The discovery that dayap are indigenous to the Malay peninsula 
and probably an ancient citrus fruit here in the Philippines really had me on a roll the other day so I decided to try out a custard pie in the tradition of those famous “Key Lime Pies†of Southern Florida. This is a truly simple recipe and all of the ingredients are readily available here in Manila. Although I have patterned this after recipes for “authentic†Key Lime Pies made in the days before there was fresh milk in the Florida Keys therefore the reliance on sweetened canned condensed milk, it is mostly inspired by the need to “pie-nap†this lime pie back to its regional roots. Enjoy this Dayap Pie a la Marketman.
First, make a graham cracker crust. Put about 30 graham 
crackers (squares, not 3 squares together being one cracker) in a food processor with ½ cup or slightly less of butter and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Pulse it until if forms a slightly wet grainy dough. Do not over do it. This can also be done by hand if you do not have a food processor. Press the crumbs evenly into a 10 inch pie pan. Try to get it as even as possible and go up the sides too. Place in a 330-350 degree oven for about 10 minutes and remove and cool on a wire rack. Pre cooking this crust will create a firm container for the custard. Next, beat 6 large egg yolks at low speed until a pale yellow color. Add about 550ml of condensed milk (roughly two small cans here in Manila) then about 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of dayap juice (use whatever limes that are available if you live abroad), and 2 teaspoons of grated lime zest. Do not overmix. Pour into the graham cracker shell and put back into the 350 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes until just set. Do not overcook. Remove and cool.
The Dayap pie came out looking absolutely terrific. Except for slight burning of the crust due to my unpredictably mercurial oven that decided to turn hot the other day, this was just dandy. 
Served with some whipped cream from leftover heavy cream we had in the refrigerator, and I have totally blown my South Forbes Diet in with just one slice of pie. It was delicious and the flavor of dayap very noticeable. It was so incredibly rich, however, that I could only eat this in small doses. Rarely do you need whipped cream to cut down the “richness” of the pie. If you are Cebuano, you would understand the description of the pie being almost “ngilngig” a term my grandmother used to use for rich desserts and a word many non-Filipinos have difficulty pronouncing properly. I will just have to walk another 5 kilometers one of these days to make up for the temporary diet weakness…
12 Responses
dayap zest is, for me, the best flavoring to use when making leche flan and pastillas de leche. The wonderful candied yema that is sold at the salcedo market does have a hint of dayap, if i’m not mistaken. i just wish i can gather enough courage to one day try creme brulee and panna cotta flavored with dayap… as you can see, i’m a fanatic. Thanks for your enlightening post and yummy recipe
Vielen Dank, MM! You solved my problem. You see I have people coming over for a cookout in the garden after work. I have everything planned but the dessert. My guests always like the Viennese pies and pastries we make from our garden fruits (oh, they’re so organic-conscious, my friends, and they know we don’t spray our fruits) but I am getting bored with those. I thought of making leche flan but your lime pie excites me. Will it be a success or a fiasco? Abangan! Will keep you posted.
Hi Marketman,
I really enjoy visiting your site, it’s the first thing I do before starting work :)
I’m not sure if we have graham crackers here in Ireland, can I use digestive biscuit instead?
Thanks and more power!
edee
Thanks for the recipe Marketman!
i was in amsterdam layover when I read about the roses then my comment disappeared LOl
I must be missing my Market man…other than learning about food I learn about new tagalog words from your site, at last I know whats dayap now.
south of france is very grey today humid, but heck it will clear soon then its hot
Marie if you use a lot of dayap zest you MUST get a microplane zester for USD12-15? if you don’t already have one. It makes the BEST citrus zest, BAR NONE. The tip of one is in the third photo. Virgilio pay attention to NOT overmixing, not overcooking, the pie is a bit sensitive but otherwise super easy. Edee, try the digestives on a smaller scale to see if they work, then let us know your results! Joey, you are welcome. Schatzli, grabe ka naman you internet on layovers as well? Good luck in the South of France! Thanks for stopping by everyone!
must be really good to blow your sfd… anyway, you can always start tomorrow. goodluck!
where can we buy the microplane zester? i read it in a mag once that a store in manila is selling it but i forgot the name.. please let me know
thanks
bam the Cook’s Exchange stores at Mega Mall, Rockwell basement and Gloietta used to carry microplanes, you might try there…
There are also microplanes at Gourdo’s (The Fort, Glorietta) and their sister company Living Well (Podium).
Making bagnet from scratch thoroughly discouraged me timewise but your dayap lime pie I can see myself making with Thai limes and that quickie graham cracker crust.
Read your profile bec your attention to detail and quality struck me. I went to the Lausanne Hotel School in a first life.
It’s a beautiful sunny day in Geneva, part of which will be devoted to making pancit molo.
very nice, you might want to try pounding some kaffir lime leaves and mixing this with the custard and just straining it before baking, adds that nice different lime dimension to it.