Frosty Lime Pie

Frosty Lime Pie
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour, plus chilling
Rating
4(298)
Comments
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This frozen dessert delivers cold, tart relief on a hot summer day. Pearl Byrd Foster served this pie on her menu at Mr. and Mrs. Foster’s Place, her 15-table restaurant on the Upper East Side. Ms. Foster opened the restaurant after a 30-year career in hotel, department store and food magazine kitchens. Raymond Sokolov, a former food editor of The New York Times, wrote about this recipe in 1971. The real secret to making this pie, he said, is in how you handle the egg yolks. Heat them too much and they scramble, or too little and they won’t thicken. When the yolks get too hot for your finger, around 165 degrees, they’re hot enough.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Graham Cracker Crust

    • cups graham cracker crumbs
    • ¼cup superfine sugar
    • Pinch of salt
    • ¼cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

    For the Filling

    • 5eggs, separated
    • ¾cup superfine sugar, divided
    • cup fresh squeezed, strained lime juice
    • 2teaspoons grated lime zest
    • teaspoon salt

    For the Topping

    • cups heavy cream, whipped
    • Thin slices of lime or fresh strawberries
    • Sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

311 calories; 19 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 27 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 160 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Make the crust: Place the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and work with a wooden spoon (or your fingers) to blend well. Press the mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie plate with your fingertips, or use an 8-inch pie plate to press down the mixture. Transfer to oven and bake 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: Beat the yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer until very thick. Gradually beat in half the sugar until mixture is very pale and thick and forms a rope when dropped from the beater.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the lime juice and zest and transfer to a double boiler. Heat over over simmering water, stirring until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow to boil. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.

  5. Step 5

    Once the yolk mixture reaches room temperature, beat the egg whites with the salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar until mixture is stiff and shiny. Stir a third of this meringue mixture into the cooled yolk mixture. Fold in remaining meringue mixture until evenly distributed.

  6. Step 6

    Turn the mixture out into the cooled graham cracker pie shell and bake 15 minutes, or until lightly tinged with brown. Let cool.

  7. Step 7

    Transfer the pie to the refrigerator and let chill thoroughly, uncovered, then transfer to the freezer. Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight. Once it is frozen, cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen until just before serving.

  8. Step 8

    Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cover with the whipped cream and garnish with lime slices dipped in sugar or fresh strawberries.

Tip
  • Pie will keep frozen two to three weeks. If a less tart pie is desired, cut down the lime juice to one-half cup. Extra pie can be refrozen. If desired, pie can be well chilled and served without freezing.

Ratings

4 out of 5
298 user ratings
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Comments

When the pie cooled, it formed huge cracks. Is this normal? In the freezer, the cracks got even bigger. I followed every step exactly. What would have caused this?

I did not realize how technical this recipe was going to be when I embarked on it. It is in the freezer now, I hope the hard work pays off! When you put the yolk mixture on the double boiler, waiting for it to stick to the back of a spoon was not a helpful indicator for me. The thick mixture stuck to my spoon from the beginning. I looked up the temperature other pie custards are cooked to in order to see where I was headed. I landed on 160 degrees. I hope that works.

It took about 2 large limes.

After tasting some Chobani lime Greek yogurt I decided to make a pie. I considered various thickeners but after seeing all the frozen versions I decided to let the freezer do the thickening. Excellent and refreshing with a crust of Trader Joe’s triple ginger cookie crumbs….with 1/4 cup melted butter in a food processor. Bake10 minutes at 350, let cool then spoon in 5 containers of yogurt. No other ingredients except lots of lime zest on top. Freeze till firm, temper at room temp to soften

I made this last night. I didn't realize it was a 2-day project. It is in the freezer now. I tasted the lime meringue as I was spooning it into the crust. It was really delicious. I wanted to eat it just as it was. Could I have baked it, chilled it and eaten it? What about no crust, in ramekins? Does it have to be baked?

This recipe is also in one of Maida Heatter's books. It is wonderful. Bring the yolk mixture to 175-180 degrees (check with a thermometer). It will look like there is too much fillng -- but pile it high in the center. As the pie cools, then freezes, the filling will condense a little. Because of the sugar content the pie can get brown too quickly in the oven -- keep an eye on it. Cracks are normal -- disguise with whipped cream!

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