This key lime pie is the ultimate in key lime decadence. It was just the right balance of tart and sweet and the crust was so so good. As this recipe calls for almost 2 cups of key lime juice, I would really recommend buying a bottle of key lime juice. I found mine at my local Kroger in the juice section and it really made a difference. This recipe has a LOT of steps, but please don’t be intimidated by that. No step is difficult, and I actually made my crust and the no bake/chilled layer the day before and finished it the day I wanted to serve it.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crust

• 2 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1-2 tablespoons egg whites, room temp

The Baked Layer

• 2 14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup of key lime juice
• 8 egg yolks, room temp
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temp

The Chilled Layer

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 1/4 cup sour cream, room temp
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

The Whipped Layer

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, very cold
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons key lime juice

To prepare the pan, place parchment paper on the bottom of a 10″ spring form pan. Set the “ring” of the spring form on top of the parchment paper and close to seal around the bottom of the spring form. Trim the parchment paper on the outside as close to the pan as you can get. This will ensure that you can lift the pie off the bottom of the spring from pan with ease. Wrap the outside of the spring from pan in aluminum foil to prevent any leakage during baking.

Next, in a very large bowl, combine and toss the graham crackers, dark brown sugar and cinnamon. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture. Start adding the melted butter into the well and with either a wooden spoon or by hand incorporate the melted butter into the dry mixture. Add butter until you can pinch the dry mix together and it will hold together. Add the egg whites to the mixture and mix well. Once the egg whites are added, you need to work quickly to move the prepared crust mixture in to the spring form and form the crust or the mixture will start to dry out. Working from the bottom of the spring form, move the crust mixture around to cover the bottom first. Work the crust mixture up the sides of the spring form all the way to the edge of the ring. Use either the bottom of a glass or dry measure cup to press down on the bottom, sides and especially where the bottom of the pan and sides come together. This will help you achieve a nice even and packed crust. Move to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking, add the 8 egg yolks to a large glass bowl. Using a wire whisk, whisk the yolks for about a minute. You will want the yolks nice and creamy with some air incorporated into them. No need to break out the mixer for this step. Just some good ole whisking by hand will do. Add the 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk to the mixture and continue to whisk until well blended. Add the room temperature sour cream (1/2 cup) to the mixture and whisk. The sour cream, if not at room temperature will clump, so make sure this and all ingredients are at room temp. Pour the key lime juice into the mixture and continue to whisk. You will notice that the mixture will begin to slightly thicken. This is the reaction of the acid in the key lime juice and the sweetened condensed milk. Whisk the mixture until well blended. You will see lots of air bubbles and that’s okay too. Pour this mixture into the crust that is just coming out of the oven and with either a spatula or the back of a spoon spread evenly over the bottom of the spring form. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. The baked layer will set up and be set all the way thru to the center. Remove from the oven and cool completely before adding the chilled layer. Do Not refrigerate until the baked layer has completely cooled or you will introduce moisture to the crust and cause it to separate.

To make the no bake, chilled layer, cream the 8 ounces of cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the room temperature 1/4 cup of sour cream. Remember cold sour cream will make lumps! Mix well. Add the 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Add the 1/4 cup of key lime juice and mix well. Move to the completely baked and cooled baked layer. Use a spatula or spoon to smooth over layer one. Be sure to leave room for the key lime whipped topping, the chilled layer should only come up to about 3/4 to the top. Chill in the refrigerator while you make the key lime whipped cream.

The final layer is the key lime whipped cream. Add the whipping cream to a clean and preferably chilled bowl for mixing. I chill both the bowl and the beaters when making whipped cream. Add sugar and whip until you have soft to medium soft peaks. Do not whip to stiff peaks. Begin adding the key lime juice, this will cause the mixture to thicken.  Add the key lime juice a little at a time to get the consistency you prefer. Spread over the pie and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Now I know that this pie has a rather unappetizing name, but take a chance and make it. It is anything but dry and crumbly and is so incredibly simple to make.  I feel like it is pecan pie’s crazy country cousin.

• 1 unbaked 9″ pie crust, enough for a deep dish pan
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 7 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut, graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and sugar. Mix in the egg whites (do not beat them first). Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the middle is slightly jiggly. The middle will set as it cools out of the oven. Cover the edges only with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack or windowsill until the pie is firm, about 45 minutes.

Some recipes I have seen recommend serving with slices of fresh banana and whipped cream. I served mine with vanilla ice cream, so it’s really your preference. I also think this would be delicious with chocolate chips mixed in.

The final pie I made this past week was a chocolate cream pie. To me, it is the quintessential cream pie, and this one was perfect. I think store-bought pudding mixes have a odd aftertaste to them, but this one is made from scratch and tasted amazing. I also used my stabilized whipped cream to help it last until I could serve it. Recipe and photo courtesy of tastesbetterfromscratch.com.

