Key Lime Pie

The first Key lime pie was created in the 1850’s in the Florida Keys (the Key’s signature dessert) and the graham cracker crumb base dates back at least to 1949. Key limes are also known as Mexican lime and West Indies lime which were cultivated for thousands of years in the Indo-Malayan region.  There are no commercial Key lime groves in the Florida Keys today, but Key Largo boasted a large Key lime industry until about the mid 1930s. Most key limes in the US today come from Mexico or the West Indies.  A traditional Key lime pie should never look green and are most probably not the real thing.  Limes are an excellent source of Vitamin C (vital to the function of a strong immune system).

Serves 10
recipe from Jamie Magazine Recipe Yearbook
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4 egg yolks
400ml condensed milk
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)
200ml double cream (whipping cream)
lime zest (optional), to serve

Crust:
12 digestive biscuits
45g caster sugar
135g melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 175c (350f).  For the pie crust, lightly grease a 22cm metal or glass pie dish with a little of the melted butter.  Blend digestive biscuits, caster sugar and remaining melted butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Transfer to pie dish and spread over the bottom and up the sides, firmly pressing the mixture down.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and place dish on a wire rack to cool.

For the filling, whisk the egg yolks in a bowl.  Gradually whisk in condensed milk until smooth.  Mix in lime juice, then pour filling into pie crust and level over with the back of a spoon.  Return to the oven for 15 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.  To serve, whip the cream until it just holds stiff peaks.  Add dollops of cream to the top of the pie and grate over some lime zest.

The Culinary Chase’s Note:  It’s been a long time since I had a lime pie and it certainly was well worth the wait!  This pie is so easy to make and tastes as good as it looks.  Delicious!

By The Glass Tasting Note:   Lime and cream. This sounds like the recipe for a late harvest Riesling. A German Auslese has the prequisite sugar and acid balance to work here, but for quality to price ratio my palate veers to the phenomenal late harvest Rieslings made out of Ontario. Caves Spring is a riesling specialist and its Indian Summer Select Late Harvest Riesling has vibrant mango, apple and caramel tones. On the palate is very vibrant and lots of tangy acidity to balance the residual sweetness. A great pairing to lime and lemon base desserts.