Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Buttermilk Pie – The Best Pie You’ve Never Heard Of

I can understand certain recipes being relatively unknown, but this buttermilk pie is not one of them. Not only is this easy to make, and beautiful to look at, it’s also bursting with the kind of bright, tangy flavor that no other custard-style pie can touch. Like I said in the video, this is sort of like a vanilla custard, meets lemon meringue pie, meets very light cheesecake. Except better.

I’ve never had much trouble finding buttermilk, even in regular, non-fancy grocery stores, but depending on where you live in the world, apparently that’s not the case. There are many “hacks” for making a substitute, usually using milk and lemon juice, or vinegar, and I’ll let you Google those at your leisure, but I’d be more inclined to try some yogurt, thinned out with some milk.

I think that would be closer to the tanginess of buttermilk, but as far as the recipe “working,” one cup of any type of dairy product should yield similar results. Once your pie is made, it can be served “as is,” or topped with seasonal fruit. I went with raspberries, mostly for the pictures, but if you were going to do this for the holidays, some persimmons, and/or pomegranate seeds would also be very nice. Regardless of how you serve it, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for one pie:
Enough pie dough for a 9-inch pie dish
(I used half a recipe of our butter crust dough)
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk

- Prebake crust at 350 F. for 15-20 minutes, let cool, then fill and bake for another 45-55 minutes, or until the filling is golden and “set.”

48 comments:

sarmoso said...

Would powdered buttermilk substitute work?

Charlene Jutras said...

Thank you so much for this recipe! I live in south-(Georgia) and my grandma used to make this. Recipe probably memorized, so I never found written one. I am excited to try this.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! This one was a perfect recipe that I can't wait to try. Unfortunately, in Russia we don't have buttermilk laying on the shelves in regular stores, so I need to substitute it. Thinning yogurt out with milk sounds good, but what do you think about using kefir (which we have plenty of)? It's tangy, delicious, nutritious, and I think quite similiar in consistency to the liquid you showed in the video.

inchrisin said...

Now you owe us a scrapple or goetta recipe. I'm very much looking forward to this one. Thank you, sir!

Unknown said...

Where is the link for butter crust pie?

rlbaich said...

1/8 Tablespoon of nutmeg? Is that 3/4 teaspoon? I never before heard of this amount being in a recipe.

FSB said...

O.K.; I've looked at buttermilk subs via Google. How about a mix with cream cheese? Would that reasonably work?

Khushnaz said...

Looks absolutely delicious! Another winner from Chef John

Ben said...

I hope this isn't blasphemy, but could I put the filling in pre made crust? Would I need to change anything about the method? I love buttermilk but baking isn't my forte.

Unknown said...

Chef John, LOVE the Caddyshack reference. Definitely going to make this pie!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Chef John! I'll be making this tomorrow and just have one question. If I wanted to use homemade creme fraiche (yes, I'm an addict now thanks to you) instead of buttermilk, would that still work? (and yes, I know...it negates the whole idea by changing it from buttermilk pie to creme fraiche pie) but I am a rebel.
Your thoughts on creme fraiche as a buttermilk substitute?

Warren said...

Classic family recipe... making it tonight. Thank you, Chef!

jen123 said...

I love you!

Unknown said...

I tried it, it was awesome! thanks for the recipe, i wish i could show you the pics of it, it doesn't look as great as yours though!

Unknown said...

Looks amazing! Can't wait to try it. You are my FAVOURITE YouTube Chef. Thank you Chef John!

Guy and Jeanette said...

Man does that look good. I will have to try this.
How about thinned out sour cream instead of buttermilk?

aaassss said...

Just tried it, tastes really great. I would caution others to use less sugar though. I already reduced the amount by 1/3 and it was still too sweet for my taste.

Anonymous said...

how about a coconut cream pie

Anonymous said...

how about Bee-Sting cake

mike hipp said...

