It's the Key to a winning lime pie
If you're not going to Florida for the Super Bowl, bring the warmth to your kitchen. One way to do that is with Key lime pie.
The popular dessert was invented in the middle of the 19th century by residents of the Florida Keys, then called "Conchs." It migrated onto menus far from its birthplace, as chefs became smitten with its refreshing, pungent flavor, light consistency, and simple elegance. But the Sunshine State has staked its claim. Last July the confection was declared the Florida state pie.
Several local chefs have tweaked the original recipe -- a custard of sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and fresh Key lime juice in a graham-cracker crust.
At the new 51 Lincoln restaurant in Newton Highlands, chef and owner Jeff Fournier makes his pie with a regular flaky crust. "It's just so good and straight forward," he says. "Graham-cracker crust is a bit too homey and definitely too sweet for me."
Fournier also adds heavy cream instead of sweetened condensed milk to the custard. The canned milk is an ingredient born of necessity in a climate that is very hot most of the year. And the chef serves the pie "naked," meaning without a layer of meringue covering the pale-yellow custard. Egg yolks, a primary ingredient, make the yellow color. Fournier typically serves each slice with slightly sweetened whipped cream cascading off to the side.
There are other flourishes. The pie at 51 Lincoln comes with thinly sliced toasted coconut chips, a sprinkling of fresh lime rind, and a drizzle of caramel cream. It's a dazzling look, difficult to achieve at home. The coconut chips are cut from whole, roasted coconuts. But you can substitute toasted coconut flakes, says the chef.
In his Cambridge restaurant, Magnolia's, chef and co-owner John Silberman doesn't deviate much from the original. In fact, he wouldn't consider making Key lime pie without a graham-cracker crust. "It's authentic, and it provides a bit of crunch that contrasts with the texture of the custard filling," he says. "The graham-cracker crust has a flavor of its own." Instead of baking his pie, Silberman chills it, because of the emulsification that happens when the condensed milk blends with the acidic Key lime juice. But this method is used less often these days, as diners are increasingly uneasy about eating raw eggs. The pie is probably the most popular dessert on his Southern-style menu.
Like the Newton chef, Silberman doesn't bother with a meringue topping. "There are people who feel obligated to make it, but I'm not one of them," he says.
Just down the street from Magnolia's in Inman Square, East Coast Grill has featured Key lime pie for about 15 years. "It's been around so long, I've forgotten where the recipe came from," says owner Chris Schlesinger, whose cooking was largely influenced by time spent in Florida and other tropical climes. "We don't mess with that recipe," he says. "It's got a following all its own."
His version calls for sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and Key lime juice from Nellie & Joe's, which he calls "the best Key lime juice around" (keylimejuice.com ). Schlesinger then pours the custard mixture into a pre baked traditional pie crust and bakes the pie for about 15 minutes, or just until the custard is set.
He typically uses rind from Persian limes, which are larger, greener -- the color contrasts with the yellow custard -- and more readily available. Key limes are difficult to ship because of their thin skins. Cost is also a factor. Restaurant chefs typically buy in bulk. "It's expensive to buy a case of Key limes," explains Fournier. Home cooks can sometimes find them at Trader Joe's stores and Whole Foods Markets.
Bite into the pie and fun in the sun and sand will spring to mind. "It's the whole beach-culture thing," says Fournier. "People can't help but think of the tropics when they taste this dessert."
Not to mention that Key lime pie is deceptively light, says Schlesinger. "We're all kind of tricked into thinking that it's a lighter dessert because of its refreshing, tangy flavor. But it's really not -- especially if you serve it with whipped cream, which is some of the richest stuff known to the free world." 