Key Lime Pie with Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Key lime pie is a super easy dessert to make at home! Tasty and tropical as a standard sized pie or mini size.
I think that homemade Key Lime Pie must be one of the world’s best kept secrets. Because it is so easy–and so delicious!
I had never tried this special dessert until a half dozen years ago when I participated in a charity event. As a thank you, we got to use the corporate box for a hometown baseball game, and key lime pie was our dessert. “No chocolate?”, was my first thought, but when everyone else looked excited I gave it a try.
Since then I’ve eaten it every chance I get.
Recently on the lookout for fun blogging ideas, I decided to try a canning jar dessert–and key lime pie was my first thought. I used a regular pie recipe–same amounts even–based on this recipe from Gourmet Sleuth. They also gave me the answer to why all of the recipes use sweetened condensed milk. When key lime pie originated in Florida around 1850, lack of refrigeration meant that any milk had to be canned. The tradition has continued to this day.
So if mini-pies seem putzy or inconvenient, go with a regular pie. Or even a super easy version with a prepared graham cracker crust.
My other innovation was to try a mascarpone whipped cream to decorate the top. Mascarpone’s creaminess mellows the astringency of the lime and the topping holds its shape better than the traditional whipped cream. Especially important since I was looking for something I could leave over night and serve friends the next day.
To test the topping, I stored a few decorated (mini) pies in a closed zip lock overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, they looked perfect.
They looked so good, in fact, we had them for breakfast.

Key Lime Pie
Ingredients
For crust
- 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs from 1 wrapped section of crackers + one additional cracker
- 5 Tablespoons butter melted
For filling
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
- 4 large egg yolk
- 1/2 fresh lime juice (from key limes or regular)
- 2 teaspoons fine lime zest (as little white as possible)
For topping (this is enough for 6 rosettes, double or triple for more topping)
- 1/2 cup mascarpone
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- optional lime zest for garnish
Instructions
Make crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Stir together graham cracker crumbs and butter until well combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch pie plate or 6 3-4 inch canning jars.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack.
Make filling and bake pie
- Whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, juice (add half at a time) and zest until well combined.
- Pour filling into cooled crust and bake for 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill. Store covered.
Make topping
- When pie is cool, whip cream, then add sugar, vanilla and mascarpone. Beat until fluffy. Pipe six rosettes around outside of pie or in center of each individual mini-pie. Sprinkle mascarpone cream with additional lime zest if desired. Store covered and refrigerated until served.
Nutrition
- Classic Caesar Salad
- Homemade Peach Mustard
These look so cute! What a great summertime dessert!
The best part of going to Florida is having a slice of key lime pie. (Well, maybe not the best part!) I am not sure about making a whole recipe–would probably eat the whole thing!
I never thought about not eating the whole pie as an advantage of doing these in jars–excellent point since I am so good at taking just one more thin slice 😉
hi inger, how fun to bake this in a jar…it looks rather gorgeous to me and mascarpone topping sounds delicious..hey, good that you can get jars that can stand the heat from oven…bcos i think the jar idea is really cute and nice 😀
Since they are canning jars I figured they would take the heat at least up to boiling but I’ll admit I was a little nervous trying this.
Inger! Ilove these pies and yours jars are awesome!:)
Thanks Gloria. It was a little more work to push the graham cracker crumbs in individual jars, but I think worth it!
Hi Inger, very tempting and irresistible key lime pie. Love how you served it in a jar. So homey and yet fun. Have a nice day and regards 🙂
Using the jars was fun. Now it’s made me want to eat up everything canned in those jars so I can try more desserts in jars 😉
Faced with a mini Key Lime Pie in the fridge, I’d probably opt for breakfast too! Yours are gorgeous.
Glad to know I’m not alone!
What adorable mini pies, these look absolutely perfect! 😀
And love the key lime flavour!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks. You know I just tried some amazing key lime yogurt for the days when these aren’t around 😉
Inger, do you cook these mini-pies in the canning jars in the oven? For how long?
That’s funny what you said about eating those for breakfast. I’d like that, too. 🙂
I put them all into a rectangular aluminum cake pan, then cooked them just like the full pie recipe called for. I did worry they might crack in the oven but they seemed fine. And you are right, it was a rather fun breakfast–we added bacon and it felt quite indulgent 😉