The Art of Cuisine

Icebox Key Lime Pie

Icebox Key Lime Pie Authentic Key lime pie used to be a simple, no-cook dessert—but it contained raw eggs, a no-no in modern times. We wondered if we could develop an eggless refrigerator recipe as bright and custardy as the original. Here’s what we discovered:

In lieu of using egg yolks, we found the right ratio of instant vanilla pudding, gelatin, and cream cheese thickened our pie filling into the perfect, smooth consistency. Don’t be tempted to use bottled lime juice—tasters thought it tasted “artificial.” A full cup of fresh lime juice produced a pie with bracing lime flavor. Lime zest added another layer of flavor, and processing the zest with a little sugar offset its sourness and eliminated the annoying chewy bits.

Icebox Key Lime Pie Serves 8 to 10

Test Kitchen Discoveries

Be sure to use instant pudding that requires no stovetop cooking for this recipe. We use regular supermarket (Persian) limes-tasters thought bottled lime juice lacked depth of flavor. We much prefer our easy homemade crust to store-bought versions.

Crust

8 whole graham crackers , broken into smaller pieces

2 tablespoons sugar 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted   (I use Smart Balance Butter)

Filling

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

8 ounces cream cheese , softened    (I use low fat)

1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk   (I use low fat)

1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix 

1 1/4teaspoons unflavored gelatin 

1cup fresh lime juice from 6 to 8 limes

1teaspoon vanilla extract

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse crackers and sugar in food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter in steady stream while pulsing until crumbs resemble damp sand. Using bottom of dry measuring cup, press crumbs firmly into bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate. Bake until fragrant and browned around edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely.

2. For the filling: Process sugar and zest in food processor until sugar turns bright green, about 30 seconds. Add cream cheese and process until combined, about 30 seconds. Add condensed milk and pudding mix and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir gelatin and 2 tablespoons lime juice in small bowl. Heat in microwave for 15 seconds; stir until dissolved. With machine running, pour gelatin mixture, remaining lime juice, and vanilla through feed tube and mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.

3. Pour filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. To serve, let pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing.

How-to-CookTip of the Week: Key Limes vs. Persian Limes

Key lime aficionados praise the fruit's distinctive flavor and fragrance compared with those of conventional Persian limes, but we wondered if our tasters could tell the difference. We sampled both varieties plain and in Key lime bars. Tasters were split over which variety made the better bar—until they considered the amount of work involved: for a half-cup of lime juice, we had to squeeze three Persian limes. With Key limes, it took almost 20! But  would presqueezed, shelf-stable bottles of Key lime and regular lime juice do in a pinch and level the playing field? To find out, we went back to the tasting lab.