Buttermilk pie is a favorite of mine around fall and in the winter. The pie is something of a Southern classic, and although I am not from the South, it is definitely a well-liked comfort food dessert to have when the weather starts to cool down. Buttermilk pie is essentially a custard pie made with tangy, buttery buttermilk as the primary dairy component. They’re often flavored with a bit of nutmeg or lemon zest. This Buttermilk Lime Pie has a flavor in it that you don’t normally see in buttermilk pies and marries buttermilk pie with key lime pie, another flavor that I am a big fan of.
The pie has a bright, but not tart, lime flavor that comes from freshly grated lime zest, not from the addition of lime juice. It has an almost pudding-like texture that is fluffier and less dense than the filling of a typical key lime pie. It also isn’t quite as silky smooth as key lime pie fillings tend to be. The result of this is that the pie feels a lot homier to me, and it also is more likely to encourage me to reach for seconds. The pie can be served at room temperature, but I prefer it slightly chilled with a bit of whipped cream on the side.
I used a homemade graham cracker crust for this pie. Graham crackers make for a crispy crust and add a really nice additional layer of flavor to the pie. I generally opt for graham cracker crusts when I make key lime pies, too, so using one here reminds me of key lime pie even more. A pastry crust works perfectly well, with this filling but should be blind baked before adding the filling to it. If you do use a pastry crust, consider adding an teaspoon of lime zest when you make it, to further highlight the citrus in this dessert.
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While I do enjoy a good slice of cheesecake, I prefer to make cheesecake bars at home when I’m looking for a cheesecake fix. They’re easy to make, have a short baking time and don’t need to be baked in a water bath. They also make a great basic recipe for putting all kinds of variations on for different flavors. For this batch, I wanted to add a key lime element to my cheesecake bars and get the richness of cheesecake and the tang of a key lime pie in one dessert.
Most of the flavor comes from a homemade key lime curd that is swirled into the cheesecake batter before baking. This curd is a twist on a lower fat lemon curd recipe that I absolutely love. Made with tart key lime juice, the curd is very bright and citrusy. It makes for a nice contrast with the rich tasting cream cheese filling. I simply added a few dollops of the curd into the cheesecake and lightly swirled it around with a butter knife before baking. In some places where there was more curd than others, the lime curd sank below the cheesecake (other places it remained lightly swirled on top), creating a nice layered effect. The whole dessert is much less sweet than key lime pie, with a wonderfully rich cheesecake texture and a very refreshing lime flavor. If you don’t have key limes, you can use regular limes in the recipe for lime curd.
The bars have a vanilla crumb crust that is made with crushed vanilla wafer cookies and butter, and is baked and cooled before being filled with cheesecake mixture. Graham crackers would work for the crust, as well, but the vanilla adds a nice mellow flavor that goes very well with the flavor of the cream cheese. The crust holds up very well to the filling without getting soggy, and while it would be crumbly if you tried to slice it on its own, the filling adds the perfect amount of moisture to keep it together and still slice easily.
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A classic pastry crust is great for all kinds of pies and tarts, but simple crumb crusts work even better for some recipes. Cheesecakes and key lime pies, for instance, seem to pair even better with crispy crumb crusts than they do with pastry. Graham crackers are the old standby for crumb crusts, as they have a good flavor and texture, but are relatively plain. If you’re looking variety in your crumb crusts, try making a Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust instead.
This crust starts out with vanilla wafer cookies. Any plain, crispy cookie will work and Nilla Wafers are a good basic choice. I tend to use Trader Joe’s Ultimate Vanilla Wafers. The cookies are pulverized in a food processor with a little sugar, a little more vanilla and some melted butter, then pressed into a baking dish and cooked until crispy. When the crust is finished, you can top it off with the filling of your choice! This basic recipe will work for other crumb crusts (graham or chocolate wafer), too.
I’ve included the option of brushing the crust with a lightly beaten egg white in the recipe. This step will help create a seal on the crust and prevent it from getting soggy from a moist filling. It is not as good as lining the crust with melted chocolate, but it does help with cheesecakes and things.
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Nothing beats a key lime when you’re going to make a key lime pie. Key limes are more acidic and more tart than Persian limes (the most common variety of lime), and they make for a very bright and sweet-tart pie. I use regular limes when I don’t have key limes because they work just as well and still turn out a very good key lime pie. While I definitely wouldn’t use just any bottled lime juice, I wondered how bottled key lime juice work work and picked up a bottle of Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice to give it a try.
This key lime juice is from concentrate, but it is made with 100% Key Limes from Key West, Florida. It comes in a 16 ounce bottle, which gives you more than enough juice for 3 or 4 key lime pies. The juice looks and smells very fresh, and the very bright and slightly bitter key lime flavor is unmistakable. It is definitely the best bottled lime juice I’ve had to date, and it worked beautifully in a test pie. Fresh persian limes are still a good choice when you can’t find Key limes, but you’ll do very well if you opt for this bottled key lime juice in place of fresh key limes, too.
