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Me, texting: Hey Mom. Have you ever had buttermilk pie?
Mom: My Aunt Fanny used to make it all the time! It was her thing!
Me: I thought so. I never got to try it, but I found a recipe on Homesick Texan -- Lisa seems to share a lot of traditions with our family, judging by her chicken fried steak ...
Mom: Tell me how it comes out.
{THREE HOURS LATER}
Me: What did Aunt Fanny's pie taste like?
Mom: Very like tons of white sugar.
Me: I think I just made Aunt Fanny proud.
*************
I love buttermilk. I love pie. But I do not love buttermilk pie. Not authentic Texas buttermilk pie.
It's totally my own fault. I know I don't like super-sweet desserts. I should have stopped and read the entire blog post, in which it is clearly stated:
"And yes, in case you’re wondering, those two cups of sugar do make for a sweet pie but I wouldn’t cut it back too much or it will just taste wrong."
And Mary from Deep South Dish commented that a good buttermilk pie "should always be served with very strong coffee to cut the sweetness of the pie."
So I probably should have eaten my tiny slice of pie accompanied by a quadruple espresso. And maybe half a grapefruit. And a side of soap. And dental floss. I am talking SWEET. Like sweeter than honey. Sweeter than candy. Sweeter than tons of white sugar. It was Southern sweet.
Enough sugar in this slice to power a city block -- full of kindergartners.
It was also outstandingly creamy, and eggily custardy, and both silky and fluffy, and reminiscent of pecan pie without the pecans, and I could taste the tang of vinegar and buttermilk, and I love all those things. And my non-Texan husband thinks it's delicious: "Tastes like a buttermilk pancake slathered with syrup!"
And I haven't actually tried it with the quadruple espresso ... maybe that's all it needs?
Have you ever tried buttermilk pie? Do you like it traditionally sweet? Do you eat it with rocket-fuel coffee?
More Buttermilk Pie
- Lady Gouda makes an "impossible" buttermilk pie with Bisquick
- Elise at Simply Recipes cuts the sweet with the tartness of berries
- Donna at makes a delicate no-flour version
- There's a specifically "less sweet" version at NPR
