Buttermilk Blueberry Pie

This weekend I am going to be heading up to Lake Tahoe to visit my friend Kate and her family. I always love going to Lake Tahoe because Kate and her family are the nicest people, and we always end up doing something fun in the beautiful Tahoe scenery. Last summer we went horseback riding and drove around the lake on a boat, and this past winter we all went skiing in the enourmous and fluffy mounds of snow. This year I don’t know what out activities will entail exactly, but I know it will be fun and relaxing and that my friend Sarah will probably make bananas foster like she does on every trip, which is really all any of us needs. But before I headed out on the road, I decided to make a Fourth of July-related recipe to post before I leave, and here it is! I’ve always liked blueberry pies, (like is an understatement), but have never tried to make one myself until now. Since I am kind of obsessed with blueberries, I decided to make it in a springform cake pan so that I could make it ridiculously deep and fit as many blueberries as humanly possible. I also baked it with a buttermilk custard, which went quite well with the berries. I love cutting fun patterns into the tops of pies, and since it is near the anniversary of the founding of our great nation, I used star cookie cutters to create a nice “spangled banner” design on the top crust. It doesn’t really look like the flag, but there are stars on it so it’s kinda close. The pie came out looking really lovely, I think I will make all of my pies in cake pans from now on so I can really pack in the filling. I hope you all have a lovely Fourth with your friends and families and eat a ton of good food. I know I will!

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Buttermilk Blueberry Pie

Course Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Cooling Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Author Eva Kosmas Flores

Ingredients

Crust

• 4 Cups Flour
• 1 and 1/3 Cups Butter cold and hard
• 2/3 Cup Ice Water
• 3 Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 and 1/4 Teaspoons Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Filling

• 4 Eggs whisked
• 3 Egg Yolks whisked
• 33 Ounces Bluberries
• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Grated Lemon Rind
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Instructions

1. First, make the crust. In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into roughly 1 inch size pieces over the bowl, allowing the butter pieces to fall into the dry ingredients. Pour the cold water into the bowl and mix the dough together with your hands, kneading until everything is completely blended. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you roll it out.
2. Now begin making the filling. In a large saucepan, heat half of the blueberries over medium heat, breaking them apart with the end of a wooden spoon as they cook. Bring them to a boil and then reduce heat to low and continue simmering until the mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool until warm but not hot.
3. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, yolks, and mix until blended. Then add the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until completely combined. Stir in the grated lemon rind and the fresh and cooked blueberries. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and flour the inside of an 8-inch springform cake pan. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and seperate it into two pieces, one that is 2/3rds of the total dough and one that is 1/3 of the total dough. The bigger ball of dough will be the bottom crust and the smaller ball of dough will be the top. Roll out the big ball of dough onto a well-floured surface, keeping it in a nice circular shape. Once it is about 1 cm thick, transfer it onto the cake pan and mold it into the sides of the pan, letting the extra crust hang off the sides.
5. Roll out the small ball of dough, keeping it in a circular shape. Once it is about 1/4 inch thick, take a star cookie cutter and cut six stars out of the pie, one in the exact center and five around the center star. Pour the filling into the pie and then place the starred crust on top. Use your thumbs to press the edges of the crust together and cut off any excess crust. After the edges of the crusts are secured, lift them up a bit so that they don't hang down over the edge of the pan too much, otherwise when the pie is done and you unhinge the cake pan, the crusts will break off when the sides of the pan expand.
6. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pie is golden brown. If the crust begins to brown too quickly, remove the pie from the oven momentarily, put tin foil over the edges of the crust, and place the pie back in the oven until it is done cooking. Allow the pie to cool for at least an hour, or until it reaches room temperature. Then remove the sides of the springform cake pan and serve.