Thanks for the recipe. I'm making this right now. I used a Pillsbury crust instead of making one. I can report, using the same kind of pie plate that Chef John uses, that a bought crust does not give you enough crust to roll the edges like Chef does.

Mister H said...

Wouldn't using an electric mixer saved on dishwashing? You have to now wash a bowl, a spatula, and a whisk. If you used a mixer, you would only wash a bowl and the paddle attachment.

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John! I made this pie yesterday and it was really really good! I made 1,5 times the amount of the filling because it was for a crowd, and I baked it in a square pan, although I think the filling was not thick enough, next time I'll probably double the quantities, except for the sugar because I thought it was a tiny bit too sweet..) I also made a raspberry coulis to go on top and sprinkled some pistachios.
Anyway, the guests and myself really appreciated it, and like you said, it is in fact a cross between a lemon pie and a cheesecake, but lighter!
Thank you very much for the recipe, love from Tunisia!
Beya
Ps: to substitute the buttermilk (we don't have access to it here) I used what we call here "rayeb" which is a naturally fermented milk, and it worked really well.

Frimmy said...

I made this. It was sublime!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef!

Can I make this deliciously looking cake without sugar?

Lawrence said...

I've made something called a Chess Pie, which looks identical to this. And which is a treat nobody ever heard of if you bring it to holiday dinner. Same thing?

Warren said...

Petr: You can make anything look delicious... taste, is a different matter. https://fakefoodjapan.com/

Lawrence: I thought the same thing! My grandmother used to make Chess Pie as well. Buttermilk Pie looks very much like it, but is different.

Toklineman said...

Out of curiosity, never having heard of such a thing, I made this yesterday and it turned out well; we were both pleased with the flavor. Not having any raspberries around, I took some raspberry jam, homemade by my sister in Washington state, and stirred in a splash of Mathilde Framboise liqueur. No sugar dusting needed

Edward said...

"So I've got that goin' for me, which is nice." Thanks! Bill Murray forever! I never had this growing up in the South, but it tastes exactly like so many other things with buttermilk in them from there, like buttermilk biscuits!

Unknown said...

the recipe on the blog calls for 3 Tablespoons of flour - didn't see it in the video.

Samiiii said...

So wait, does anybody know a way to crumble the butter like e did without a food processor?

Poingat Opinion said...

Made this for our Thanksgiving pie. I only used 1 Cup of Sugar and it turned out great. Trying to cut back on carbs.

Also, because I live where lemons grow and are in abundance at certain times of the year, I freeze the pureed lemon in ice cube trays. (First I zest the lemon and take out the seeds then put the remainder in my Nutri Bullet making a puree.) I used two cubes of puree in lieu of the Freshly squeezed juice and some dried zest.

Ken, the flour and salt are incorporated right after the butter and sugar are creamed together.

Chef Cat said...

Would love to see your take on "Melktert" which is pretty basic, but I'd say it would be a good contender against the "Buttermilk Pie".

Amazing recipes (rescued me from several menu disasters) and hope you have a great holiday season.

Regards
Chef Cat

Unknown said...

any adjustments needed for using a convection oven?

Will said...

Here's the link to the butter crust dough: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/03/easy-homemade-pie-crust-now-with-50.html

CRjonz said...

Chef John, this site has become my #1 go-to site for recipes...living in Peru I need all the help possible. The suggested substitutes really as you can't buy a lot of products here that are available i the US.

This recipe reminds me of Chess pie which is something my grandmother used to make. I believe her recipe is lost (currently polling relatives). I would love to see your take on Chess Pie. Thank you for all your posts.

Unknown said...

What about a gramcracker crust

Anonymous said...

Nice tablecloth!

Unknown said...

I followed the sequence exactly. Used a mixer though. I had a problem with it separating and looking grainy instead of smooth. What did I do wrong?

Unknown said...

I made this today to take to Mom's house for Sunday dinner. Great pie and I'll definitely make it again. It will be even better when I figure out the exact measurements to suit my taste for the lemon zest and juice. I tried it both chilled and room temp and I too prefer it chilled. Thank you sir!

