There’s Always Time for Key Lime Pie.

I really wanted to make a pie for the 4th of July this year. I had a few parties/barbecues to attend, and thought a pie would be a perfect contribution. Cupcakes are great, but I just made two batches recently and really felt like trying something I hadn’t done in a while. And I hadn’t made a pie at home from scratch since probably at least Christmas – so a pie it must be.

Deciding on what type of pie was another story. I thought, hmm…blueberry is probably the most traditional for this time of year. I have a good recipe for it, too. But it just didn’t feel quite right. It was a good choice, yes – but it wasn’t making my toes tingle or my eyebrows raise. But then, I thought of it – the king of summer pies – the pie to lead all other pies into pie battle – the Key Lime Pie.

o captain, my captain.

I used a combination of this recipe I found online, but I altered the method of production based on previous pie baking experience, including whipping the egg yolks until they are light yellow before mixing in the other ingredients.  And…I made the crust from scratch using my favorite crust recipe.

Having never made a Key Lime Pie at home before, I was just a little bit nervous – especially since my plan was to whisk this one out the door and to a gathering immediately upon completion – so there was no room for error.  When I removed it from the oven, it appeared to be intact – the best way to tell with a key lime pie is to lightly shake it back and forth – if it doesn’t jiggle, it’s done. It passed the shake test.

baked and shaked.

However, I couldn’t just bring it without anything on top. I wanted to make whipped cream – but I really had no time. What I did have, was some leftover lemon buttercream, from my last baking project…..I had an idea.

I didn’t want a heavy topping, but the lemon buttercream would be perfect, flavor-wise. So, I compromised.

a little dab’ll do ya.

It worked. The pie was a hit, the buttercream was a perfect fit, and we even got to see some fireworks. All in all, a great 4th of July weekend was had in 2013 – and the pie definitely played a “key” role in that (ha ha – see what i did there?).