There’s no winter equivalent to the term “dog days of summer,” is there? I feel like whatever that would be, we’re in it. It’s sort of a waiting game, it feels like, for flowers to bloom and other produce besides turnips and beets to show up.
And yes, I know I live in Los Angeles, a place where winter never really arrives, but I feel like, we too, are sort of in a bit of a slump. February is slumpy, man!
Cute key limes are here to the rescue and they come in form of this pie, which you should eat a lot of. Pie cures all sorts of things, including but not limited to, the winter blues.
I used to get the winter blues when I lived in North Carolina. For weeks it would be dark and gloomy and my skin would get soooo chapped and dry because of the weather. A doctor once told me I should go to a tanning bed because it would help my mood. I thought it was insane so I went, which is strange because I’m already brown, but it actually helped
This coconut key lime pie is like the equivalent of sitting in the sun. It will give you images of beaches and blue and green oceans and palm trees.
I’ve actually ventured down to Key West, Floria many times. I have a bit of a fondness for it. It’s not a fancy place at all but it’s one of the only places in the country where you can see the sunrise and sunset in the same place.
I remember being a kid, sitting at a shitty beach restaurant, which had a deck that stretched out into the ocean, and watching the sunset, as we all ate slices of key lime pie.
I feel like all of my favorite moments are totally imperfect. It was the least Pinterest-worthy/Instagram-worthy moment ever: my dad was wearing Tevas, the white chairs were those cheap plastic ones you’d get on sale at Home Depot and the food wasn’t pretty. But that moment is one I’ll never forget.
While the restaurant was terrible, the key lime pie was the best. It was tart and sweet and topped with a torched meringue. This pie you see here is an extension of that.
The coconut and key lime juice compliment one another and the topping is less work than making a meringue–it’s a simple combo of heavy cream and coconut cream. And this pie isn’t perfect. I was frustrated that I couldn’t get the crust to be totally even all the way around. And the topping didn’t have the swoops I was going for, but I remembered that not everything has to be pitch-perfect to be delicious and important.
And this pie is important.
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs (from about 8 crackers)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated key lime zest (from about 4 key limes)
- 1/3 cup fresh key lime juice (from about 6 key limes)
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Directions
- Begin by making the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and butter. When thoroughly mixed, dump into a standard 9-inch pie dish. Press the crumbs up the sides and all over the bottom of the dish until you have an even layer of crust. Transfer to the oven to bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove and set aside and allow to cool completely. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, let’s make the filling! Start this process by setting aside three tablespoons of the coconut cream that's sitting at the top of the can of coconut milk. Transfer this coconut cream to the refrigerator (we’re going to use it as part of the topping!). Whisk together the coconut cream and coconut milk together (you can do this in the can). Make sure the clumps aren't super large, some small clumps are ok. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, key lime zest, key lime juice, egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and salt. Again, little clumps are ok, but big clumps, not ok--break them up with a fork if they're throughout.
- I found it easiest to add the filling to the pie dish when it was in the oven—no spillage! Place the pie dish with the crust on a baking sheet and transfer to the middle rack of the oven. Pour in the filling, close the door and allow to bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is firm to the touch yet still a wobbly. Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer it to the fridge so it can set for at least 2 hours. It’s a long time to wait but it’s well worth it! Since the oven is already hot, we’re going to toast some coconut flakes. To a small baking dish, add the coconut flakes and allow to toast for about 5 minutes in the oven, until lightly golden brown. Set aside.
- Right before serving, make the topping. By now the coconut cream should be very cold. Add the coconut cream and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment; beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, pour in about 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (eyeball this measurement) and beat until incorporated. Slowly incorporate the rest of the heavy cream until smooth and medium peaks form, about 2 minutes. Just an FYI, you don't want over-beaten whipped cream so do not walk away!
- Pour the whipped cream on top of the pie and spread it around--get artsy with it. Sprinkle the toasted coconut flakes on top and slice and serve.
Notes
If you live in the Los Angeles area, I found my key limes at Gelson's Grocery Store in Los Feliz.
Before you start, make sure you know that this pie has to set in the fridge for 2 hours before serving or else it'll be a sloppy ol' mess.
Full-fat coconut milk gave me the best flavor and texture (silky smooth!), but lite coconut milk will also work (my first go-around used lite).
If you can't find key limes, you can use bottled key lime juice! For the zest, feel free to use regular lime zest.
Lastly, a question I'll probably get: will this work with regular limes? Yes, absolutely, but I'd increase the zest by about 1/2 tablespoon.
36 Comments
Love, love, love!!! <3
[…] Coconut. Key Lime. I'm in. […]
Looks amazing <3
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
I want thissss! Mainly so I can feel like I’m anywhere near a beach and not in -32 degree weather, buh.
