Strawberry Buttermilk Pie

You want to know something crazy? I just booked a trip to Hawaii with a couple of friends and our combined seven children under the age of five.

Seven.

UNDER FIVE.

Heaven help us. But I am sooooo excited. Hopefully they all just take care of each other. Four-year-olds can babysit, right?

Ok, now pie. Strawberry pie. Strawberry and buttermilk pie! Sweet-tart creamy custard and baked strawberry filling in a buttery crust, served piled high with more fresh strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

We had such a rough winter that everything in our growing area is a bit behind. I’ve been stalking the farmer’s market, pacing around the tables of tomato-plant starters and giving staring at the spot where the peach guy will be.

My tree-fruit farmer gave me an insider tip that sour cherries will be arriving this weekend and I literally cancelled travel plans to be here to welcome them. (Ok, to hoard them).

Strawberries just showed up and I’ve been binge-buying them like we’re expecting a berrypocolypse. You can anticipate an unreasonable number of strawberry treats coming in the next few weeks

In this pie, juicy, jammy strawberries are baked in a creamy custard filling. Buttermilk is so lovely with strawberries, it complements their sweet-tartness beautifully.

The pastry recipe I’m giving makes two crusts even though the pie only requires one. Why? Because we are teetering on the edge of fruit abundance. You want an extra pie crust in your freezer for when the rest of the berries appear, don’t you??

I never make pastry without making a quadruple batch. I doubled this recipe and am left with three ready-to-go dough discs in my freezer. Perfect for free-form tarts or easy dinners for friends.

Short on buttermilk? Not a worry – use one of these quick and easy buttermilk substitutes.

Strawberry Buttermilk Pie

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 6
Dessert
Canadian

Ingredients
  

For 2 Pie Crusts

  • 11.25 oz 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 10 oz cold unsalted butter cubed
  • 6 tbsp ice water

For filling

  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 large eggs + 2 yolks
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 lb strawberries hulled and halved

Instructions
 

  • To make pie crust, combine flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter overtop and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Drizzle in the water and pulse a few times to loosely incorporate, then dump the dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper and use your hands to press it together into a cohesive mass. Divide in two equal pieces and form each into a disc of about 5 inches wide. Wrap up in parchment paper and refrigerate one disc for 1 hour (and freeze the other one in a freezer bag for another day! You'll thank yourself when that day comes.)
  • Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper into a 12" circle. Drape the dough into a 9" pie plate and gently press it down into the bottom. Freeze 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF with a baking stone or sheet placed on the lowest rack.
  • To make filling, melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat.  Remove from burner, stir in the sugar and let cool.  Meanwhile, add the buttermilk to a big bowl and whisk in the flour to dissolve. Whisk in the eggs, yolks, vanilla and salt, then the cooled butter mixture.
  • Arrange half of the strawberries over the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the filling mixture overtop. Bake on the preheated baking stone until the top is golden brown and the middle has just a bit of jiggle (as everyone's middle should), about 45-50 minutes. If the crust or top are getting dark before the filling is set, tent loosely with aluminum foil.  Cool on a wire rack and serve at room temperature topped with remaining berries. Refrigerate remaining pie for up to 2 days.

Last Updated on June 14, 2017 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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