Buttermilk Pie with Whipped Honey Creme Fraiche *Recipe #29 - page 194*

If you love tangy food and desserts, than this is your recipe. Once again, Tyler does not dissapoint with this dessert recipe. The pie crust was the easiest and best pie crust I have ever made. Everything about this pie was easy. The only criticism that I have about it is that it did need to cook longer than the allotted time. I do find this to be true on his baking recipes. Maybe it's my oven, who knows. I made a full-sized pie and then also had enough crust and filling to make three small individual pies.
RECIPE
Pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 recipe honey creme fraiche - Using the whisk attachment on a kitchen stand mixer, beat 16 oz. creme fraiche on high for 45 seconds, until it tightens up slightly. Fold in 2 tablespoons honey with a spoon so it is just mixed but you can still see swirls of honey. (I halved this recipe because I could only find a 8 oz. container of creme fraiche). I do not like sour cream and creme fraiche reminded me a lot of this. Everyone else enjoyed the topping. I elected to use cool whip with honey drizzled on top. Try not to make fun of me....this is the only way that I could eat the pie because it was very tangy to me and I really do not like tangy at all.

For the pastry, combine flour, 2 tsp. sugar, and the salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add butter and shortening and continue to process until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add cold water and process until dough comes together in a large ball. Turn onto floured surface and gently knead a few times until dough is smooth. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 mins.

Preheat oven to 350. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Put on top of a 10" tart pan (or pie pan as I used) gently pressing it around the insides of the pan. Trim any overhang and discard. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake in the middle of the oven about 20 minutes or until the crust is set and just firm. Remove weights and cool pie shell.

Reduce the oven temp to 325F. To make the filling, use the paddle attachment of your kitchen stand mixer. Beat the butter and the 1-1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy and pale in color. Add egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice and nutmeg. Mix until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add flour and continue to mix until combined. Transfer buttermilk mixture to a separate bowl. Thoroughly wash mixing bowl and attachment with soap and hot water; return to stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites, half at a time, into buttermilk mixture. Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (or longer) until the pie is set (the pie should still be pale in color). Cool and serve with honey creme fraiche or cool whip and honey : )

Serves 6 to 8