Lemon Buttermilk Pie with Saffron
A delicate and luxurious pie featuring the bright flavors of lemon and buttermilk, enhanced with precious saffron threads. This classic Southern-inspired dessert has a flaky homemade crust and a silky custard filling.
Ingredients
- •1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- •1 tablespoon sugar
- •½ teaspoon kosher salt
- •½ cup chilled unsalted butter
- •¼ cup buttermilk
- •2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- •6 large egg yolks
- •3 large eggs
- •1¼ cups buttermilk
- •1¼ cups sugar
- •1 tablespoon lemon zest
- •⅓ cup lemon juice
- •¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- •1 pinch saffron threads
- •2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- •1 serving whipped cream
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
5 min
- 2.
Transfer to a large bowl and add buttermilk. Mix with a fork, adding more buttermilk by the tablespoon if needed, just until a shaggy dough comes together; knead very lightly until no dry spots remain. Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 4 hours.
240 min
- 3.
DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
- 4.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll out pie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14" round. Transfer to a 9" pie dish, allowing dough to slump down into dish. Trim dough, leaving about 1" overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edge. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Freeze 15 minutes.
25 min
- 5.
Line crust with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is dry around the edge, 20-25 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until surface looks dry, 10-12 minutes longer.
35 min
- 6.
Meanwhile, blend egg yolks, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and saffron in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add 2 tablespoons flour, then butter. Tap blender jar against countertop to burst any air bubbles in filling and pour into warm crust.
10 min
- 7.
Bake pie, rotating halfway through and covering edges with foil if they brown too much before filling is done, until filling is set around edge but center jiggles slightly, 55-65 minutes. Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let pie cool. Serve pie with whipped cream.
60 min
- 8.
DO AHEAD: Pie can be baked 2 days ahead. Keep at room temperature up to 6 hours; cover and chill to hold longer.