Lemon Buttermilk Pie

This Lemon Buttermilk Pie has a flaky crust filled with lemon buttermilk filling and topped with freshly whipped cream! The filling has a lovely balance of bright citrus flavor and a subtle tang from the buttermilk. A slice of this pie is a slice of joy!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Chill Time 2

Total Time 3

Servings slices

Calories 618kcal

Author Amee

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1½ cups flour
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold (or vegetable shortening)
1 egg, cold
1 Tablespoon white vinegar (see note)
2 Tablespoon water, cold

Lemon Buttermilk Filling

1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream
¼ teaspoon lemon oil, optional (see note)

Whipped Cream (Optional)

1 ½ cups heavy (whipping) cream, cold
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pie Crust

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and cold, diced butter. Using a pastry blender (see note) or fork, cut butter into the flour until no large pieces remain. Your largest pieces of butter should be about the size of a pea.
1½ cups flour, 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
In a small bowl, combine egg, vinegar (see note), and cold water. Whisk to combine.
1 egg, cold, 1 Tablespoon white vinegar, 2 Tablespoon water, cold
Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until a soft dough is formed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly into a ball.
Roll the dough out to a size large enough to fit your pie plate. Line the pie plate with the dough, then place the pie plate in the refrigerator.
While the crust is chilling, preheat your oven to 325℉ and gather and measure your filling ingredients. The filling will be put into the hot (partially baked) crust, so you want everything readily available.
Once your oven is preheated, take the crust out of the refrigerator and line it with foil and fill with pie weights (see note). Place the pie plate on a baking sheet (this prevents spillage and makes the pie easier to move to/from the oven) and bake for 10 minutes.
Since you already pre-measured out your filling ingredients, you should be able to easily mix them together before the 10 minutes is up.

Filling

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Whisk together for a minute or two to help release the oils from the zest into the sugar.
1 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
Add the flour and salt to the sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next.
¼ cup flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 3 eggs, at room temperature
Gradually add the buttermilk while whisking. Then add the melted butter, lemon juice, heavy cream, and lemon oil (see note). Whisk until combined, but mix gently as to not incorporate too much air into the mixture.
1¼ cups buttermilk, ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream, ¼ teaspoon lemon oil, optional
Once the crust has baked for 10 minutes, remove it from the oven and carefully remove the foil/weights. Pour the filling into the hot crust and bake another 40-50 minutes. Start checking the pie for doneness at the 40-minute mark. The pie should be set on the edges, but still jiggle in the center. Allow pie to slowly come to room temperature before chilling completely (see note), for at least two hours, but four is better.

Whipped Cream

Place cold heavy cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start the mixer on low speed, and gradually increase the speed to high. Whip until the cream thickens and forms peaks. Add vanilla bean paste (see note), and mix to incorporate.
1 ½ cups heavy (whipping) cream, cold, 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Pipe or spoon the whipped cream on top of the chilled pie.
The pie will keep, covered loosely, for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
You can prepare the dough for the crust ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to two days or in the freezer for up to three months.
You can also freeze the baked pie without the whipped cream, just make sure that the filling is cooled completely before freezing. Wrapped well, the pie will keep in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw the pie in the refrigerator prior to adding the whipped cream.
Enjoy!

Notes

Note on vinegar - You won't taste the vinegar in the crust, it will just help to make it more tender. That said, if you don't have white vinegar, consider taste in what you substitute. Apple cider vinegar would be a good fit, but your aged balsamic would likely lend a strange flavor and alter the color of the dough.

Note on pastry blender - While a pastry blender isn’t necessary to cut the butter into the crust, it does make the job faster and easier.

Note on pie weights - Weights help when blind-baking the crust, keeping the dough from rising/getting bubbles as it bakes. This makes sure that you have the room that you need for filling. You can buy actual pie weights if you’d like, but I just use black beans. They’re cheap and you can use them over and over again.

Note on lemon oil - Adding the oil is optional, but it's a nice little added kick of lemon flavor. If you'd like to substitute with lemon extract, double the amount to ½ teaspoon.

Note on vanilla bean paste - It's one of my favorite ingredients, so I couldn’t resist adding some to the whipped cream! If you’d rather substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.

Tips on avoiding cracks in the filling: A cracked pie isn't the end of the world, especially when it's going to be covered with whipped cream, but it will have prettier slices if it doesn't crack. A few tips: Make sure your oven is appropriately preheated, take the pie out of the oven before it's completely set, and allow the pie to cool slowly (let it come to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator).

Nutrition