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Buttermilk pie is a custard-like dessert from the southern United States made with buttermilk and a cookie-like crust. It has a tangy, tart taste and is often served plain or with additional flavors. It is a sweet alternative to fruit pie and can be made with chocolate or fruit toppings. The traditional recipe does not call for vanilla or lemon zest.
Buttermilk pie is steeped in history and quite rich in flavor. A sort of custard pie, this type of dessert originates from the southern regions of the United States. Made primarily with buttermilk and a cookie-like crust, buttermilk pie can be served plain or with additional flavorings.
While it’s often called other names such as buttermilk chess pie, or simply chess pie, there is a difference between authentic chess pies and buttermilk pies. Chess cakes contain cornmeal and occasionally corn syrup, which helps this cake achieve the desired gelatinous texture. Chess pie is similar to vinegar pie or pecan pie, although pecan pie clearly has pecans added to it. These cakes are all quite sugary, often with vanilla added. Creme brûlée is another rich dessert often compared to buttermilk pie, though it’s also much sweeter than the traditional Southern dessert.
Alternatively, the buttermilk pie doesn’t use cornmeal or corn syrup, nor does it use as much sugar as the pies mentioned above. Instead, buttermilk is used, which gives the pie a tangy, tart taste, rather than an overpoweringly sweet flavor. While the finished product doesn’t taste sour, the buttermilk itself tastes slightly sour before it’s added to the additional ingredients. After all, this type of milk is made by adding acidic cultures to the milk, causing it to shrink. Internationally, buttermilk can still be produced naturally by bottling the liquid left behind after the churning process. North America however uses a more modern process.
An age-old delicacy in the South American states along the Mason-Dixon line, Texans say they’re especially fond of buttermilk pie. Their reasoning — and the reasoning of people in other states with a lack of local fruit growers — is that buttermilk pie is a sweet alternative to fruit pie when fruit isn’t always readily available. Many people, however, add fruit or other flavors to their buttermilk cakes. Celebrity chefs and home cooks alike make chocolate caramel buttermilk cakes as well as fruit-topped buttermilk cakes. The traditional recipe does not call for vanilla or lemon zest, although those ingredients are often added to the cake in the 21st century.
Once the ingredients are mixed together and the crust is pressed into the pie plate or tin, the pie is baked. Made with a traditional pie crust or cookie-like crust for a more breakfast-like feel, buttermilk pie is relatively simple to whip up. Some people bake the pie without a crust, though such chefs need to watch the baking process carefully so as not to pull the pie out of the oven before it sets. The buttermilk cake should be a dark golden brown on top.
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