Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the key in key lime pie? ›

The dish is named after the small Key limes, which are more aromatic than the common Persian limes, and which have yellow juice. The filling in a Key lime pie is typically yellow because of the egg yolks.

Unless you live in the Florida Keys, key limes are near impossible to find. Furthermore, they're so tiny that you'd need to juice at least twenty of them for this recipe. No thank you! Ordinary limes make an exceptional Key lime pie, and they are a much better alternative to bracingly tart bottled Key lime juice.

This quick and easy key lime pie recipe starts with a graham cracker crust and is filled with a mixture of egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice & zest.

The biggest culprit of a runny key lime pie is not letting it chill for long enough. Since this is one of those summer pie recipes that's not baked, chilling the pie helps it set and prevents it from being runny. Be sure to chill it for at least 12 hours!

The main difference seems to be that it requires a lot more of that aromatic Key lime juice to make the famous pie sing. It is worth the elbow grease, though, to get that true floral Key lime flavor—unless of course you can't find Key limes.

However, the dessert wasn't created in the Sunshine State, but by the Borden condensed milk company in New York City. Thanks to a wave of advertising by the condensed milk company, the recipe for Magic Lemon Cream Pie most likely made its way to Florida sometime in the 1930s and '40s.

One theory is that the treat originated from a sponge fisherman. Sponge fishing was a booming business in Florida and rations on the boat like sugar, eggs, canned milk, soda crackers, some nuts, and citrus fruit were cheap. Consequently, the fishermen concocted this tart, sweet treat and brought it on land.

Make sure to use sweetened condensed milk and NOT evaporated milk. Usually, when someone says their recipe didn't set up, it is because they used the wrong ingredient. Use key lime juice and not regular lime juice.

The Key lime has thinner rind and is smaller, seedier, more acidic and more aromatic than the Persian lime (Citrus × latifolia). It is valued for its characteristic flavor. The name comes from its association with the Florida Keys, where it is best known as the flavoring ingredient in Key lime pie.

Key limes—also known as Mexican limes or West Indies limes—are small, spherical limes that grow in tropical and subtropical regions. They're light yellow (not green) when ripe and contain more seeds than regular limes. Their skin is also very thin, which means they don't store well.

What is the shelf life of key lime pie? ›

Homemade Key Lime Pie: If you've prepared a homemade key lime pie, it will typically last around 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. The freshness and quality of the ingredients, as well as the hygiene of the preparation process, play a significant role in determining its shelf life.

If you do over bake your pie you will be able to tell as the top of the filling will crack slightly due to the proteins in the eggs overcooking and causing fissures.

The English word lime was derived, via Spanish then French, from the Arabic word ليمة līma, which is, in turn, a derivation of the Persian word limu لیمو. Key is from Florida Keys, where the fruit was naturalised.

The sweet and tart pie reportedly originated in Key West, Florida, in the late 19th century. The use of sweetened condensed milk, an essential ingredient, is probably because fresh milk and refrigeration were uncommon in the isolated Florida Keys until the 1930s.

You may substitute the key lime juice with a mixture of 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice.

Despite the lime's popularity in baking and flavoring seafood, the key lime growing region was mostly destroyed by a hurricane in 1926 and was never restored. Today the term “key lime” is a misnomer as many of the key limes found in the market are grown outside of the Florida Keys in Mexico and Central America.