Wildflower Honey Pie with Buttermilk Crust
The flaky, tart crust and creamy, sweet filling make a wonderfully harmonious dessert that's perfect for when you're looking for a unique treat.
Ingredients
Crust
- 8 tbs butter, cut into cubes and chilled
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup chilled buttermilk
Pie Filling
- 3/4 cup wildflower honey (Go local! Your allergies will thank you)
- 3 tbs butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (Or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped)
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (Optional, to cut the sweetness)
Instructions
Buttermilk Crust
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter, working until you've got a coarse, mealy crumb about the size of peas.
- Make a well in the center then add about 1/4 cup of the chilled buttermilk. Blend with a fork, trying to moisten as much of the flour as possible. You want the dough to just barely come together, so add more liquid as needed, but add only about 1 tbs at a time from here.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface then gently knead and press into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Now's a good time to start with the pie filling.
- Once chilled, return the dough to a floured work surface, then roll out to a circle about 12 inches in diameter, or about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer it to the pie pan and fold, crimp, and trim the edges as needed. Return to the refrigerator and chill for at least another 30 minutes, but up to 3 hours.
Pie Filling
- Warm the honey in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter to melt.
- Whisk together eggs, vanilla, salt, and vinegar, if using. Pour this mix into the honey mix and stir. Refrigerate to cool, up to 1 hour.
Pie Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Pour the filling into the crust, then bake until the pie is golden brown, set at the edges, and just about set in the center, about 50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour before serving, but ideally you'd wait until it was just about room temperature.
- Serve with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt, or a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream, and enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to use a store bought pie crust, or a leftover from our pastry crust recipe, it just won't have the same twang. To balance things out, try adding a teaspoon or two of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the filling.