Crust:

• 24 Oreo cookies
• 5 Tablespoons butter

Filling:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 tablespoons salted butter , chopped into pieces
• 8 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate , chopped (I like Ghirardelli’s)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar , or granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the crust, preheat oven to 350°F. Add Oreo cookies to a food processor and pulse into a fine crumb. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and stir in melted butter until combined.  Press mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool. For the filling, heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the sugar, and milk and whisk well to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer, whisking frequently.  Meanwhile, add the egg yolks and cornstarch to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the saucepan mixture is simmering, add a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the egg yolks and whisk to temper the eggs. Add a few more spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the egg yolks. Then slowly whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining mixture in the saucepan. Whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and comes to a very gently boil (big bubbles begin to break the surface). Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, chopped chocolate, and vanilla extract. Stir well until completely smooth. Pour filling into the cooled cookie crust and smooth into an even layer. Place a piece of plastic wrap gently on top and refrigerate until filling is set, about 4–6 hours or overnight, if desired. Just before serving, make the topping by adding the cream to a mixing bowl. Mix with electric mixers on high speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Spread whipped cream over pie and garnish with curled chocolate, if desired. (I use this method for making chocolate curls)

Here is another of the cream pies I made for my fellow firefighters. I am not historically a big fan of banana flavored desserts, but this one got a big thumbs up from my co-workers. It was also my first time making my own creme anglais and I was really pleased that it came out. I made it with a vanilla wafer crust instead of a graham cracker crust but either will work just fine. Recipe and photo courtesy of chef-in-training.com.

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 cups half and half
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, sliced

Whipped Cream:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

For the crust, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix well. Add melted butter and mix until it is well blended. Press into a 9 inch pie pan and bake for 7 minutes. Cool completely. For the filling, in medium sauce pan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add half and half and egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute and remove from heat. Stir in butter, and vanilla. Pour ½ of the filling into the crust. Top with sliced bananas to cover the filling. Pour the rest of the filling over the bananas. Cover with saran wrap directly on the filling itself to avoiding a sticky film on top. Chill for at least 3 hours. Top with another layer of sliced bananas. Right before serving, beat the whipping cream in a medium bowl at high speed. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. You don’t want them to be soft but you don’t want them to become butter either. Spread whipping cream over the top of the bananas and then garnish with a few more slices of bananas.

*If you are taking the pie somewhere where it won’t be eaten right away, take a look at my stabilized whipped cream recipe here.

When I served this pie to my fellow firefighters the first reaction was, “wow, this stuff is crack”.  I took that as a compliment. The beautiful thing about this pie is that it is no-bake (if you use a store-bought crust), and only 4 ingredients. It was completely delicious. Recipe and photo by plainchicken.com

• 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 12 oz container Cool Whip, thawed
• 7 (2.1 oz) Butterfinger candy bars, crushed

Combine softened cream cheese, cool whip and 6 crushed Butterfingers. Spoon into prepared graham cracker crust. Top with remaining crushed Butterfinger. Chill at least 4 hours.

*If you want to make your own graham cracker pie crust the recipe can be found here.

Every month at my fire department association’s business meeting the firefighters take turns bringing a dessert or snack. This month was my turn and when I asked around what people might want the answer I got was cream pies. So I decided to make four different types of cream pie in hopes of having something for everyone. This lemon cream pie was chosen because I love all things lemon and it looked so good, I just had to try it. I had never made my own curd before so it was a little dicey for a bit as I kept stirring and stirring waiting for the curd to thicken, but eventually it did and it was heavenly. Recipe inspiration by wellplated.com.

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 sheets if you are using whole crackers)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 7 tablespoons melted butter

Lemon Cream Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 large lemons)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Begin by preheating your oven to 375. Mix together your graham cracker crumbs, sugars and melted butter. Press into a greased 9″ pie plate. I like to use a glass or measuring cup with a flat bottom to make sure it is even. Bake for 7-9 minutes, then let cool completely. Next, place a heatproof bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water to create a double boiler. Add the eggs into the bowl, then with a hand mixer on medium speed (or a whisk and some serious arm power), beat the eggs until thick and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes if using a mixer. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, then the lemon juice and lemon zest. Once incorporated, switch from a mixer (or whisk) to a rubber spatula. Continue to cook the mixture over the simmering water, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the bowl with your spatula, until it forms a thick, smooth custard, about 8-12 additional minutes. When you dip your spatula into the custard, the custard should easily coat the spatula’s back, and if you draw a line through the custard on the back of the spatula with your finger, the sides of the custard should stay separated. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool to almost room temperature. In a large mixing bowl or a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium high speed until it is completely soft and smooth, about 3 full minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, then gradually add the cooled lemon custard to the cream cheese, beating until smooth and fully combined so that no white streaks remain. Pour the cream cheese into the baked pastry shell. Refrigerate the pie until fully chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. Up to 4 hours before serving, prepare the homemade whipped cream: In large mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment over medium speed. When it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, increase the mixer speed to high, and continue to beat until soft peaks form. (Do not over beat or the cream will separate.) Spread over the chilled pie, slice, and serve cold.

*Now I know there are a lot of words in the instructions, but it really is not as difficult as it might appear. Also, I knew I wouldn’t be serving my pie right away, so I made a stabilized whipped cream using gelatin to ensure that my whipped cream didn’t fall. That recipe can also be found on my website.