Ingredients
Scale
For the crust:
1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs
7 tbsp melted unsalted butter
pinch salt
For the filling:
1/3 cup sugar
1 14oz can condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice
4 large eggs
optional: grated lime zest, 1-2 drops green food color
For the meringue:
3/4 cup sugar
1.5 tsp light corn syrup
Instructions
- Pour the crumbs, melted butter, salt and 1/3 c sugar into a bowl and mix well to combine. It should have the consistency of wet sand.
- Press this mixture firmly into a 9″ pie tin, working one section at a time. The key to a good crust is to pack it down VERY firmly, using the back of a measuring cup helps with this process. Once crust is assembled, put it in the fridge to firm for 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350/180 degrees
- Separate the eggs taking care to ensure no yolk ends up in the whites, otherwise your meringue will fail.
- In a bowl, combine egg yolks, condensed milk, lime juice and optional zest and colouring, and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour into pie crust and place in pre-heated oven to bake for 15-20 minutes. The mixture should still be wobbly at the end of baking time, and keep an eye on the edges to make sure it’s not overcooking.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool, then place in fridge to cool further.
- This meringue needs a 1:1 ratio of sugar to egg whites. I like to pour the egg whites into a measuring cup to see how much I have, then add the same amount of sugar.
- Put whites, sugar and corn syrup into a small saucepan over very low heat, and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour mix into a bowl and immediately beat using an electric hand mixer or whisk attachment. It will take around 7-10 minutes to get to the right consistency. The finished meringue should have firm peaks that don’t move or sink back into the bowl at all.
- Spread meringue over cooled pie, making sure to seal the meringue to the crust and not leave any filling exposed. Use a spatula to flick up peaks in the meringue.
- To brown the top, it’s best to use a culinary blowtorch. You can use a broiler but take care to ensure it doesn’t burn, which can happen very quickly.
- Store in refrigerator – will keep about a week, but you’ll probably have eaten it all before then.