Recipe: Key lime pie

Photograph: Harry Weir
Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 6
Course: Dessert

Ingredients

  • 200g sweetened digestive biscuits
  • 100g butter (plus extra for greasing)
  • 75g dark chocolate (55% cocoa solids)
  • 180g full fat cream cheese
  • 397g tin sweetened condensed milk
  • 5 limes, zest and juice of

1. Crush the biscuits in a food processor or by placing them inside a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin to fine breadcrumbs. Melt the butter and stir through the biscuits until the mixture has a sand-like consistency. Press the biscuits into the base of a greased pie dish or loose-bottomed tart tin. Gently press them up the side walls of the dish. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to harden the biscuit shell before adding the filling.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces and melt it over a bain marie or gently in the microwave at 10-second intervals. Reserving a little chocolate for the final garnish, gently spread the melted chocolate over the chilled biscuit base with the back of a teaspoon. Refrigerate.

3. To make the filling, whisk the cream cheese to smooth out any lumps, then add in the condensed milk and about three teaspoons lime zest. Continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken slightly, then add in six tablespoons of lime juice. Taste and adjust the flavour with more lime zest or extra juice if required (be cautious about adding in too much extra lime juice, which may affect the firmness of the set pie).

4. Gently pour the filling over the chilled biscuit base and level with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for four hours.

5. Melt remaining dark chocolate once again (as it will have hardened up by now) and decorate with any pattern you like.

6. Served chilled.