Buttermilk Pie
The rural Yankee housewife accumulated many recipes calling for buttermilk. Here, it lends unique flavor to a custard like buttermilk pie.
By Yankee Magazine|Mar 29 2019|
Buttermilk Pie
Photo Credit: Aimee TuckerIn the Yankee spirit of “use it up,” the rural housewife accumulated many recipes calling for buttermilk, the liquid that is left when butter is churned. Here, it lends unique flavor to a custard like buttermilk pie.
Ingredients
9 inch unbaked pastry shell
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
grated rind of half a lemon
2 cups buttermilk
Instructions
Prepare and chill a 9-inch unbaked pastry shell. Whip butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to beat. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Add grated lemon rind. Slowly beat in buttermilk. Pour into the unbaked pie shell and bake in a preheated 450° oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325° and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is nicely browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Best when served warm.
This looks very similar to the sugar cream pie of north central Indiana.
This reminds me of “Melktert” in South Africa – the recipes are pretty similar. Both seem to have a colonial background. In South Africa the first Dutch settlers created it and as I understand that Buttermilk Pie is a considered a “Southern Classic” in the US, I assume that the French brought it over. The major difference between them: “Melktert” is not made from buttermilk but from full-cream milk.
I have loved this pie for a very long time. Fav from my childhood and I have passed the recipe to many through the years.