Classic Key Lime Pie

A slice of key lime pie with meringue on top.

5 from 1 vote

A zesty, tart, and creamy pie consisting of a sweet and buttery crust, a thick custardy filling topped with an Italian meringue that is slightly toasted.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Chill Time5

Total Time6 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 626kcal

Author: Julie Maestre

Ingredients

Crust

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs about 11 full crackers finely crushed
¼ cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter melted

Filling

28 oz sweetened condensed milk two 14 oz cans
1 cup lime juice zest before juicing
2 teaspoons lime zest from about 2 limes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks

Italian Meringue

4 large egg whites room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice or cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup water

Instructions

FOR THE CRUST:
Mix graham crackers, ¼ cup granulated sugar and melted butter together in a 9 inch pie dish until well combined. Press crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides in an even layer.
You can use your fingers, or a glass cup to ensure crumbs are set, and no longer crumbly. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
FOR THE FILLING:
Whisk together all filling ingredients except the egg yolks. Mix well until combined. Whisk in egg yolks. Pour filling into the cooled crust and bake at 350 for 23-24 minutes. Center should be set, yet slightly wiggly when jiggled. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.
FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE: Read instructions thoroughly before beginning meringue! It can be a bit finicky!
Thoroughly wash and dry the whisk attachment and bowl to your stand mixer. Then wipe down with a little lemon juice to be sure there are no residual oils to contaminate your meringue. Then pour in your egg white, making sure they are completely free of egg yolks, and the lemon juice or cream of tartar. Start whipping your egg mixture on medium low speed. Do not stop the mixing process.
While eggs are whipping, pour the water and sugar into a small pot and heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently until it begins to boil. Once boiling, there is no need to stir. Sugar will begin to crystallize along the side of the pot just above the liquid and will need to brush the sides of the pot with a little water to remove. Do as frequently as necessary. Excess crystallized sugar could cause a problem with the meringue. The sugar syrup needs to come to a very fast boil, and to a temperature of 243 degrees with a candy thermometer, or about 118 Celsius. This takes about 20 minutes on my stove.
Once sugar water reaches 243 degrees, set aside to cool for less than a minute. During this time, turn the stand mixer to high. Pour the sugar water down the side of the mixer bowl in a slow, even stream until fully incorporated. Do not pour the sugar water all at once, or in the center of the bowl because that will cause the eggs to cook and meringue will be destroyed. If you don’t whisk on high, the sugar syrup will cook the eggs and the meringue will not be fluffy, but will be bubbly and not rise in texture. The meringue will greatly expand in size during this process.
Once incorporated, keep whisking on high for about 7-8 minutes, or until the bowl of the stand mixer feels warm to the touch. Turn off the mixer, and test the meringue by removing the whisk attachment with the meringue thick and fluffy on it.
Scoop large dollops of meringue over cooled pie, covering the entire pie including the crust. Then use the back of a spoon to decorate and shape designs in the meringue. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the meringue.
To serve, a long, thin knife held under hot water is best to cut through the meringue. With each cut, hold the knife under hot water and repeat as necessary to avoid meringue from sticking to the knife.

Notes

When making the meringue, It is important to thoroughly wipe down the whisk and bowl to the stand mixer with lemon juice in case of leftover oils.
For this recipe, we divide 4 large eggs, the yolks provide the custard-like texture to the filling, and the whites for the meringue. Be sure to not contaminate the yolks into the whites, or the meringue will not turn out well.

Nutrition