For Natasha Burton, a pastry chef and the founder of Mixed Fillings Pie Shop in Jacksonville, Florida, it all started with her Easy-Bake Oven. “When the light bulb finally gave out, my mom let me graduate to the real thing,” she says. “Baking became a space where I could experiment and express myself.” As a Sunshine State native, Burton counts local key limes among her favorite ingredients when she’s getting creative in the kitchen. “Where a standard lime can feel clean and straightforward, a key lime has layers,” she says. “They’re smaller, more aromatic, and a little more assertive.”
Come June and July, when temperatures soar and the limes hit peak ripeness, Burton has one dessert in mind: key lime pie. “In the middle of summer, you don’t want anything heavy,” she says. “You want something that wakes you up. Key lime pie does exactly that. It’s cool, it’s creamy, but it has that bright acidity that cuts through the heat.” Burton has tweaked her version (see recipe) over the years. What started as a weekend dessert for family and friends became an obsession. She refined the textures and balanced the flavors before landing on a crushed pretzel crust—giving the pie a satisfying sweet-and-salty contrast.
When gathering the golf-ball-sized fruits at the market (or, if you’re in Florida, from a friend’s backyard tree), look for limes that are turning yellow, a sign of ripeness. The skin should give slightly with a light squeeze, an indication they’re full of juice. To slice through the swelter, serve Burton’s pie chilled with cool whipped cream. “It’s the kind of dessert that feels like a breeze off the water,” she says, “light, a little tangy, and just sweet enough to keep you coming back for another bite.”
