Ina Garten's Method For Key Lime Pie Relies On This Countertop Appliance

Key lime pie is like taking a bite out of the tropics. It blends a bright, zingy citrus flavor with a creamy, rich base and a sweet cookie crust, making for a dessert that's hard to say no to. If you're planning on making your own homemade key lime pie recipe soon, be sure to take some advice from the Barefoot Contessa herself on getting the perfect filling consistency. 

In her frozen Key lime pie recipe, Garten uses an electric mixer not once, but twice. The first time is with a paddle attachment to combine the egg yolks and sugar. You don't want to have a gritty filling, and the speed of the stand mixer will ensure that all of those sugar granules get beaten into the yolks without leaving behind any unpleasant crunchiness. After the sugar and yolks are well-combined, the speed needs to be brought down before the sweetened condensed milk and lime is added. Garten also uses a mixer later on in the recipe for the fluffy whipped cream topping; she uses a whisk attachment to beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form before adding the other cream components, namely the sugar and vanilla.

Now, can you forego the electric mixer for this recipe? Probably, you'll risk having a gritty filling and topping. Mixing your pie components by hand not once, but twice, will surely tire out your arm, too.

We would recommend always having a high-quality stand mixer or an electric mixer on hand for baking anything, but it especially comes in handy when you're making any sort of meringue, custard, or whipped topping. It's not just Ina Garten's version of this timeless recipe in which this appliance comes in handy, either. Our sweet and tart key lime pie recipe uses a meringue topping instead of a whipped cream one — meaning you'll definitely want to have an electric or stand mixer on hand. When you mix the whites, you're beating air into them, making them fluffy and allowing them to stand out on top of your pie. The appliance will expedite the process, allowing you to reach stiff peaks within five minutes. 

One thing that you will want to keep in mind when using this appliance is the time that you spend whipping. If you overbeat your cream in Ina Garten's frozen key lime pie recipe, you will end up with butter. And if you overbeat your egg whites in our recipe past the stiff peak stage, you'll get what looks like cottage cheese on top of your pie. Be sure to keep an eye on the consistency of whatever you're whipping to prevent negatively altering its texture.