Key Lime Pie Recipe

Directions:

1. Make pastry shell Cut butter or lard into bits. In a bowl with a pastry blender or your fingertips blend all pastry shell ingredients except ice water until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in enough ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a dough. Form dough into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
2. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 15-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate. Trim dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, and crimp edge. Prick shell all over with a fork. Chill shell 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in lower third of oven 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights or rice and bake shell until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool shell completely on a rack.
5. Make filling In a food processor blend cream cheese, lime juice, and condensed milk until smooth. Add zest and pulse just until combined. Pour filling into shell. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat crème fraîche with confectioners' sugar until it forms soft peaks and spread evenly over filling. Arrange lime slices on top of pie. Chill pie, loosely covered, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.