Blueberry Buttermilk Pie
It wasn’t until watching The Great British Baking Show that I realized that the “pie” that’s been a part of my life since my childhood is a distinctly American dessert. Sure, Europe has “pies” too, but at least half the time they’re sneaking meat or things that are almost meat into them.
And by almost meat I mean organs…kidneys, brains, intestines. I’m sorry you had to learn about that from me, but really, you’re old enough to handle it now.
In America, pies came to mean something different. A flaky pastry enclosing the regional or seasonal fruit available to you. Or a pastry cradle holding custard, nuts, molasses, you name it. They were made in a thrifty round shape in a size meant to feed a family. Pies became synonymous with family celebration. Sure, you made a cake for someone’s birthday, but when the whole fam-damily got together for Thanksgiving or Christmas, you always had a pie or five.
Pie was so important that when we ran out of ingredients, we just figured that shit out and made it happen anyway.
Enterprising cooks who couldn’t get lemons but loved lemon meringue threw down and made a damn delicious vinegar pie. No apples or peaches? How about tomato pie? Likewise, chess pie and buttermilk pies are both traditional Southern custard pies born out of a lack of the “usual” ingredients, and both are astonishingly great.
My first taste of chess pie was at Pour Richard’s in Bluffton, South Carolina, where Allie’s chocolate bourbon pecan chess pie rocked my world. It was like discovering a new country, or being the first person into space, or maybe inventing cheese.
So when I saw recipes for buttermilk pie (chess pie’s creamy cousin), I was all over it like a donkey on a waffle.
My first run at it was delicious. I used the traditional ratio of 1 cup buttermilk to 3 eggs to 1 1/4 cups sugar to 1/2 cup butter. Plus a little flour and about a cup and a half of fresh blueberries.
Pie number one.
It was a very pretty pie, and a lovely creamy custard. But it didn’t wow me. I thought, “You know what else is a custard, and does wow me? Lemon bars.” Lemon, blueberries - a beautiful combination. Therefore, I tried to bend this pie toward a lemon bar. I broke out my Ina Garten lemon bar recipe, which is completely beyond compare…and ironically, proceeded to compare it. One problem, though was that lemon bars don’t contain butter. Hmm. You know what does contain butter? Lemon curd!
Thus, armed with three recipes and three ratios, I attempted to combine them into One Pie to Rule Them All. I broke out pen and paper and got to work.
The result is a lemony custard chock full of blueberry goodness. One that wowed me. One I would be proud to share with Allie…and am also sharing with you.
Don’t thank me. Thank science.
Shit You Need
For the crust:
This is 3:2:1 pastry dough, a classic for pies. By keeping the butter in slightly bigger flakes, you get a flaky crust. By rubbing the butter into smaller pieces, a more tender “short” crust is the result. For a par-baked single-crust pie, the shortcrust version is preferred by most people, including me (which is all that counts on this blog).
I am giving you weights in grams. If you are a regular baker, I know you have a kitchen scale, and grams just make the math easier.
360 grams all-purpose flour (3 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
240 grams unsalted butter, chilled. Or you can go with 170 grams butter and 70 grams shortening/lard. The use of shortening or lard is believed to make the crust a bit shorter in texture.
120 grams ice-cold water (1/2 cup)
For the filling:
Let’s stick with the weight theme!
300 grams sugar (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (1 - 2 lemons)
40 grams flour (1/4 cup)
110 grams unsalted butter, melted (1/2 cup)
3 whole eggs plus one egg yolk
250 grams buttermilk (one cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60 grams freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/4 cup, 1 1/2 to 2 lemons worth)
200 grams blueberries (2 cups)
Keep Calm and justeffingcook
Don’t be put off by the length of the directions here. Virtually all of it is about the crust. If you are a regular at making pie crust, it will be more than you need. If you’ve never made pie crust before, you may actually need to call me for a consult. I’m here for you.
Make the crust:
Fill a 2 cup measure with ice and add water to fill it. Give it a stir and set it aside.
Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine. If using a food processor, weigh the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl, tip into your food processor, and pulse to combine.
Cut the butter (and shortening or lard) into 1/2 inch pieces. Do it quickly, but if you drag your feet, pop it back into the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so before adding it to the flour.
Next, cut the fat into the flour. If I use shortening or lard, I cut the fat into the flour in two batches: lard/shortening first, aiming for a sandy texture at the end, rather than lumpy. Then I add the butter and smush/rub/cut until I have fat lumps the size of small peas. Because I use my fingers, I do it quickly, and sometimes pop the bowl into the refrigerator at the end to let the mixture cool again. Alternatively, you can do all this with a pastry cutter.
If using a food processor, add the fat in two batches - even if using all butter. Pulse 7 or 8 times after the first add, and 8 - 12 times after the second add, aiming for those pea sized bits at the end.
Make a well in the center of the mixture. (If you’ve used a food processor, empty the mixture into a mixing bowl.) Measure 1/2 cup ice water and add it all at once to the flour/butter mixture. Toss quickly with a rubber spatula, bowl scraper, or your fingers, using a light touch until the water is evenly distributed and the dough just starts to come together.
Dump the mixture onto a lightly floured surface (pastry stone, silpat sheet, clean countertop), and gather and press it together with your hands. Divide into 2 portions, shape each into discs, enclose in cling wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. You’re going to par-bake a crust!
Roll one of the discs into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Use a floured surface, floured rollin pin, and dust the top of the dough with flour. Roll from the center outward, and flip the dough from time to time to re-flour the top and bottom.
Drape the dough into a 9 or 9 1/2 inch pie plate, careful not to stretch it. Shape it into the pie pan, and leave 1/2 inch overhang past the edge, trimming the excess.
Roll or tuck the overhang underneath itself, keeping the crust on top of the edge of the pie plate, making it less likely for the crust to slide down into the pan as it bakes.
Crimp the edge any way you like - I make a ruffle. Pop it into the freezer for 15 minutes, or the fridge for 30 minutes.
Normally, before par-baking, you prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Here, you won’t. Any fork holes (insert joke here) will let the filling seep underneath and fork up your bottom crust (there’s the joke!)
Instead, dust the bottom lightly with flour and press parchment paper or foil smoothly into the pie crust, making sure it’s in contact with bottom, sides, even over the edge.
Fill the whole thing with pie weights, beans, rice, etc. The lentils that you forgot at the back of your pantry for 5 years are an excellent choice here. But do use a generous amount, and make sure whatever you pour in there also supports the sides.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully remove parchment or foil along with the weights, and cool.
Make the filling:
First, set your oven temperature to 350 degrees. Let it either preheat, or cool down if you’ve just par-baked the crust.
Whisk sugar, lemon zest , flour and salt together in a large bowl.
Add melted butter and whisk to combine.
Whisk in eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and lemon juice.
Add blueberries to the par-baked pie shell, and pour the filling on top.
Bake for 55- 60 minutes. Check after 45 minutes. If the crust is looking brown, add a pie shield or a ring of foil around the edge.
Once your filling has puffed up all around, is slightly golden, and has a slight jiggle evenly across the top, it’s finished. Let cool. A little time in the refrigerator prior to serving makes it perfect.
Because this is a custard pie, this needs no accompaniment like ice cream or creme anglaise. Even whipped cream might be gilding the lily a bit, but who am I to judge you?
