Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Key To Great Pie - Key Lime Pie

Do ya ever get the craving for something, out of the blue (maybe the green in this case) and no matter what you do, you just can't get it out of your head.

Thus it is with Key Lime pie. The problem is, that Key limes are not even available in the store right now, so I am having to resort to prepared Key Lime Juice. After all, this is a pie emergency. I MUST have Key lime pie. I even resorted to Persian Lime zest. :)

My recipe is pretty standard. After all, the whole beauty of Key Lime pie is it's simplicity. It contains Sweetened Condensed Milk, Key Lime juice, Zest and Egg Yolks. I do, however, forgo the graham cracker crust in favor of a Pâte Brisée shell. I am just not big on graham crackers, which is why I use tea biscuits for my cheesecakes.

Key Lime Pie

1/2 recipe Pâte Brisée
3 egg yolks
Zest of 2 Key Limes; about 1 1/2 tsp (Persian lime zest if using bottles Key Lime juice)
1 (14-oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 cup fresh Key Lime juice (or the bottled, in a pinch, but never Persian limes)

I have gone over Pâte Brisée before, so I am going to skim it really quick.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the ingredients for the crust, and roll out a round that is large enough to fit a 9 inch pie plate, then fold and crimp the edges.

Dock the pastry, then line the shell with parchment and weights, then bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the weights and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Allow the pastry shell to cool for 20 minutes before preparing the filling.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees.
Utilizing an electric mixer or a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at a high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Gradually add the Condensed Milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer.

Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. (The Lime juice will start to 'set' the yolks)

Pour mixture into the prepared pastry shell.

Smooth any major bubbles with a spatula.

Bake for 10 minutes in the 350 oven to fully 'set' and pasteurize the egg yolk.

Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Move from the refrigerator to the freezer 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Top with sweetened whipped cream and serve.

The strange looking fork in the first picture is a Pie Fork. I had never seen anything like it.

One of the interesting things found in an antique store. My assumption is that the design is a carryover from the time when silverware was actually made out of "silver". Being a softer metal than stainless steel, the tines were doubled up to give it more strength to cut through such things as pastries and pie crust.

It worked fairly well, if I do say so myself. ;)

Personally, I would be just as happy with a spoon. LOL

Mangia!!
~~

4 comments:

Bo said...

Your pie looks great....I've never heard of a pie fork...did you know shat it was when you bought it?

Dajana said...

So good, love these creamy pies, and I also prefer my pies with Pâte Brisée. I don't think Key limes are ever available here.

Cookiebaker said...

I love Key Lime pie and yours looks wonderful. I've never thought to use anything other than a graham cracker crust....mostly because I'm pie crust challenged.

Unknown said...

a pie fork? How cool is that! I wonder if cakes are jealous cuz they don't get a special fork.
Your pie looks wonderful. I have a dwarf lime tree...key lime tree that is. and its just a bunch of buds right now. Soo...nope, it's not key lime season yet :)