Persian Lime Pie

Over the last few weeks, I have been watching a tonne of travel vlogs on the internet. My absolute favourite series to watch and re-watch is Sorted Food's Lost & Hungry tour. I am particularly fond of their vlogs in America because I am obsessed with the food culture in the States. I have told many a soul that my foodie dream is to travel to New Orleans and savour the aroma of freshly fried beignets, dig in to a bowl of traditional gumbo and sink my teeth (no pun intended) into an alligator sausage or two . However, this week it was the state of Florida that caught my eye and the infamous Key Lime Pie.

A lime pie by any other name is still as... tart?

For anyone who has never heard, seen or tasted a Key Lime Pie, I'm happy to inform you that it is exactly what it says on the tin - a pie made with a filling of key limes. Although there is a very good chance (a solid 95%) that unless you bought the pie in the US of A, your pie won't have a single drop of key lime juice. Key limes - or Citrus aurantiifolia as they scientifically called - are a breed of limes native to Southeast Asia and Mexico due to the warmer climates. They can be grown in the States but it usually only for a few months in the summer and mainly in Florida, hence why Key Lime Pie is known as a Floridian dish. Any other time you have a lime in a dish that you are most likely eating Persian limes as this breed is easier to grow and distribute internationally.

Does the title of this post make more sense now? Persian lime pie sounds super exotic and alluring but in reality, it is just your bog standard, buy-it-from-Lidl-for-17p lime pie. It's a bit like when I tell people that I studied Criminology and they immediately assume I can explain the deep, dark secrets of the criminal mind, but in reality all I learnt was the UK criminal justice system is severely flawed.

Controversial opinions aside, this was a damn tasty pie and there were only three elements to make: crust, filling and topping. I used a crust made from blitzed up digestive biscuits mixed with enough butter to make it like wet sand. As expected, a lot of the recipes online called for graham crackers but I live in the UK and I wasn't forking out extra to buy them online (Lord knows I spend enough online already...). The filling was basically a lime custard made from egg yolks, condensed milk, a lot of lime zest and a lot of lime juice (I used four to get 250ml of juice). You add your filling to your cooked and cooled crust and bake in a medium-low oven until there is a light wobble and then refrigerate until solid. After that, you top the pie with fluffy whipped cream and dig in.

It was a beautiful pie. Crispy buttery crust, a filling tart enough to make your face pucker and airy sweetened cream. However, the biggest shocker was how light the whole pie was. Considering it had a whole tin of condensed milk it felt like I was eating literal air! I was surprised that the pie lasted in the fridge for three days because eating a massive slice felt way too easy. The only change I'd make next time would be to dial back on the lime zest as I may have gone a tad overboard but beyond that, it's one for the recipe books.

If you are inspired to make a Key/Persian lime pie after reading this, I'd love to see your photos! Upload a picture of your dish to Instagram with the hashtag #diaryofahopefulcook. Also, if any Floridian natives have any insight they can share on the origin or history of the Key Lime Pie, please share your thoughts below. (The geek in me always wants to know more!).

Key/Persian Lime Pie

Ingredients

300g digestive biscuits

75g melted unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

2-3 tbsp lime zest

250ml lime juice

394g (1 can) sweetened condensed milk

Pinch of salt

300ml double cream

Icing sugar to taste

Method

1. Crush digestives into fine crumbs and stir through melted butter until it resembles wet sand. If you grab a clump and squeeze, it should hold it's shape

2. Pour the crumbs into deep pie dish (mine was 25cm) and press the biscuits to create a crust that covers the base and sides.

3. Bake the crust in the oven at 180°C fan for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

4. Lower the oven temperature to 160°C fan.

5. In a large bowl, add the egg yolks and lime zest. Whisk together until paler in colour, then add the lime juice and condensed milk and salt. Stir to combine

6. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the filling has a slight jiggle in the centre - about 20- 25 minutes.

7. Once baked, remove from oven, let cool completely and then refrigerate until solid.

8. In a large bowl, add the double cream and icing sugar (2tbsp is a good starting point but add more if you want). Whip cream into soft peaks and spread over pie filling.

9. Serve & enjoy!