Description
A bright, tangy and ultra creamy key lime pie made with a touch of cream cheese in the filling, a crispy graham cracker crust, and a light whipped cream topping.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 275g graham crackers (~20 full sheets)
- 10 tbsp melted butter (140g)
Key Lime Filling:
- 1 8oz block cream cheese (226g), room temperature*
- 35oz or 2 1/2 cans cans sweetened condensed milk (990g)
- 1 cup key lime juice, freshly squeezed (240g)
- 1 tbsp key lime zest (2-3 limes)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled (360g)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Crust:
- Pre-heat your oven to 325F (conventional / no fan) and prepare a 9" pie dish by brushing it with butter
- Add the graham crackers to a food processor and blitz until they form a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and blitz again to combine
- Transfer the crumbs to the pie dish and press down firmly to form a pie crust on the bottom and up the sides. I recommend taking your time with this step to ensure the crust is firm and evenly thick, especially on the edges, because if it is thinner in parts it can easily crack
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for just 7-8 minutes until the crust looks golden. Remove the pie dish from the oven but keep the oven on at 325F
Key Lime Filling:
- Add the block of cream cheese to a bowl and whisk for 2-3 minutes until it is creamy and doesn't have any lumps. Scrape the bowl along the way
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice (strain it to remove seeds!), key lime zest, vanilla and salt to the bowl and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the ingredients are combined. You can also taste the filling and add a little more sweetened condensed milk or lime juice if you prefer!
- Add the egg yolks and whisk only until combined - do not overmix at this point
- Strain the filling into the pan with the baked crust to remove the zest and any lumps, using a spatula or spoon to pass it through the sieve. Because the filling is quite thick, it can be tough to strain so I don't recommend using a fine-mesh sieve for this step. If you want to save time, you can skip the straining altogether and just pour the filling into the pan*
- Bake the pie in the pre-heated oven for 22-24 minutes until it looks set around the edges but still slightly jiggles in the middle when you gently shake the pan
- Let the pie cool down at room temperature for 20 minutes, then transfer to the fridge. Refrigerate overnight (or at least for 6 hours) so the pie can fully set
Topping & Serving:
- When the pie has cooled down, make the whipped cream topping. Whisk the heavy cream and sugar until the cream reaches medium-stiff peaks. Spread a thick layer of the cream on the pie (or pipe it on). Optionally, decorate the pie with key lime zest and slices
- Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- Cream cheese replacement: You can substitute the cream cheese in this recipe with 1 cup (240g) or sour cream or full fat yogurt. In that case, skip the step of whisking separately, and whisk directly with key lime juice, vanilla, salt and key lime zest
- Key lime juice: I highly recommend using freshly squeezed key lime juice (even if it does take some time!) instead of going for a bottled option for the best results
- Straining: If you are not straining the filling to save time, but still want to remove the zest, mix the zest with the lime juice separately, then strain the lime juice into the bowl. This will get some of the flavor of the zest and then remove it from the get-go
- Storing: Store the pie in an airtight container (or with cling wrap on the pie pan) in the fridge for up to 5 days in the fridge. You can also keep it in the freezer before the whipped cream topping, and thaw it overnight in the fridge when you are ready to serve it
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American