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If you’ve read some malarkey about Key Lime Pie actually being invented by Bordon in New York City…enjoy this well-documented article in Keys Weekly that proves its origin in the Keys from the early 1900s.
CRUST
Preheat oven to 375F/190C and put the rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 9″ springform pan, deep 9″ or larger pie dish, or tart pan…or line with parchment.
In a large bowl, combine:
11oz / 312g / 1 pkg plus 8 Biscoff cookies (ground up in food processor or blender)
1.5oz / 43g / 3 Tablespoons sugar
1 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp fine salt)
3oz / 85g / 6 Tablespoons melted butter
Toss and crush with your fingers until the crumbs are all damp. Press into the pan. (Using the perfectly flat bottom of a small measuring cup will help you compress the crumbs evenly and onto the sides.)
Bake 10 minutes while you make the filling.
FILLING
Rinse the blender or food processor you used to crush the Biscoff cookies. (If you crushed by hand, use a bowl to mix the filling.) Combine:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk (each can 14oz / 396g)
8 limes, juiced and zested (or 20+ key limes…to yield 3/4-1 cup lime juice)
4oz / 113g / 1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp fine salt)
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
Blend on low speed until fully incorporated. Pour into the still-warm crust. Put into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325F/160C.
Bake for 15 minutes. Pie will not be fully set when you remove it from the oven. Cool fully and refrigerate for several hours until serving.
TOPPING
Historically, Key Lime Pie was served with meringue using the whites separated from the eggs in the filling. I recommend an Italian meringue, which does not require cooking because it is cooked during the beating process. But I HATE meringue and feel like it ruins a perfect pie…not to mention its tendency to weep, especially in humid conditions. (Meringue was only created out of necessity, when fresh cream was expensive and few people had refrigeration…egg whites were readily available in the hen house.)
I feel that REAL dairy…whipped cream or similar…is more appropriate for Key Lime Pie. I use my brown sugar sour cream, and if I’m serving this at a fancy dinner, I’ll stabilize it with a bit of Instant Clear Jel so it will hold its shape when piped on top.
In a bowl, combine:
2oz / 75g / 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 tsp Instant Clear Jel (or more for a firmer texture…this ingredient is optional)
Stir until well mixed, then add:
8.5oz / 241g / 1 cup sour cream
splash vanilla
Whisk until smooth, then sit for 1-2 minutes until brown sugar dissolves. Whisk again. If using Instant Clear Jel, you can scrape the mixture into a piping bag, sit for 5 minutes to stabilize, and pipe decorations onto the pie. If not using Clear Jel, just dollop mixture onto each piece of pie before serving.
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