Imagine a Key Lime Pie light as a cloud, tart one moment, sweet the next. Imagine it has done away with the distraction of a crust. What you have is this Key lime mousse. Now, I love a pie, crust and all, but when a mousse is this good, it refuses to serve as mere filling. “Filling” implies that it is not complete in itself, and this dessert certainly is. Unmoored from the classic Graham cracker crust, it is something altogether more delicate—a soft, chilled summer sweet that is richer than sorbet, breezier than ice cream.
~ Aleksandra Crapanzano, Key Lime Pie Without the Crust (Recipe below)
Key Lime Mousse
If you don’t have or don’t wish to use gelatin, it may be omitted from the recipe. The mousse will not be as stable in consistency, but it will be no less delicious.
Active Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 3 hours (includes chilling) Serves: 8
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons grated lime zest
1¼ cups freshly squeezed Key lime juice (from about 15 limes)
6 eggs, plus 4 egg yolks
2 gelatin sheets, optional
1½ cups heavy cream, plus additional for garnish, optional
- In a heavy saucepan, whisk sugar, zest, lime juice, eggs and 2 yolks until combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Bloom gelatin, if using: Submerge gelatin sheets in a small bowl of cold water until soft, 3 minutes. Discard water and stir gelatin into lime mixture.
- Strain lime mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a stainless-steel or glass mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.
- Use an electric mixer on medium-high to whip heavy cream until soft-medium peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold remaining whipped cream into chilled lime mixture, then pour into individual cups or ramekins, or a single serving dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1½ hours. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve cold, with whipped cream, if desired.
Source: WSJ.com – Key Lime Pie Without the Crust
Live & Learn 
Looks yum without the crust.
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Highly recommended. It is YUM.
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OMG-must make! 🙂
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Get on it Lori!
On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 3:10 PM, Live & Learn wrote:
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Okay, first it was donuts, and now this lusciousness! David!!! *LOL* Cher xo
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Ha! Wasn’t it you blogging about donuts last week? Pot calling the kettle black?
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Um, we, despite the fact that is true, meethinks it was you who talked about 3 donuts that morning? 😉 xoxoxo Okay, yes pot calling kettle black!! *hee*
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There’s some truth in THAT.
On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 3:35 PM, Live & Learn wrote:
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Now I want this yummy dessert, and Tim Hortons! Oh Canada my home at native and delicious land!! xo
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Donuts and Key Lime Mousse – You are pushing the edges here Cher!
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I am, aren’t I? I also noticed my lack of typing correctly! I meant, “…AND native land” instead of, “at”; instead of “Um ME….” I meant, “YES….”
I am lacking sugar, David! Help!!! 😉 xo
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Yum. Can like but not make.
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We’ll have to ship you our excess.
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Have to run!
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All that fat and sugar!!! Sooooo goooood!
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Exactly. LIVE A LITTLE
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😉 Oink! Oink!
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Ha!
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i like the hint of tart that bites just a bit, then the sweet. looks luscious.
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Me too. Same sweet/tart spot.
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Looks so yummy. Are key limes different than regular limes?
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See http://www.keylime.com/diff.html
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Thanks for this clarification, David.
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That is the official food of Florida!
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It is! That’s where I was baptized with it.
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🙂
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I like the idea of being “unmoored” from my crust.
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Me too. Love the “unmoored” visual Sandy.
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Num Nums. 🙂
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It is!
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Yummy! 🙂
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It is Tina…
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Yummy!!
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It is!
On Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 8:47 AM, Live & Learn wrote:
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