Easy And Delicious Buttermilk Pie Recipe

Black bottom buttermilk pie is a famous dessert in the South. My daughter-in-law recently brought one over, and I am in love! This is a buttermilk pie recipe with a decadent layer of chocolate ganache.

Buttermilk pie in general is a delicious southern tradition. Like chess pie or southern pecan pie, it uses ingredients that a southern cook is likely to have on hand, including butter and eggs for a custard pie texture.

In this recipe, the buttermilk layer ingredients include:

• a cup buttermilk, which gives the pie its tangy flavor as well as calcium. For a buttermilk substitute, you can add white vinegar or lemon juice to milk.
• half a cup butter
• a teaspoon vanilla extract
• three large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, and a pinch of salt

But what makes this deep dish pie so special is the “black bottom” part. That rich, dark layer marries chocolate with cream and a little brandy. The top layer turns golden brown in the oven, while the lower ganache layer adds a blissful chocolate base.

Ask any of my kids and they will tell you that I LOVE chocolate with a passion. I also adore a homemade pie for dessert, and the chocolate layer makes this pie taste like heaven. Chocolate buttermilk pie is the best of both worlds, so I’m going to be saving up my calories for more of this treat.

You can use a store-bought pie crust for this recipe, but I recommend making your own. If you’re new to baking pies from scratch, check out my No Fail Homemade Pie Crust. I tried to make my recipe as simple as possible because I know making pie crust can be a little intimidating at first. But I promise, this recipe doesn’t compromise on taste in the least!

Not counting the pie crust preparation, prep time for this recipe is about 35 minutes, and total time is about 2 hours.

Can I use the freezer instead of the fridge to chill the pie?

Absolutely, you can freeze this pie! Just be sure the pie pan you are using can handle such extreme temperature changes. Going back and forth from a freezer and oven can be stress inducing on the pie pan, especially if your pie pan wasn’t made to endure that. You should be able to look up your brand and read the manufactures warning. Older Pyrex pans tend to be durable. You can tell it is older if the PYREX is in all capital letters.

Do I have to use the brandy in black bottom buttermilk pie?

Nope. You can opt out all together if you would like. If you omit the brandy, just increase the amount of cream you use by ¼ cup to compensate for the liquid. However, I will say the brandy does add a depth of subtle flavor to the chocolate ganache layer of the pie!

My buttermilk pie jiggles! Do I cook it longer?

Anytime you make a buttermilk pie, cheesecake, etc., it’s going to have a little movement to it when you take it out. This is actually a great sign. The pie will firm up as it cools. I would be so bold as to say that it’s crucial not to overcook a buttermilk pie or it will curdle. Curdled buttermilk is one of the most disgusting things you will ever eat. One time, my grandmother overcooked a buttermilk pie. It was like eating a sweetened scrambled egg pie. That said, any pie with eggs does need to be fully cooked for food safety. My oven tends to prefer the full 1 hour and ten minute cook time for this black bottom buttermilk pie recipe.

Do I have to refrigerate my pie?

Since it’s all cooked, this pie can easily last a few days on the counter. BUT I prefer the taste of the cold buttermilk pie, and the refrigerator definitely will extend its life longer. Not that you’ll have to worry about it being around that long: this is a deliciously rich pie that gets eaten fast.

Black Bottom Buttermilk Pie

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 chilled pie crust
• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips 12 oz
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk whole

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll the pie crust dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 9 inch pie pan. Crimp the edges of the crust and then chill in the fridge until ready to use.
• Mix the chocolate chips and brandy in a bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring often to avoid scalding. Remove cream from the heat, pour over the chocolate, and let the mixture sit for a minute. Whisk gently until smooth. Pour mixture into the chilled pie crust and spread evenly. Then set in the fridge until firm, at least 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl mix the flour and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixer beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for about a minute or until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and lightly beaten eggs.
• Alternate mixing the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the egg mixture until smooth after each addition. Once well blended, pour the filling over the firm, chilled chocolate layer in the pie crust.
• Bake in preheated oven a total of 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes on the middle rack, until top of pie is gold brown and toothpick comes out clean. Check the pie at 50 minutes and cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting too brown.
• Let pie cool for an hour before serving. If you like, top your pie with whipped cream, ice cream, and/or fresh berries.

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