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FERN INN KEY LIME PIE




Source of Recipe


Cook's Corner: Miami Herald


Recipe Introduction


Chalk up another win for Cook's Corner sleuths: We've got the signature Key lime pie recipe from the Fern Inn in Islamorada, home of a renowned version of the South Florida favorite in the 1950s and '60s.
We turned over the quest to our readers:

'The headline said `Pie recipe really lost this time,' but I'll bet I'm not the only reader who still has this clipping,''

''As long as you've got old native Floridians like me around, no Key lime pie recipe will ever be lost,''

''I have reverently retrieved and scanned this brittle, beloved treasure from my archives," ``I've made this pie many times over many years, always to rave reviews.''

Quite a few others wrote to praise the recipe, which first appeared in July 1975 in Action Line after the death of innkeeper Fern Butters.

Butters came to Miami with her husband, Ed, in 1926. They owned several hotels in the Keys, including The Fern Inn at Mile Marker 81 (1950-1967). Her pie reportedly was a favorite of Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway and even Julia Child.

Butters would never reveal her recipe. After her death, her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Jack Butters, shared it with Miami Herald readers, with this admonition: ``It is of the utmost importance to follow directions exactly as given.''

''Believe it or not, my mother has a copy of the original article and a subsequent request for the recipe for the Key lime pie.'' wrote one reader. ``She has made it over the years and it has always been a great hit.''

One reader recalled that she first used the recipe as a newlywed in 1978. ``My husband's family loved this pie. I still have the original newspaper cutout and still fix the pie to rave reviews.''

Another says she recalls Fern Butters' as the key lime pie to get in the Keys. Fern Butter's pie was world famous.' ''

Please note that the pie doesn't keep well. ``The meringue tends to weep, get a bit sticky after a day or two -- but it's a truly beautiful thing the day you make it -- and tastes out of this world!''

Made in a 10-inch pie plate, this is a spectacular dessert with a meringue that towers majestically. We're so glad we got to try it.




Recipe Link: http://miamiherald.com

List of Ingredients




• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 6 eggs, separated (see note below)

• ½ cup Key lime juice

• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 baked 10-inch pie shell (two 8-inch shells may be substituted)



Recipe



Whip condensed milk and egg yolks together until light and creamy (regular electric beater, medium speed, about 8 minutes). Add the Key lime juice; let rotate at low speed for 1 second. Fold a few times with rubber spatula to be sure juice is thoroughly blended. Pour into baked pie shell; let stand.

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar for five full minutes. Add the sugar and beat 5 full minutes. Put on pie and brown in 350-degree oven (about 8 minutes, on middle rack). Chill before serving. Makes 10 servings.

Note: To avoid any risk of salmonella, you may wish to use pasteurized eggs such as Davidson's Safest Choice, available at Publix.