Everybody knows about key lime pie, but before it became a national star, another citrus dessert had already staked a claim as a Florida favorite. “Sour orange pie actually has a brighter, cleaner flavor than key lime pie, in part because it isn’t made with condensed milk,” says the chef Greg Baker, who grew up in Clearwater. Traditionally, the pie features the tart juice of the sour orange, an often feral fruit first introduced to Florida by sixteenth-century Spanish settlers. Baker’s update substitutes juice from an ordinary orange cut with lemon to approximate the flavor. (Though if you’re lucky enough to have sour oranges nearby, you can use the same volume of their juice in the recipe; just increase the sugar by ¼ cup.) Another modern twist on this old-timey classic: a salty, crumbly cracker crust that contrasts with the fluffy meringue and the sweet-and-sour filling.
