key lime pie & giveaway

I almost called this the perfect Key Lime Pie, but I didn’t because I didn’t use a homemade crust. If I had used a homemade crust, I would have called it “The World’s Best Most Perfect Key Lime Pie”.

Hey, would you like some Key Lime juice? Great! GIVEAWAY TIME!

To enter, just answer this question at the end of this post:

What’s your favorite pie?

Winner will be chosen at random May 1st, US residents only, please.

For an extra entry, follow/like me on Twitter and Facebook

Living in south Florida, you can find key limes in produce markets fairly often, and ( lucky me) I have a tree in my back yard. Not that it has given me any limes lately… I need to have a talk with it, or the bees, I suppose. If you don’t happen to come across key limes on a daily basis, they do sell the bottled juice at the store. Just make sure the back of the bottle states that it’s key lime juice, not lime juice.

I make a Key Lime pie about 3 times a year.. starting around Easter, and going all through summer. Mainly, because you don’t have to put in the oven. Although most recipes tell you to- for safety reasons. Everybody is scared of getting sued these days….

I don’t usually bake mine, and I’m still here.

Now…Key Lime pies can be too tart and they can be too sweet. Believe me, I have made and had my share. I have experimented with fresh juice, bottled juice, half and half..you name it. I think I finally got the perfect mixture: not too tart, sweet enough and very limey.

Yum.

Isn’t it pur-dee?

You start with a can of sweetened condensed milk and 4 egg yolks.

(I saved my whites for macarons later this week… remember I have that ganache laying around?! Oh yeeeesss!)

Woah. Those yolks are bright. I don’t think they were that bright in real life.

Once you whisk in the lime juice, move quickly: this stuff thickens fast.

Yes, I used a store bought crust. They’re good. They’re easy. I’m supporting my economy. I was lazy, too.

I made it fancy, though. Now it really looks store bought.

Isn’t it funny how when we make homemade things, we want them to look nice, but not “store bought”? We want people to know that it’s homemade by looking at it… hmmm. Just a thought.

Yes, those are Persian limes to garnish with, they have a nicer color. 🙂

: The Village Cook’s Key Lime Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
3 1/2 oz key lime juice, fresh or bottled
2 tsp vanilla extract (clear)
1/4 tsp salt
1 9″ graham cracker pie crust

In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and milk, salt and vanilla.
Add the lime juice and pour into crust.
Bake 20 minutes at 350.*

* traditional Key lime pie is not bakes, as the acid in the lime juice “cooks” the yolks. However, feel free to bake for 20 minutes for safety reasons. Allow to cool, then place/store in the fridge several hours before serving.

Top with whipped cream, shredded toasted coconut, chopped nuts.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dessert

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