Margarita Pie (easy recipe with tequila)
It's like the best mix of a traditional key lime pie with the favorite drink. Easy-to-make, incredibly creamy and smooth, sweet but tangy, it has a great unique aftertaste from the tequila. It can be eaten frozen, cold, or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. Use a graham crust if you like sweet margaritas or go with a pretzel crust if you like salty ones.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the cookie crust:
- 2 cups ground graham crackers or salted pretzels, about 7 ounces or 200g
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For the filling:
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces or 397g each
- 5 egg yolks at room temperature
- ¾ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons tequila
- 3 teaspoons triple sec or orange liquor
- 2 teaspoons lime zest loosely packed + more for decorating
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt for serving (optional)
- whipped cream and lime slices or wedges for serving (optional, see Notes below)
Instructions
- Have ready a 9-inch pie plate (24cm) with a removable bottom. I use one with 1-inch sides because it's a short pie, so if you use the traditional pie plate, the crust won't reach the top of the edges.
- Preheat oven to 350º F (180ºC).
- Crumbs: the easiest way is to use a food processor to finely grind the graham crackers or the pretzels. Then, add the melted butter and pulse to mix.
For the crumb crust:
- Mix 2 cups ground graham crackers or pretzels in a medium bowl with ½ cup unsalted butter until it has the texture of wet sand. If it’s too dry add an extra teaspoon of melted butter or two. It should be on the wetter side to firm up.
- Dump this crumb mixture in the pan and press onto the sides of the pan and bottom, making sure you don’t miss the angles where the bottom and sides meet.
- Start with the edges and work your way up to the center of the pan, it’s the best way to make sure you don’t run out of cookie mixture for the angles and sides. You can use your hands (my way) or a measuring cup together with your hand to press the sides and create a compact wall up the sides. Make sure it’s well pressed and no spots remain without cookie mixture.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until it starts to dry and brown. Reserve on a wire rack while you make the filling. Keep the oven turned on.
For the filling:
- Pour 2 cans sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl, add 5 egg yolks and mix with a wire whisk or spatula. Don’t beat.
- Add ¾ cup fresh lime juice and mix well. The mixture will thicken almost immediately.
- Add 2 tablespoons tequila, 3 teaspoons triple sec and 2 teaspoons lime zest and mix well.
- Pour the condensed milk mixture into the prepared crust (no need to let the crust cool completely, it can still be warm) careful not to overflow it.
- Put the pie back into the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes more, until it firms up but the center still juggles slightly. Watch it carefully.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack, wrap in plastic, or put a piece of plastic wrap on top lightly touching the surface and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
- Take it out of the fridge 10 minutes before ready to serve it so it's easier to remove from the pie dish. Carefully unlock the sides of the pan from the crust (it might feel as though it's stuck but it will be fine) and place it on a smooth surface. I usually leave the bottom of the pan and transfer it to the serving plate, but you can very carefully lift the pie with a large spatula and transfer it to the serving plate.
- Grate some zest on top and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon sea salt if you want to.
- Or serve it with slightly sweetened whipped cream and lime slices or wedges.
Notes
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Balance: make sure the amount of lime juice and zest balance the extreme sweetness of the condensed milk. This pie needs to have a strong citrus flavor. Not make you pucker, but if you taste it and it's all sweet condensed milk flavor it's no good. So I use a whole cup of citrus juice. If limes are not in season you might want to add some lemon juice and/or zest. I know it's not exactly lime pie per se, but it will be so good you won't even care.
Oven: bake it for a few minutes, usually takes less than 10. Just as the center is firming up, but still slightly jiggly, take it out. It will cut perfectly (as you can see in the photos here) but still be incredibly creamy!
Ratio: make sure the ratio of cookie crust and filling is good. It depends a lot on what your taste is, but too much crust and not enough filling is never a good idea.
Whipped cream: I like to use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream with a little cream cheese to make it more stable. You can find the recipe in the post for strawberry shortcake cupcakes.
