Desserts
American
AmericanKey Lime Pie
A tangy, creamy lime pie on a crisp biscuit base, shown three ways. Basic is a no-bake fridge version; Ultimate bakes a custard-set filling with a brown-butter base and torched Italian meringue.
Vegetarian
Nut-free
Ultimate version
Brown-butter biscuit base, custard-set lime curd filling and torched Italian meringue.
Per serving£1.28
Total cost£10.20
Time1 hr
Ingredients for 8
- Base
- 220 g all-butter shortbread biscuits , crushed
- 100 g unsalted butter , browned
- Filling
- 395 g condensed milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 6 limes , zest and juice
- 50 ml double cream
- Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 150 g caster sugar
- 50 ml water
Method
- Brown the butter until nutty, mix with the crushed shortbread and press into a 23cm tin; bake 10 minutes at 170C/150C fan.
- Whisk the condensed milk, egg yolks, lime zest, juice and cream, then pour into the base.
- Bake 16-18 minutes until just set, then cool and chill 3 hours.
- Make Italian meringue: boil the sugar and water to 118C and whisk into the whipped egg whites until thick and glossy.
- Pipe the meringue over the chilled pie in generous peaks.
- Torch the meringue until golden and serve with extra lime zest.
Equipment
- 23cm tin
- sugar thermometer
- stand mixer
- blowtorch
- piping bag
The three ways, side by side
Budget
No-bake fridge-set pie with a digestive base and bottled lime juice.
Better
Baked-set filling with fresh lime zest and juice on a buttery biscuit crust.
Ultimate
Brown-butter biscuit base, custard-set lime curd filling and torched Italian meringue.
