4 Stars ****

From Cooks Illustrated dot com

Key Lime Pie in Minutes
With only three ingredients (including regular limes), in just over 30 minutes you can produce a four-star dessert.

The challenge: "Classic" key lime pie is said to be made with only three ingredients (sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime) that don’t even need to be cooked. Some of us had been served such pies in restaurants and found them disappointing—harsh and artificial tasting. Was there a way to make the "classic" key lime pie taste good?

The solution: Although we had suspected the sweetened condensed milk to be the party guilty of giving key lime pies their "off’ flavor, we learned that it was actually the lime juice—bottled, reconstituted lime juice, that is. When we substituted the juice and zest from fresh limes, the pie became an entirely different experience: pungent and refreshing, cool and yet creamy, and very satisfying. We also discovered that while the pie filling will set without baking (most recipes call only for mixing and then chilling), it set much more nicely after being baked for only 15 minutes. Prior to baking, the filling, though set enough to slice, had a loose and unappealingly "slurpy" quality. After baking, the filling was thick and unctuous, reminiscent of cream pie. We tried other, more dramatic departures from the "classic" recipe—folding in egg whites, substituting heavy cream for condensed milk—but they didn’t work. It was just two seemingly minor changes that made all the difference in the world.

For good measure: If the finished pie sticks to the pie pan when you’re ready to cut, simply dip the pan into a bowl of warm water to loosen the pie.

KEY LIME PIE

Serves 8

If you prefer a meringue topping, follow the instructions in “No-Weep Lemon Meringue Pie” in the November/December 1994 issue. Bake pie only 7 minutes, then apply meringue gently, first spreading a ring around the outer edge, then filling in the center. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes more.

LIME FILLING
4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup strained juice from 3 to 4 limes
4 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
11 full graham crackers, processed to fine crumbs (1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 lime, sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

1. For the filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.

2. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

3. Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)

4. For the whipped cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.

YUM! Key lime pie rocks!

I love key lime pie. Incidentally I can't imagine sweetened condensed milk giving anything an off taste. That stuff rocks!

You know they say that real key lime pie shouldn't be green. For a long time I never knew that.