If you’re on the hunt for the perfect summer pie, look no further than this Atlantic Beach Pie. A golden saltine cracker crust hugs a silky condensed milk-citrus filling, all crowned with cream cheese whipped topping. A marriage of various textures and flavors, this cool and creamy treat is the bright and refreshing answer to all your sweet summertime cravings.
Atlantic Beach Pie
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 2⅓ cups (180 grams) roughly crushed* saltine crackers (58 to 60 crackers)
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- Filling:
- 2 cups (624 grams) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons (6 grams) lemon zest
- ½ cup (120 grams) fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (60 grams) fresh lime juice
- 6 large egg yolks (112 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Yellow food coloring (optional)
- Topping:
- 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, softened
- 7 tablespoons (84 grams) granulated sugar
- 1⅓ cups (320 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray with flour. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
- For crust: In a large bowl, stir together crushed crackers, sugar, and salt until combined. Add melted butter; stir until combined and mixture holds when pressed together. Press mixture into bottom and 1½ inches up sides of prepared pan.
- Bake until lightly golden, set, and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
- For filling: In a large bowl, whisk together condensed milk, lemon zest and juice, lime juice, egg yolks, and salt until well combined. Stir in food coloring (if using) until desired color is reached. Pour into prepared crust, spreading into an even layer, if necessary. Use a wooden pick to pop and fill any bubbles on surface, if desired.
- Bake until crust is golden, filling edges are set, and center jiggles slightly, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight, loosely covering with foil only when pie is completely chilled.
- For topping: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth and well combined. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low; gradually add ½ cup (120 grams) cold cream and vanilla, beating until smooth and stopping to scrape sides of bowl. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add remaining cream (200 grams), beating until thickened. (Do not overprocess.) Spoon topping into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch open star piping tip (Ateco #826); pipe on top of pie as desired. (See Note.)
Notes
*To crush saltine crackers, place in a large resealable plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to crush crackers until pieces are ¼ inch or smaller.
Note: This recipe yields enough whipped topping to either pipe a pretty border or completely cover the top.
Note: This recipe yields enough whipped topping to either pipe a pretty border or completely cover the top.
This was so amazing! The salty, sweet, sour along with the creaminess of the lemon filling was unique. The butter from the crust did leak so next time I’ll have a cookie sheet under it. Fortunately it didn’t hurt the end product. A new summer favorite.
This was an incredible dessert. I was skeptical about the saltiness crust, but it works really well with the tartness. Definitely will be making this again.