Key Lime Pie

On Sunday my brother, John, turned 20.  He's not longer my little annoying brother who had to be coerced to take a shower every day.  He's 6'4" now, we have fun working together at Riverside, and he no longer needs encouragement to fulfill a personal hygiene routine.

For his birthday the best gift I could give him was a good meal.  My dad grilled some beautiful T-bone steaks, my grandparents brought sweet corn and I made a gratin with Gruyere, apple coleslaw, and key lime pie.

Melissa and I made this pie while she was visiting, and it worked out really well.  I just slightly changed this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite bloggers.   Ree says she likes lots of crust to contrast the super sweet filling, but from her pictures it looks like too much crust to me, so I cut down on the graham crackers.  I think salted caramel whipped cream makes everything better, so I added a lot of it to this pie.The hint of saltiness in the smooth whipped cream balances out the zesty sweet filling and the crunch of the crust pulls it all together,  This pie is a winner!

Yes, there is a lot of whipped cream.
This is a celebration pie, not a diet pie.

 Key Lime Pie

9 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice
2 egg yolks
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons caramel syrup
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a food processor pulse graham crackers until they are fine crumbs, add sugar and butter, pulse until evenly mixed.  Press into a 9 inch pie pan.

Whisk together zest, juice, yolks, milk, and vanilla until smooth, pour into crust.  Bake for 20 minutes or until solid.  Cool to room temp, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Whip together cream, syrup, and salt until soft peaks form. spread over pie, cut into 8 pieces and serve.