I made a spur of the moment decision that tonight was a good night to bake my first pie. And for some reason, right after I thought pie…I thought key lime. I didn’t even realize until just now how fitting it is to make a lime pie over the St. Patty’s Day weekend (limes…green…get it?). So I looked up the simplest recipes I could find, picked one that seemed foolproof, and picked up a few things from the store on the way home. I stuck to a simple recipe just to be safe. I always start simple when I’m trying something for the first time. Everything was going smoothly until I discovered that the recipe I was trying to follow, that was supposed to be for one pie, actually made enough filling for two. So I had to save half the filling and make a second crust. (Who wants a free key lime pie?!) Despite the fact that I try to be Chef Vanessa: Master Chef of the Universe in the kitchen, things don’t always go as planned. Most of the time they do not. But that’s what keeps things exciting, right?

A fresh chilled key lime pie is so refreshing. I love it’s tart, sweet, creaminess. Here’s how I made mine. Hope you find this recipe useful. It was really easy. You can do it! 

Key Lime Pie (makes one pie)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I smashed them in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons softened butter (1/2 a stick of the small butter sticks)
• 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk (that’s about 420 mL…I couldn’t find a 14 oz can at the store)
• 1/2 cup of key lime or regular lime juice
• 1 whole large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon lime zest
• 1/2 cup sour cream (about half of those small half-size sour cream tubs…about 125 mL)
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (icing sugar)

Let’s Bake!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

This part’s fun! In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter with you hands! Just keep squishing til the butter’s all mixed in. You’ll have a crumbly playdough kind of texture.

Take this crust mixture and press it firmly into a 10-inch pie pan. Really pack it down. And then bake until the crust is brown, about 20 minutes.

Crust done! Remove it from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Now in a separate bowl, you will make the filling. Combine condensed milk, lime juice, egg, and lime zest. Whisk until well blended.

Place the filling into the cooled pie shell and bake in the oven for 15 minutes (at 325 degrees).

The pie won’t look any different then it did when you put it into the oven. The filling is baked and solidified now. Chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I chilled mine overnight because it was so late.

Once your pie is chilled, mix the sour cream and icing sugar and spread the mixture over the top of the pie with a spatula. I added a little lime zest on top to make it pretty. Serve chilled!

Mission complete! So proud of my first pie! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And happy baking! xx

(Maybe I’ll add to this post when I’ve eaten the pie later tonight.) 🙂

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.
—Irish prayer