This recipe took four years to develop. During that time there were many truly awful key lime pies. There were the ones that never set and remained a fluid in a soggy crust. There were the ones made with tapioca which had a consistency somewhere between gelatin and rubber. There were the ones that were too dry and the ones that looked good until you cut them. There were those that were powerfully lime flavored and those that tasted like rubber.

And then after giving up for almost a year I developed a lemon pie recipe which gave me the idea for this one, and finally, finally it worked and it is easy. It has only seven ingredients.

A few things to note

1) Key lime pie requires key limes which are tiny and unbelievably sour. You can get them by the bag at stores like Whole Foods. If you cannot find key limes you can use the zest from regular limes and key lime juice (there is a company called Nellie and Joe’s that sells key lime juice.

2) I used canned coconut cream from Trader Joe’s. Coconut Milk will not work. The recipe needs the fat in coconut cream.

3) The pie tends to crack like a cheesecake does. I solve this problem with a non-dairy whipped cream.

4) It cannot be made egg free, or coconut free but it is free of all other tree nuts, and of course it is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free and peanut-free. It uses no gums or stabilizers.

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated key lime rind
1/3 cup key lime juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can coconut cream (I used Trader Joe’s…do not use coconut milk)
4 large whole eggs
1/8 tsp salt
Gingersnap or graham cracker crust (separate recipe)

Equipment
Whisk or electric mixer
large bowl for mixing filling
measuring cups and spoons
Spatula
Rasp or grater for lime peel
Ten inch pie pan (preferably ceramic)

Instructions
Make sure that the graham cracker or gingersnap crust is baked and cooled.
Mix eggs and sugar in mixer until combined. Do not whip or overbeat. You just want the eggs truly incorporated
Add coconut cream, salt, and key lime zest.
Add the lime juice and combine thourougly but without whipping.
Pour mixture into baked and cooled crust
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour or until wiggly but no longer liquid and somewhat set when shaken.
Chill for at least 8 hours. Slice and serve.

Note that this keeps for a week in the refrigerator…it may last longer but we always eat it all by then.