DESSERT RECIPES

White Chocolate Key Lime Pie

Updated

A no-bake white chocolate key lime pie with a graham cracker crust and a silky lime and white chocolate ganache filling that sets in the refrigerator overnight.

Prep
20 min
Cook
5 min
Total
8 hr 55 min
Yield
12 servings (one 9-inch pie)
Illustration of White Chocolate Key Lime Pie

This pie trades the usual condensed milk custard for a rich ganache: warm cream and white chocolate stirred together with lime zest, lime juice and a spoonful of sour cream, then poured into a buttery graham cracker crust. The tart lime keeps the white chocolate from tasting too sweet, and the result is smooth and dense, a little like a citrus truffle. It is a classic from the KitchenSimplicity archive.

Nothing goes in the oven, so it is a good make-ahead dessert for warm weather, spring holidays, barbecues and potlucks. The filling is rich, so a standard 9-inch pie stretches to about a dozen slim slices. Key limes or regular limes both work.

Tips

  • Keep the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • For a crisper crust, bake the pressed crust at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes and cool it completely before filling.
  • Zest the limes before you juice them; you will need 2 to 3 regular limes or about 10 key limes.
  • Use good-quality white chocolate chips or chopped bars that list cocoa butter in the ingredients for the smoothest filling.

White Chocolate Key Lime Pie

Prep
20 min
Cook
5 min
Total
8 hr 55 min
Yield
12 servings (one 9-inch pie)

Ingredients

  • For the graham cracker crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups (150 g) graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (75 g) butter, melted
  • For the filling:
  • 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 11 ounces (310 g) white chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh key lime or regular lime juice
  • For garnish (optional):
  • Thin lime slices
  • Chopped white chocolate

Steps

  1. Make the crust: stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together right in a 9-inch pie plate until the crumbs look evenly moistened.
  2. Press the mixture firmly over the bottom and up the sides of the plate; the flat bottom of a measuring cup helps pack it evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
  3. Make the filling: combine the cream and white chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir gently and constantly until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth; do not let it boil.
  4. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sour cream, then the lime zest and lime juice, until smooth and glossy.
  5. Pour the filling into the chilled crust and smooth the top.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight, until set.
  7. Just before serving, decorate with lime slices and chopped white chocolate if you like. Cut with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry for clean slices.

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