not-key lime pie

So oops. I was planning on making some tasty key lime pie the other night for dessert, but apparently key limes aren't quite in season yet. I probably should've checked that out before buying everything else to make the pie, but I improvised, and thus the not-key lime pie was born. (Obviously I'm not the first person to do this, but I'd like to think I'm a bit of a pioneer.) I used regular limes instead, and added a little bit of lemon juice as well, because apparently that's the best way to fake key lime. The result? Awesomeness.

(Not-)Key Lime Pie
Makes one pie
Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk (300mL each)
2/3 cup key lime juice (or mostly regular lime juice with some lemon juice mixed in)
1 tbsp. lime or key lime zest (basically zest a few of the limes you juice)
1 9-inch premade graham cracker crust
or
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar

If you're making your own crust, melt your butter in a medium saucepan, remove from heat, add your sugar and graham crumbs, and mix it all up really well.

Then, just press it firmly into a 9(ish) inch pie plate. Easy! (Basically, follow the instructions on the box of graham crackers/crumbs and you'll be fine.)

Next up, the pie itself. Preheat the oven to 375°F, then zest your limes.

I read a very handy tip that a garlic press works well to juice limes if you haven't got a citrus juicer, or if you're using actual key limes and it's too big for them. I cut my limes up pretty small, and then juiced them straight into the measuring cup.

As you can see, I got bored of juicing around the 1/2 cup mark, so that's how much lime juice I did. Since I was using regular (not-key) limes, I topped it up with lemon juice, to see if that helped. It tasted pretty delicious, so I'm assuming it worked!

Next up, you add your ingredients into your mixing bowl. First, the zest:

Then the lime juice:

Then the egg yolks:

And the sweetened condensed milk:

And then you just mix it all up until it's thoroughly combined.

Pop that mixture into your lovely graham cracker crust, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is starting to set, or mostly set if you're paranoid like me.

Pull it out of the oven and let it cool on the counter or a wire rack. Then, once it's cooled, chill it (covered) in the fridge for several hours, or even a full day. I made mine the night before for dessert the next day and it was perfect! (And apparently even better as leftovers the next!) Once it's chilled and you're ready to eat it, garnish it with some slices of lime if you'd like. And if it's too tart for you (or even if it isn't), go ahead and top it off with a bit of whipped cream, it's perfect!

Enjoy!

c.