The key to my finale: Key Lime Pie

My last pie for 2012: Key Lime. It's my husband's favorite. Plus it seemed right to start with a citrus cream pie and end with one. 

I broke the "rules". Many baking experts say if you are making something for the first time, follow the recipe perfectly and then tweak from there. I looked at five different recipes online and just made it up. My hunches on the quantities worked out and it tasted amazing.

The whipped topping is a little free style. To get the canned whipped cream look, I put my home made whipped topping in my cookie press with a pastry tip. Anything that shoots out whipped cream by a trigger gets any child's attention. My oldest son (who is 9 and a budding foodie) begged me to let him help. Honestly, I got a little frustrated with him at first because he wanted the whipped cream to be a gigantic mound, but we negotiated the design and it turned out pretty.

Recipe below. Note we like our citrus pies a little on the tart side. If you like things really tart, I recommend only putting whipped cream on the edge and increase the zest to 2 tbsp. If you like your key lime pie a little sweet, I would increase the sugar in the crust to 1/2 cup and omit the zest. I use a glass 10" pie pan, so if your pan is smaller, you will need to adjust the amounts.

Thanks to everyone who helped and supported me with my New Year's resolution to make a pie a month. It's been a blast!

Betsy's Key Lime Pie
crust:
2 sleeves graham crackers
1/4 c sugar
1 stick butter, melted
filling:
2 egg yolks
2, 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c sour cream
1 tbsp key lime zest
1 c key lime juice (about 40-45 limes)
topping:
1 c whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Crust: Preheat the oven 375 degrees. Grease a 10" pie pan with PAM and wipe off excess spray. Break the crackers into chunks in a food processor. Pulse until crackers are crumbs. Add sugar and pulse a few times. While the processor is running, pour in the melted butter until it looks like wet sand. Press crust into pan and bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Preheat the oven 375 degrees. Mix egg yolks, condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and zest in a bowl with a whisk until completely blended. Pour into cooled crust and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour and then put the pie in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until chilled through.

Topping: Mix whipping cream, vanilla and sugar in a bowl. Beat on high with an electric mixer until peaks form. Either place in a pastry bag/cookie press with a fluted pastry tip or spread on the top of the pie. 


Now Bake That!