This key lime pie is an American classic. Ours is made with lime juice and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust and topped with whipped cream. Use key limes if you have them, otherwise substitute regular limes.
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There’s something irresistible about Key Lime Pie. Like its Lemon Meringue cousin, Key Lime Pie is a mouth-watering tart and smile-raising sweet treat, like a pie version of lime-flavored Starbursts but in custard form, surrounded by whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs .
Video: How to Make Key Lime Pie
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lime pie
What is key lime pie?
This all-American cake is also easy to make. The ingredients for Key Lime Pie are simple: sweetened condensed milk, lots of lime zest and juice (preferably from Key Limes), and just enough egg to give it a good batter.
Pour the filling into a pre-baked graham cracker crust, bake briefly until pie is set and allow to cool. Garnish the cake with whipped cream and serve.
- Check out this post for more information on how to make graham cracker crusts.
Can you use regular limes to make this cake?
Key Limes are great if you can get them! They originate from the Florida Keys where they now grow wild. Smaller and more tart than our standard Persian limes, they have a yellow center and rind.
If, like me, you don’t live near Florida, You can easily make Key Lime Pie with regular limes.
Can you add a meringue topping?
Our version of Key Lime Pie has a creamy topping. If you’d rather make a meringue topping, just follow the directions in our Lemon Meringue Cake Recipe.
Storing Key Lime Pie
Key lime pie will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, loosely covered with foil or cling film. For presentation purposes, we recommend waiting with whipped cream until the day you plan to serve it.
There is Frozen Key Lime Pie, but that’s actually a different recipe. We do not recommend freezing this particular version of Key Lime Pie.
More recipes for cake lovers
- Lime meringue cake
- grasshopper cake
- Lemon ice box pie
- Easy chocolate mousse cake
- Banana Cream Cake
lime pie
If using a store-bought graham cracker crust, please follow package directions for pre-cooking. Store-bought crusts are thinner than homemade and don’t take as long in the oven.
This filling is enough for a regular store-bought crust. A homemade crust in a regular pie plate holds more filling. You should be able to double the amount of filling when using a homemade crust if you want a thicker cake. In this case, you want to bake it longer, maybe 15 minutes, so it sets.
ingredients
For the crust:
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1 1/2 cups fine ground graham crackers (from approx. 9 crackers, 145G)
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1/4 Cup Butter, melted
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3 tablespoon white granulated sugar
For the filling:
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1 tablespoon lime zest For the filling plus 1/2 teaspoon for covering
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3 egg egg yolk
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1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
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1/2 Cup lime juice (from about 20 key limes or 4 to 6 normal limes)
For the whipped cream:
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3/4 Cup fat whipped cream
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1 tablespoon powdered sugar
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1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
method
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Make the graham cracker crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the ground graham crackers, melted butter and sugar in a bowl.
Pour into a 9-inch cake pan and use your fingers to spread the graham cracker mixture over the entire inside of the cake pan in an even layer. You can use your fingers to do this, then smooth the bottom and sides of a measuring cup or drinking glass.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
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Make the lime filling:
Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer or hand whisk, beat until the yolks thicken and lighten slightly, about 3 minutes.
Beat in lime zest and sweetened condensed milk for another 2 minutes.
Stir in the lime juice until smooth.
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Bake:
Pour the filling into the prepared graham cracker crust and bake on the middle shelf at 350°F for just 10 minutes, until the filling is just set.
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Cool:
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Chill in the fridge for an hour to overnight.
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Prepare whipped cream topping:
For a good firm whipping cream, it helps to start with a chilled bowl and very cold whipping cream.
Pour the cream into a large chilled bowl. Add powdered sugar (preferably sifted) and vanilla. Use an electric mixer (or beat by hand if your gym membership has expired and you want the exercise), start on a low speed and increase the speed to the highest level. Beat for several minutes until firm enough to hold shape.
Don’t beat too long or you’ll make butter.
Spread whipped cream over chilled key lime pie. Sprinkle with a little more lime zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 479 | calories |
| 24g | Fat |
| 58gr | carbohydrates |
| 10g | protein |
