Refreshing sunshine is how I would describe this key lime pie. The slight tartness of the key limes give the pie that summertime taste.

My big sister in Florida was kind enough to share this recipe with me.  Did you know Key Lime Pie is the state pie of Florida? Use fresh key limes for that authentic key lime taste.

This is a very simple recipe and it doesn’t involve too much time to make. Squeezing the juice out of the fresh key limes is what takes the most time.  I did some homework before squeezing the key limes and found that using a garlic press saved me a lot of time.  The key limes I used were very tiny.  To make things easier, cut them in half and use a garlic press to squeeze out the juice. It took 13 key limes to get the 1/2 cup of juice.

I made my own graham cracker crust but you can certainly use a store-bought crust.  You can use graham crackers or vanilla wafers if you are making your own crust.

Adding a whipped cream topping to the pie gives it a light airy experience. I love the addition of toppings, icing and ganache. I use almost anything to make things sweeter. Plus, I like to practice my decorating skills. Sometimes  I’m successful and sometimes not so much. Most of the time it tastes amazing but the pretty part I’m still working on. I’m the first to admit I’m a work in progress but I am determined to figure out decorating without photo editing my messes!

Makes one 8 inch pie

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

8 graham crackers

3 tablespoons melted butter

Key lime filling

1/2 cup key lime juice (about 13 fresh key limes)

3 egg yolks

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup confectioner’s  sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the graham cracker crust

Melt butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds

Place crackers in a plastic bag and crush to a fine powder

Put the crumbs in a pie pan

Add butter

Mix well

With a spoon press into the bottom and sides of pie pan

Key lime filling

Using a whisk mix together the key lime juice, 3 egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk

Pour into pie pan

Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes-until set

Refrigerate after cooled

Add whipped cream topping to cooled pie

Whipped cream topping

Beat heavy cream and sugar together with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form

Beat in vanilla

Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cooled pie

I added a small amount  of lime zest to the top of the pie