Key Lime Pie

By 1856, Key West was looking quite prosperous, though William Curry, the island's
most famous millionaire, had yet to build his mansion. And (more important),
Curry's cook, Aunt Sally, and her "invention" of the Key Lime Pie were
still four decades in the future.

This pie is all about the juice. Spanish explorers introduced small Mexican limes to Florida, and by the early 1900s the limes were being cultivated commercially in the Florida Keys as key limes. The pie dates from that era, when key lime plantations were flourishing. It was probably a local favorite, but the person who gets credit for the recipe is a woman known to history only as Aunt Sally, a cook in the household of William Curry, Key West's first self-made millionaire.

Bahamas-born Curry had come to Key West in the 1830s, when the town was a small, undeveloped place filled with fisherman and "wreckers" (marine salvagers). Curry, who made his fortune in salvage and by outfitting ships could easily afford a grand household. Aunt Sally worked for the Curry family in the late 1890s, and this time period is often given as the date of her "invention."

The three essential ingredients in a key lime pie are key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and a graham cracker crust. Graham crackers had been around since the late 1820s, and canned sweetened condensed milk (patented in 1856 by Gail Borden) was popular in the Florida Keys because it did not need refrigeration. Key limes were, of course, readily available. For today's cook, though, these limes—now imported from Mexico and Central America—can be harder to come by. If your market doesn't carry them, try a good online source, such as Melissa's (melissas.com).

Key Lime Pie

Makes 8 servings
The original pie filling was not cooked, but because of modern concerns about the safety of raw eggs, we bake the filling first and then add the meringue.

Note: If you can't get key limes, use 7 tablespoons regular lime juice and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

4 large eggs, separated
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice (12–14 key limes)
8- or 9-inch graham cracker crust, store-bought or homemade*
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

*To make the crust yourself, stir together 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup melted butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press into a pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F to set the crust. Let cool before filling.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until lemon-colored. Blend in the condensed milk. Gradually add the lime juice. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly on a wire rack, but leave the oven on.
3. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer (and clean beaters), beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread the egg whites over the pie, making sure the meringue overlaps the crust all the way around to create a seal.
4. Bake until the meringue is golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

Orange Pie in a Chocolate Crust: Use 6 tablespoons orange juice and 3 tablespoons lemon juice instead of lime juice. Add 1 teaspoon grated orange zest to the filling. For the crust, blend 1 cup chocolate wafer-cookie crumbs (5 ounces) with 1/4 cup melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar.

[This article first appeared in the April/May 2008 issue of Hallmark Magazine.]