Share the best Key Lime Pie with your favorite people. This Key Lime Pie is smooth, creamy, and jaw-dropping delicious. Bonus: You only need 5 ingredients.
Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower-middle position. Thoroughly combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until it can hold together. Press evenly and firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake 6 minutes, remove from oven (keep oven on) and set aside to cool a bit while you make the filling.
Make the Filling: Combine sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and egg yolks in a bowl and hand-whisk until mixture is fully incorporated. Gently pour filling into baked crust, using rubber spatula to even out the filling.
Bake 22-23 minutes or until center feels set when lightly touched. Pie will jiggle when lightly shaken, but should have consistency of a set custard. Cool pie completely on wire rack before chilling.
Make Whipped Cream: Place the beaters of a hand-mixer and a steel bowl in freezer for a few minutes, to get them really cold.Pour cold heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar into cold bowl, and whip until stiff peaks form (some recipes call for soft peaks, but I've found that stiff peaks work best for retaining shape) - don't worry if it seems a little over-whipped. Transfer whipped cream into a piping bag or frosting tool. Pipe whipped cream along edges and center of pie.If desired, garnish with lime zest and lime slices.
Cover pie (a second pie pan, inverted over the top works great, or use a pie carrier with lid) and chill until ready to serve.
Be sure to use only freshly squeezed lime juice (not bottled juice). Use key limes if they're available. If not, regular limes will work.
It takes about 13 whole graham cracker sheets to make 1 2/3 cups fine crumbs. I crush graham cracker crumbs by placing whole crackers into a large Ziploc bag, seal it, and roll it out with rolling pin. You can also use a food processor, but be careful not to over-process.
To keep your finished key lime pie beautiful, invert a second pie pan over the top of the pie and place it in the fridge. Otherwise, a pie pan with secure lid is best.
If your pie will be sitting out at room temp for a couple of hours during a party or event, I recommend using this stabilized whipped cream recipe to ensure that the whipped cream keeps its shape. That said, this pie is best chilled.