If you have 15 minutes to shop and about 30 minutes to cook, you still have time to make my Key Lime Pie for Easter. It’s a recipe that’s been about a year in the making. It all started when a friend invited me to her ranch for the weekend and asked me to bring a healthy-ish dessert. I made a version of this Key Lime Pie with silken tofu and a tablespoon of cornstarch instead of the sweetened condensed milk. It was a failure. It tasted fine and the crust especially was delicious, but the pie had to stay in the freezer to keep its shape and oozed a limey green liquid from the crust. Back to the drawing board. I then replaced the tofu with coconut condensed milk and from there just threw up my hands and went for Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. You’re having one slice, just go for it. The recipe is attached with variations and tips for making this ahead. You can see me make it on this Instagram reel. In case you don’t use IG, here’s the video:
A note on why I like to add mascarpone to my whipped cream: It gives it body and helps it last longer in the refrigerator. You can make the whipped cream about three days ahead and it will hold beautifully.
I use homemade vanilla extract in the whipped cream and I’ll also include that recipe for you guys. It’s so simple to make and lasts indefinitely at room temperature. Alcohol is a preservative, you don’t refrigerate your Tito’s, right? Unless you’re going for a cold martini, and in that case, you’ll want to stash it in the freezer.
For the crust, yes there are a couple of cookies left over from the package, but they will be great with your afternoon tea or as a snack while you’re baking. Use unsweetened shredded coconut for the crust if you are not using a food processor or blender. I typically have unsweetened coconut flakes on hand to add to my granola so I used those. Since I make the crust in a food processor, the coconut gets ground up with the cookies. Just opt for unsweetened coconut, the cookies are sweet enough!
Kerrygold unsalted butter is what I use at home and in cooking classes. I want to be in control of how much salt I use, and salt is a preservative and prolongs the shelf life of butter. For fresh butter with a lower water content, opt for European butter. I buy Kerrygold from Costco and stash extra blocks of butter in the freezer.
For equipment, use a 9-inch pie plate (glass, ceramic or metal) or a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Just be sure to get the crust up the sides of the pan, I didn’t do that in my video below because I was in a hurry, but you want the crust to be the backbone of each piece. I also made it in this rectangular tart pan and had a little bit of the filling left over, but the shape of the pan made the prettiest slices. I make the crust in my food processor, but you can make it in a blender or crush the cookies by hand. To do this, seal them in a large zip-top plastic or reusable storage bag and crush them with a rolling pin. You don’t want excess air in the bag or it will pop, so push all the air out before sealing the bag.
That’s it! Let me know what you think.