Clipping Solutions said...

Awesome recipe. I will make this at home. https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/10/buttermilk-pie-best-pie-youve-never.html

Catfish Kempster said...

I made this today and it turned out amazingly well. I'd say perfect but that's hubris, plus I've never had a Buttermilk Pie before so how would I know if it was perfect.
Thanks again for another great recipe and equally enjoyable video.

Unknown said...

Terribly disappointed. 350... took 75min and was way over baked. I’d like to try this at 425 20min and reduce to 325 for 30min

Landon said...

How deep is that pie dish? What would happen if you used this recipe in a regular size pie dish??

Danny said...

Chef John! Would you kindly be able to let me know why this happened in my attempt to replicate your recipe? I didn’t have buttermilk so I went with the option of using yogurt. I added milk to the yogurt to come to a similar consistency of the buttermilk. 70 ml of milk to 160 g of yogurt is what I did and then mixed together so it would be uniform. The problem was that when I mixed this to the pie mixture disaster happened. The yogurt split!!! Any ideas for this not to happen when using yogurt as substitute of buttermilk? My end result was a disaster as you can see. I ended up being the master of my disaster! Cheers

Patty said...

Chef John, I love your recipes and videos and frequent your blog. I.i’ve made some of your recipes with success but unfortunately this one doesn’t work the way it’s wriiten. I made the pie this evening and unfortunately have to throw it out it wasn’t setting up and had to bake it over an hour. I just tried a piece and it is way too liquidy.
I found another recipe and it says with the same exact in gradients but it says 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Your recipe says juice of 1 lemon which is way more than a tablespoon of course depending on the size of the lemon. I thought it was too much liquid but always like to stay true to the recipe the first time I bake it.. I’m just writing so that someone else making this does not have the same problem.I had.
Please know I stilll love all you offering sharung of so many great recipes.
Thank you....Patricia

Patty said...

Hi Chef John, I love your blog and wonderful recipes you offer. But unfortunately I have to tell you I had problems with this Buttermilk Pie Recipe. I see everyone giving it a good rating. My problem with it was it was too liquid. The recipe calls for juice of 1 lemon and a lemons come in all sizes this one was quite juicy. I read other sites with the same ingredients after I made mine and they all only call for 1 TBL of lemon juice. Unfortunately I had to throw the whole pie out. I used the best butter and organic sugar. But it was curdled and liquid. I was quite disappointed. I can't understand how no one else had this problem. I'm a very good baker and always follow recipes exactly. Please let me know if anyone has had this similar problem and just didn't mention it.
I will try it again one day but with much less lemon juice.
Thank you for sharing all the other great recipes.
Pat

Patty said...

Hi Chef John, I love your blog and wonderful recipes. But unfortunately I have to tell you I had problems with this Buttermilk Pie Recipe. I see everyone giving it a good rating. My problem with it was it was too liquid. The recipe calls for juice of 1 lemon and lemons come in all sizes and this one was quite juicy. I read other sites with the same ingredients after I made this one and they all only call for 1 TBL of lemon juice. I had way more than 1 TBL. Unfortunately I had to throw the whole pie out. I used the best butter, organic sugar and fresh from buttermilk. But it wouldn't set well and was very liquid. It did hold together but was loose. I don't know how no one else had this problem. I'm a very good baker and always follow recipes exactly. Please let know if anyone had this problem and just didn't mention it. What do you think I did wrong?
I will try it again one day but with much less lemon juice.
Thank you for sharing all your other great recipes.
Pat

Unknown said...

Dude, girlfriend made this to perfection on the same day she passed her first water-boiling 101 test, so yeah, it's stoopid-easy.

I wanna tweak it with a cream-cheese addition and some cinnamon/vanilla/nutmeg/brown sugar swirled in or spread on or infused somehow. Basically want the gooey goodness part of a cinnamon roll to be in this pie.

Thoughts?