Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pie
“Deep South buttermilk pie recipe made from scratch! Buttery homemade crust with a sweet, creamy custard filling”
Watch me make this old-fashioned buttermilk pie from start to finish!
Buttermilk pie…ahh the memories. And not good memories might I add! Ya see, growing up I HATED buttermilk pie. I didn’t like the sound of it and def. didn’t like that mushy filling.
It wasn’t very pretty and it just tasted like..well…vanilla and sugar. I honestly didn’t see what all the hoopla was about or why my uncle Coodah always requested a buttermilk pie when he came to visit his “country family”. As a child, this pie was flat out….boring!
It wasn’t until I got much older that I begin to appreciate the simplicity of a good ol’ southern buttermilk pie! I still can’t get my kids to eat it so I guess they are taking after their mama. Have you ever had a buttermilk pie? This pie is pretty much as southern and old fashion as it gets! The ingredients are so simple and cheap.
What’s so good about Buttermilk Pie you ask?
Well …I find it pretty darn fascinating how it forms its own top “crust”. Although it really isn’t a crust at all. It’s just 3 layers of sweet filling, all with their own texture. The very top “crust” is golden with a very slight, barely-there crisp to it, the next layer is soft and airy and the bottom layer is thick, creamy, and custard-like.
It’s nothing fancy but it has the potential to be everything fancy depending on how you serve it up.
Depending on where you’re from is probably gonna determine how you like the texture. Some folks prefer it very runny, some like it firm and others like it super gelled like a fluffy cheesecake! Myself? I prefer it right in between! Not runny but yet firm enough to keep its shape when it’s cut.
Buttermilk Pie: To Serve Immediately or Let Set?
That is the question and totally up to your texture preference!! For me, I prefer to let it cool off after the oven and then refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight to get that perfect custardy texture. When I’m ready to serve, I eat it cold or room temperature! My husband likes it warm with a cup of coffee. I’ve noticed most Southern cooks just let it set for a few minute when it comes out of the oven and then serve it up. It’s divine either way really. Try both ways and see which one tickles your fancy the best.
I love how this buttermilk pie just melts in your mouth! So light and delicate. It has a mellow taste of vanilla with a hint of tartness from the lemon and buttermilk followed by the warmth of cinnamon. It reminds me of the taste of vanilla ice milk. Because the flavor is so versatile it’s really fun to pair up it with different toppings like whipped cream, fresh fruits, chocolate drizzle, nuts, or powdered sugar.
However, you’ve been warned, this pie is PLENTY sweet! I like it as it or paired with a fruit that’s sweet and tart like strawberries or kiwi. It balances everything out so nicely.
You can use a store-bought pie crust but it’s AMAZING with my favorite buttery pie crust recipe! If you are not a fan of a soft bottom on a pie then prebake the crust for about 10-15 minutes before adding the filling.
Get the Recipe: Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch Pie Crust, I use this butter pie crust recipe
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In a large bowl cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Mix in egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Add in buttermilk. (The batter will be speckled)
- Mix in flour, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy.
- Fold egg whites into batter until completely combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pie crust.
- Bake for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes or until the center is barely jiggly. (cover with foil if top begins to get too brown during baking. I've never had to)
- Remove from oven and let cool. Pie will get firmer as it cool.
- *optional* After pie has cooled refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight for a firmer texture.
- Serve plain (warm or cold) with fruit topping or cream topping if desired.
Video
Notes
*optional* Bake pie crust for about 10 minutes if you do not like a soft bottom crust.
Adapted from family recipe.
Me and my husband first time making a buttermilk pie i hope i did well i hope we love it ready for it to be done so we can try it but it sounds so amazing ❤
Ok. So this was my first ever time baking and eating a buttermilk pie! I must say, for my first one it was the ugliest most DELICIOUS pie I’d ever crossed my fingers and hoped for the best with! Lol! First off, The filling overflowed on one side of the pie crust because I overfilled the pie crust. THEN my pie browned toooo quickly. It wasn’t burnt at all(taste or smell) but resembled overcooked Carmel! Lol! But that TASTE? OMG, heavenly! So I made another one but I wanted to ask you Chef, I noticed before I added the frothy egg whites, my custard appeared so velvety smooth and just plain beautiful! But after I folded in the egg whites, everything looked sad and kind of runny. But before that my filling resembled that velvety texture of sweet potato pie filling…. Can you offer up anything that I may have done wrong? Do I HAVE to add the egg whites at all next time? But just wanted to say, great recipe! Even though my very first pie accidentally came out great, I wanted to pay more attention to the ingredients and the order to which each ingredient is combined. Which is why I asked the question because I distinctively observed the change in my custard texture with my second attempt at this pie. I loved the first pie. I hope the second one is just as great. I didn’t overfill the crust and I placed a “Teepee” shaped piece of foil over the second pie for the first 20 minutes to avoid it browning to quickly. Any response is greatly appreciated. Keep cooking and baking, you are so great at what you do!
If you go to step number 5 the last thing it says to mix in is vanilla and I’m pretty sure it should say cinnamon instead because the vanilla was already added in, in step 3…
I tried this recipe for the first time to serve for Thanksgiving. It was delicious!
Hi. I’ve enjoyed searching your recipes and really baking them.
This one. The Buttermilk Pie (egg custard).
Whatever I could do wrong, I must have. Flavor is great.
I am not a baker, but oh honey child I am learning from you and I have enjoyed all your recipes I recommend your website to everyone please keep the recipes coming everything has been delightful thank you
When do you add the cinnamon? The directions are missing that information.
Thank you.
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Pretty sure toward the end where it says vanilla again it is supposed to say cinnamon.