Getting us through.

On the menu: Maple Buttermilk Pie

I do hope it’s not too soon for another Heidi Swanson recipe. This pie has been on my list of things to bake since this post was published a few months back, and I finally buckled down and made it over the weekend.  As much as I long for the fruity pies of summer, custard style pies such as this one get us through the winter just fine. Buttermilk pie was new to me, but it’s been around for a long time–it’s a traditional Southern dessert. The filling combines buttermilk, eggs, flour, and sugar. Heidi Swanson jazzed her version up with a hint of woodsy maple and a bit of lemon zest for brightness, and she baked her custard in a rye flour pie crust. The combination sounded irresistible.

I made the pie exactly as instructed on Heidi’s website. I tend to stick to my guns with my basic pie crust recipe, but something about the combination of rye flour and a sweet, tangy filling made me try Heidi’s crust. Making the crust turned out to be the best part–Heidi uses Chez Pim’s pie crust technique, which involves rolling out the dough and folding it over itself multiple times to create layers of buttery, flaky pastry. Kevin, the bread guy, happened to have exactly 75 grams of rye flour left in our pantry. Perhaps it was destiny.

The pie bakes for an excruciatingly long hour, and it scented our apartment up just like a sugar shack in the early spring. We let it cool to room temperature before I sliced into it, and we were rewarded with a soft, airy custard that was tangy and sweet with a hint of maple that came out at the end of each bite. A couple tips: be sure to use Grade B (or Grade A Extra Dark, as it’s called in Maine) maple syrup here to get the most mapley goodness. Also, you may want to reduce the amount of lemon, as it was borderline overwhelming to both of us. The smooth tang of the buttermilk really makes this pie shine.

And the crust. Oh, the crust. The rye flour added a deep, subtle savory element, which contrasted quite well with the custard. It shattered under the pressure of a fork. Rolling and folding pie dough might be a new addition to my pie crust routine. The flakiness was unbelievable.

For the recipe, visit 101 Cookbooks.