Key Lime Pie

John is a huge key lime pie fan. It used to be his favorite until it was upstaged by my raspberry pie, but I think it still occupies the number two slot. That being said, over the years I have looked and looked for a pie recipe that would satisfy him. Mostly his big complaint is that the pie isn't tart enough. Apparently the story goes that he found the perfect pie in Disney World years and years ago.

Over the years I had made several attempts to replicate the elusive Disney World pie recipe but to no avail. It's never just right. Close, but no cigar. (Of course I should mention that most of this searching was before the internet played such a big role in my life- so googling Disney World Key Lime Pie wasn't even a thought) Once, I even cleaned out two stores of their key limes before I figured out I could buy it pre-bottled. I realize fresher is better, but if memory serves correctly I got a hand cramp from squeezing the juice out of those little buggers for over an hour.

And then one day it hit me.

Can you guess what the very first cookbook I ever bought was? "Cooking with Mickey- Vol II- The most requested recipes from Walt Disney World and Disneyland".

I bought it when I was in college, when the most cooking I did was heat up a can of soup.

Guess what recipe had been sitting on my shelf long before I ever even owned a pie pan?

So that's the good news.

The bad news is that it still isn't tart enough. It's the closest to John's memory (I personally think after all these years the pie from his memory is probably better than the pie he actually ate.)

So I'm working on it. I've tweaked the recipe a little bit, and some day I hope to get it right.

Key Lime Pie

1 3/4 sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

4 teaspoons grated lime zest

1/2 cup Key lime juice

1 9 inch prepared graham cracker pie shell

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 fresh lime, sliced

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees

Whisk together egg yolks and zest until light green. (about 2 minutes) Add milk and blend until well combined. Slowly add lime juice, mixing until well blended. Pour into pie shell and bake 20 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and a slice of lime.