Old Fashioned Lemon Buttermilk Pie

This pie is the dessert equivalent of the dorky high school kid that nobody wanted to talk to who ended up becoming a fashion model.

If you were to take it to a holiday party, it might sit untouched for who knows how long. It just doesn’t look all that fancy (because it’s not). But trust me, attitudes will change once someone takes a piece and the word spreads.

Sometimes the most plain looking thing can be the most interesting once you dive in.

At its base, this lemon buttermilk pie is a classic custard pie, but it has a perfect balance of sweet and sour and has a really bright flavor. It’s addictive stuff.

My favorite part? Once the custard sets up you can eat a piece of this pie like you would eat a slice of pizza. I ate a piece once while in the car just because I could.

Whether or not you make your own crust, add this pie to your list this holiday season. I already can’t wait to make it again!

• Need a different flavor profile? Try this Banana Coconut Cream Pie!

Lemon Buttermilk Pie

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3.59 from 73 votes

Author: Nick Evans

Servings: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Cooling Time:: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

This custard pie is such an unassuming pie, but will be a hit at any party! Easy to make with just a few ingredients!

Equipment

• 1 Pie Pan

Ingredients 

Pie Filling:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large lemon, juice and zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extra

All-Butter Crust: (Recipe from 4 and 20 Blackbirds Crust via Food52.)

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup ice

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Instructions

For the crust:

• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cubed cold butter to the dry mix and coat the butter cubes with flour. Then use a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until it’s in pea-sized pieces.
• Combine water, apple cider vinegar, and ice in a separate bowl. Add the liquid to the dry stuff a tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together with some crumbs on the edges. You should need 4-6 tablespoons of the liquid.
• Shape the dough into a round disc, adding more liquid in small drops if needed to get the dough to stick. Once the dough is in a solid disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for at least an hour, but overnight is best.
• When ready to make pie, Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Roll pie crust out on a lightly floured surface until it’s roughly 10 inches in diameter. Transfer to your pie pan and trim edges to your liking. Poke some holes in the crust with a fork and line the pie with parchment paper or foil. Then add pie weights or dry beans to the crust.
• Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.

For filling:

• Whisk together sugar and flour in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until mixture is smooth.
• Pour filling into cooled pre-baked pie crust. Adjust oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake pie at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until center is set.
• Let pie cool for 45-60 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftover pie in the fridge for up to five days.

Notes

Pie filling recipe adapted from a My Recipes post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 851IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2mg

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Lemon Buttermilk Pie

The Crust

You don’t necessarily have to make your own crust for this pie. Whatever works for ya. I always like the opportunity to work on my crust game though if I have the time.

Recently, I’ve been trying out this recipe from a Brooklyn bakery and it’s really good. I like to make crust the night before so it has time to hydrate in the fridge.

The crust rolls out really beautifully and easily. In no time, I have mine rolled out and transferred to my pie pan.

When it comes to the edges, I don’t do anything fancy. I just pinch the crust between my fingers to give it a bit of a decoration. It’s a simple pie. Don’t overthink it.

You do need to pre-bake this crust for this pie which is an annoying step (and possibly a good argument for using a pre-made crust). I just pull out my canister of pie beans though and toss them in the pie with some parchment paper. Poke a few holes in the crust before you do this so steam can escape.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Lemon Buttermilk Pie Filling

This is about as easy as a pie filling can get. Whisk together the flour and sugar in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.

Then whisk the wet stuff into the dry stuff and stir until it’s smooth.

Pour this awesomeness into your pre-baked crust. Look at that color!

Baking the Pie

Bake this pie at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. It’s done when the center is set (although it might jiggle a bit which is fine).

The hard part is that this pie really does need to cool for 30-45 minutes before you try to slice into it so the custard can set up.

The finished slice is rich and creamy.

For how easy the filling is, this is a no-brainer pie to try this year. I’d put it against any other pie I’ve made recently. It was WAY good.