Key Lime Pie #20

I know, I can hear your confusion
What?
Key lime?

Haven't we already done this?
Well...Yes and no.

Yes: I made a frozen key lime pie for Pi Day

No: because I felt like I wanted/needed to make a non-frozen, key lime recipe

Maybe the more honest answer is that I went out expieloring (are all of these puns starting to make you nauseous?) and tasted this key lime pie and thought that it was good enough to stack up to the challenge of the Barefoot's key lime pie (which I adore and the pie that was nominated best pie at our pi party 2010).

So...in a brutal battle:
pie vs. pie
lime vs. lime
frozen vs. unfrozen
they went crust to crust on the plates of two key lime pie lovers: the Gardners
And the winner was
.
.
.
.
.
.
Still the Barefoot Contessa's Frozen Key Lime Pie
(was that anti-climatic?)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Barefoot wins. She always wins. Don't question her.

However, you should know that when I tried this key lime pie without the frozen one next to it, I loved it. The Barefoot pie has much more sugar and much more lime juice which makes, as you can imagine, a much more candy-like pie. And should only be served to people who can handle that amount of tang (whatever that means).

And while there is less lime in this version, it should not be thought of as bland by any means. I like to think of it as the a more mature version of the Barefoot's pie: less pizzaz, less whipped topping, but still just as smooth and pleasing.

Also, I think it needs to be said that while the outcome may still have been the same, I think that the non-frozen pie was at a disadvantage since we were eating it in one of the hottest rooms this side of hell. So, anything cold was a welcomed treat.

So what am I telling you? Try them both. Try them next to each other. Try them for different occasions. The most important thing to remember is that I don't believe you will be disappointed by either one, even if you are one of those non-key-lime-pie-types who feel like making two different Key Lime pies is a little redundant.

You, my friend. Yes, even you will not be disappointed.

Key Lime Pie (Bubby's Version)

CRUST:

1 recipe Graham Cracker Crust, blind-baked

(recipe for homemade graham crackers and crust here)

FILLING:

3 large eggs
1 cups sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed or bottled Key lime juice

Whipped Cream for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 300F

Use the whisk attachment of an electric mixer to beat the eggs until frothy. Add the condensed milk and cream of tartar and mix well. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the lime juice in a thin stream. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk for 5 minutes. There’s no danger of over-whipping this pie—just of over baking. Pour the filling into the crust just to the lip of the shell.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, or just until it is set. The top should jiggle and have a sheen but no sign of browning. It will set as it cools.

Put the pie on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Refrigerate the pie for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve it cold, with whipped cream.

Store the pie loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.