Key Lime Pie

I made this pie for my mother for mothers day. It's a household favorite and lime is my favorite citrus! Mom, Dad and I had a great day together, picking out flowers for her garden, chatting and spending good quality time together.

My dad is a master on a wok, so my mother asked him for stir fry and I brought the pie.

This is a basic key lime pie recipe, with a little special twist. My family loves gingersnaps... a lot.

So instead of graham cracker crust, I did a gingersnap crust. The tartness of the lime, with the sweet whipped cream and spice of the gingersnap is a beautiful gastroexperience.

For the crust:

good quality ginger snap cookies (about 3/4 lb)

1/4 c of melted, unsalted butter

2 tbsp sugar

In a food processor, pulverize the cookies into a fine crumble. Add sugar and melted butter and blend together with a fork. Once combined, press the mixture into a 9" pie plate. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 10 - 12 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

For the pie filling:

4 large or extra large egg yolks

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup key lime juice

2 teaspoons lime zest

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they are thick and turn to a light yellow. Turn the mixer off and add the sweetened condensed milk. Turn speed to low and mix in half of the lime juice. Once the juice is incorporated add the other half of the juice and the zest, continue to mix until blended. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake at 350 F for 12 minutes-15 minutes. Pie filling should be firm with a slight wiggle in the middle. Allow to cool, and place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

For the whipped cream :

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Whip cream until it begins to thicken slightly. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until soft peaks form.

Remove pie from refrigerator and dollop the pie with the whipped cream, covering the filling. Add some lime zest on top for garnish, and serve.

These pictures don't capture this pie enough, but we were inhaling it so quickly I had very little time for exposure and white balance!