Searching for a show-stopping dessert for your Thanksgiving feast?
Look no further.
I bring you my all time favorite pie. The Queen of all citrus pies.
The Key Lime Mousse Pie.
Buttery crisp shortbread crust topped with a tower of fluffy, light, tart mousse, with a layer of tangy key lime mousse on top of that?!
Ok.
I would like a slice now, please.
I have been making this pie for years and it never fails to impress.
It has definitely been my most requested dessert and I look forward to eating in every time.
It does take a fair amount of time to make, I will warn you, but the end results are far and beyond the effort exerted to make it.
I think I have it down to about a 6 hour total process now.
Just try not to fall in love too hard, ok?
I have more desserts planned for you that deserve a chance at your heart as well.
I’m sharing this recipe today over at just-between-friends.com! Head on over here for the key lime curd recipe needed to make this pie!
- 8 oz. Shortbread Cookies(Lorna Doone are fabulous)
- ⅓ C. Butter, melted
- 1 recipe Key Lime Curd
- 5 T. Water
- 4 t. Unflavored Gelatin
- 6 large Egg Whites
- ¾ C. Sugar
- 2 C. Chilled Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 Limes, cut in half and thinly sliced
- For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the shortbread cookies in a food processor and process until broken down into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter to the processor and process again until the butter and crumbs are well combined. Place the crumbs in a 8-9" springform pan and press the crumbs firmly down and smooth out(I use the back of a spoon to do this). Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until it just starts to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Make the Key lime curd(recipe can be found at just-between-friends.com)
- For the Mousse: Place the 5 T. water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water and allow to soak for 5 minutes.
- Place 1¾ C. of the lime curd in a large bowl.
- Add another ¾ C. of lime curd into the gelatin(you will have extra curd remaining for topping). Heat the gelatin just until it desolves and whisk together with the curd in the pan. Remove from heat.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the 6 egg white in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Slowly add in the ¾ C. sugar and beat until the whites are thick and glossy.
- Add the gelatin mixture to the curd in the large bowl and mix well. Fold the whipped egg whites into the curd mixture in two additions.
- Beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Reserve 1 C. For topping. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the curd mixture in two additions.
- Spray the sides of your springform pan lightly with non-stick spray. Spoon the mousse into the pan and level the top.
- Chill for several hours or until the mousse is firm. Spread the remaining lime curd on top of the chilled mousse and level and smooth.
- To unmold and decorate: Take a hot, wet washcloth and run it along the sides of the springform pan to loosen the mousse. Unlatch the springform pan and lift the sides straight off of the mousse. Place the remaining whipping cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe swirls all along the top perimeter of the pie. Add the lime slices into the whipped cream to garnish.
- Serve chilled.
Griffin and I are hungry.. this looks soo good!
Looking at pictures of food whilst hungry is torture!
This looks divine!!! What would you recommend using if I don’t have a form spring pan?
Thanks Aubrey! It wouldn’t work as well with out a spring form pan because you wouldn’t be able to on the mold it and have it look like the picture. However, you could always make it look more like a pie and press the crust into a pie dish and fill it with the mousse.
I really want to make this! I was wondering what you thought about other thickening agents. Have you ever tried pectin or agar or others to thicken pies? Want to accommodate the vegetarian in the house!
You can definitely make this easily without gelatin! If you want to avoid using another thickener altogether, you could add one more egg to the curd when you make it, and then just be extra careful to very gently fold the cream, egg whites, and curd together before chilling it. It may set a little less firm then it would with gelatin, but I think it would be okay. You could also try using the Agar and use the same amount of it as you would of the gelatin. Just be sure to melt or dissolve it first before stirring it into the curd.
This is incredible! So detailed and beautiful. I’d have a hard time wanting to share it!
Thank you Melanie! Haha, I’m not very good at sharing desserts as it is….
it looks amazing!
Thank you, Dina!!
Hi Kayley,
this recipe looks really good, and I would love to try it out! However, the link to your lime curd recipe is faulty, as the actual recipe at the botom of the page does not appear. Would you mind sending it to me please, so I can try that mouthwatering cake out? 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Anne! The link is all fixed now, I posted this recipe on another site as a guest post and the recipe plug-in on their site was having some issues. So sorry about that!
Hi, I would like to prepare this. Due to the fact that we in Europe dont use cups but more like grams, would u mind telling me how much is 1 3/4 cup of lime curd in grams? Thanks
Hi Tamara! I don’t use grams, but I know there are online conversion calculators that will convert cups to grams for you. I used one and it said 1 3/4 C. was about 236 grams.
Hi Kayley,
I am in the process of making this right now for a cookout that I am going to tomorrow. I was wondering do you have to use food coloring to get the color right. The Key Lime Curd is amazing. Thanks.
Hi Kimberlee! The food coloring just gives it a greener color…otherwise it has more of a yellow tint to it, which is fine too. It really just depends on your preference. Glad you liked the curd!
Hi Kayley
I wanted to make this pie, but I always have problem with whipping cream. Can you please guide me how to make the whipping cream for this recipe? Also have you used food coloring in the pie you’ve pictured here?
Hello, I have a question, what 5 T. Water is or what do you mean? Thank you.
Hello kayley, never mind, I just noticed that all the ingredients are on top of the instructions 🙂 thank you though. This looks delicious, I will try to make it.
I hope you like it! =)
Recipe looks amazing. One question though. Should/Can I make the lime curd the day before so that it is chilled or do you use it warm?
Thanks Sandra! Use the curd chilled 🙂
Hmm… Is there a green jello on the top? Where is a recipe?
it’s lime curd. A portion of the curd is reserved for the topping. The rest is used in the mousse. It’s all in the instructions.
The key lime curd recipe on Just Between Friends has a typo.
The ingredients state 2 1/2 cups sugar
The instructions state 2 1/3 cups sugar
Not a significant difference, but obviously there’s a typo. I’m going to make this for St. Patrick’s Day dinner party.
Is there any way I could get the recipe for the key lime curd? I would love to make this for my sons birthday, but the link for the curd recipe doesn’t seem to be working.