crust I still saw flecks of pure egg yolk. I recommend beating it for a good 2-3 minutes after you think it is all combined to avoid this problem.

I also baked this pie in the Pyrex, but with the “right” amount of sweetened condensed milk, it would probably fit best in my smaller metal pan.

The Verdict:

What can I say, they are both fantastic. Egg yolk gets a slight edge for being “the classic” and the color is a giveaway that this is the more traditional of the two recipes. I will probably just use whichever recipe best suites what I have on hand. i.e. If there are eggs in the fridge, I will make it with eggs. If I have sour cream, I will use that. Either way, you will not be disappointed.