Thinking of you boo boo
Totally want to make this to beat this NEGATIVE 2 degree weather! I have one quick question. I see in the instructions that it says to add heavy cream while making the topping, but I don’t see heavy cream in the ingredients list. Could you clarify? Thanks!
AHH! Yes, I swear I looked over this recipe a bajillion times. Thanks so much for catching this. Just added!
i love how you wrote about this! life is full of imperfect perfect moments and i wouldn’t have them any other way. society is WAY too obsessed with instagram/pinterest perfect moments. it’s the real ones with plastic chairs and unattractive food that make the best memories for sure 🙂
xoxo
ps – this pie! glorious. i’m dreaming of sunshine and limes now.
Exactly! xoxo
I grew up in Miami and had a key lime tree in our backyard, and mom used to make key lime pie all the time and of course I didn’t start loving it until we moved. The irony. Anyway, you’re the first person I’ve ever seen that also uses the whipped egg whites/SCM method rather than the cream cheese/goopy method! Cool beans and love the coconut addition 🙂
That’s how it always works. When I lived in Florida I never made key lime pie, not even once. And now…
Those childhood memories are what make us who we are. It is wonderful that you are making this pie from those memories.
I do love key-lime pie very, very much!! It does look delicious!! xoxo Catherine
My husband and I went to KeyWest once, I’m a keylime pie fanatic of sorts so I will be trying this recipe!
There was a little place there that sold keylime pie on a stick… it was pie dipped in chocolate and frozen *-* I had three [not all at once, but some how in our wanderings of the area we found ourselves there multiple times…] I was wondering, how would one go about making such a thing? Frozen pie, dipped in chocolate?
I think that sounds amazing! And it’s a small little place so I can see how you’d end back up there!
I love lime flavor 🙂 This pie looks really good!
[…] coconut key lime pie. […]
Believe it or not, I’ve never made key lime pie before; that record needs to be changed–now 🙂
Ah yes, this looks like summer in a pie! I sure could use a slice of this, with all the freezing weather we’ve been having 😛
The equivalent phrase you are looking for is “dregs of winter”. Cheers!
Haha…YES! That’s it.
girl, you got my mouth waterin’…
About the toasted coconut flakes…sweetened? unsweetened? Don’t see them in the ingredients list. Thanks!
Added now! It kinda doesn’t matter. I used unsweetened but if you have sweetened in your pantry, definitely use the sweetened and don’t bother buying unsweetened just for this recipe. The pie is sweet, the whipped cream topping is a bit under sweetened for a bit of balance so you should be a-ok with either!
I have just saved this recipe with the aim of baking it as soon as humanly possible. It looks absolutely delicious! <3
Jess x
http://chasinglifeandme.blogspot.co.uk/
This pie looks amazing! I am definitely wanting to make a key lime pie soon!
Looks amazing Adrianna! I have a bit of an obsession with coconut desserts, it seems like every second dessert recipe I come up with has coconut cream in it (and often lime too 🙂 ). If you can get hold of shaved coconut (larger than flakes) they toast up beautifully for a dish like this!
This looks so good! I fell in love with Key Lime Pie during summers on Kiawah. Everytime I have some, it takes me back!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweeite.com
I used a pyrex 9 inch (23 cm) standard pie plate, but I had filling left over…I built the crust up to the top of the rim, though it did sink a little when I baked the crust. I think even if I had poured all the way to the very top of the crust (I assume I was supposed to leave a little rim) I would have had some left over. Should this have happened? Any suggestion of what to do with the small amount of left over filling? I hate to waste it.
I had about 4 tablespoons of filling leftover and I did contemplate tweaking the recipe (because I hate leftover anything), but then it’d basically mean you’d use less coconut milk and less condensed milk from the can, which wouldn’t really solve the problem (because what could you really do with a few tablespoons of condensed milk?). You could transfer it to a small ramekin and bake that off. It’d almost be like a cooked custard of sorts!
ooo, excellent idea! I didn’t think about baking it in a ramekin.
Made this today and shared with key lime pie lover friends…it was a smashing hit
YAY! LOVE!
[…] Coconut Key Lime Pie Recipe from blog A Cozy Kitchen […]
After the filling is added to the baked crust, should the keylime pie be baked? I put it in the fridge directly after filling if. Should I pop it in the oven before serving? (My filling was cooked on the stove.) If so, how long and what temp? Thanks much! 🙂
Murray
I’m not sure. This recipe is for this specific recipe which is to be baked. So not sure what recipe you’re using sorry!
[…] 7. Worlds largest animated GIF (Peta Pixel) 8. Blind date with a stunt driver (Huffington Post) 9. Coconut key lime pie (A Cozy Kitchen) 10. How to care for black jeans […]