Salted Honey Pie

January 26, 2014

Salted Honey Pie | une gamine dans la cuisine

Manifest

Mornings here, I put my French on: underthings, white blouse, a tight skirt.
I dress letter by letter, I wear my accent comme ci.

To the fleuriste, I am charming
with my child-language-syntax,
the way I knock over with my draped elbows
glass shelves and vases, shatter
imperfect verbs.
Astonishingly, I know the word jonquille;
with azaliée, I get lucky.

Having said my peace, I clutch a madness of daffodils,
a profundity of azaleas. The bouquet rustles
and down the wet stairs, my shoes and skirt
click and swish. On the Metro
everyone is silent.

~ Lisa Ortiz, from Literary Bohemian 


Salted Honey Pie | une gamine dans la cuisine


This pie is a minxy ingénue. It's voluptuous - gussied up in an all butter crust and bedecked with fleur de sel, but the toothsome honeyed filling keeps it grounded and homey. In all honesty this in one of the best pies I've had the pleasure of meeting. For anyone drained by the winterest of all winters, this pie will make you remember things; sweet honey, lush spring greens, wildflowers, dusty long driveways, and sticky ice cream fingers.

We're *this* close to making it though January. A salty honey pie will hold your hand and usher you, with breathless excitement, towards February.


On a side note, my camera broke...or rather I broke my camera (always use a step ladder when taking overhead photos, not a pile of mismatched books). Until I can find a replacement my posts may be few and far between. xo


Salted Honey Pie | une gamine dans la cuisine


Salted Honey Pie
makes one yummy 9-inch pie 
adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

for the crust (makes enough for a single crust 9-inch pie) Feel free to use your own favourite pie crust recipe. :)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (that's 1 stick) very cold, unsalted butter - cut into chunks
1/2 cup ice water
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

ingredients
1/2 cup (that's 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar {Note: I reduced mine by about 3 Tablespoons.)
2 Tablespoons cornmeal (I used yellow)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of your favourite honey {Note: Pick a delicious honey - its flavour will dominate the pie.}
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
2 Tablespoons fleur de sel, for garnish

method
Prepare the crust: In a large mixing bowl - whisk together the flour, cinnamon (if using), salt, and sugar. Add the chunks of cold butter - toss to coat. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into flour mixture until you're left with nubby bits of butter the size of oatmeal flakes and peas. {Note: Don't worry about uniformity, it's better to under-mix.}

In separate small bowl,  combine ice water and apple cider vinegar.

Sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons of ice water mixture over flour/butter mixture. Use a bench scraper to mix/cut until water is incorporated into dough. Adding about 1 Tablespoon of ice water mixture at a time, continue to mix/cut until dough just starts to form a ball and holds together when pinched (you probably won't need to use all the ice water/vinegar). Gather the dough into a ball - if necessary, wet your fingers and gently nudge any dry bits of dough into the ball.

Shape the dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

On floured surface, roll the chilled disc of dough out into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8-inch thick). Gently place circle into a 9-inch pie plate and trim the edges so there's about a 1-inch overhang. Tuck excess dough under and crimp edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

For the filling: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, cornmeal and salt. Add honey and whisk vigorously until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking for about 1 minute after each addition. Add cream, white vinegar, and vanilla paste (or extract, if using) and whisk (once more!) till combined and mixture is smooth.

Pour filling into chilled pie shell. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until the filling puffs up like a marshmallow and the center is just slightly-wobbly. Remove pie from oven and place onto cooling rack. After about one hour, sprinkle pie with fleur de sel.

Cool completely before serving (about 5-6 hours).

29 comments:

  1. As if this winter weren't bad enough - and now I hear your posts will be few and far between? Your pie looks lovely, but it is NOT enough to sustain me through February. Keep posting, even if you have to draw the pictures!

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  2. I broke my trusted point and shoot this summer ..found a similar replacement but it's not the smae:( I hope you find the same one as you and your camera are such a great match.
    Beautiful pics always.

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  3. What a gorgeous pie. It is so good to have reminders of warmer times right about now! We are cold but nothing like you all are going through.. You have my sympathies for that and for your poor camera. So sorry to hear, that's painful news for a blogger!

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  4. What a gorgeous pie, the salted honey combination sounds simply irresistible! So sorry about your camera - from experience, sometimes a step ladder is no more sturdy than a stack of books (aka, I almost fall off with every single shoot! ;))

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  5. Looks absolutely scrumptious!! The saltiness has me dreaming and drooling.

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  6. A fantastic combination and beautiful pie! I'm sorry to hear about your camera...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  7. it looks amazing. i want to try one of these!

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  8. damn girl, damn. i'm sorry about your camera. i still have that rinky dink p/s that you're welcome to, if you need/want it. i never use it.

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  9. Amazing photography, those photos came out stunning.
    Also, the pie itself looks delicious!

    {Teffy's Perks} X

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  10. I saw this on joy the baker and was so intrigued and now you've made it too.
    Sorry about the camera; I think I will never have the chance to have a big girls camera.
    Thankfully my iphone is doing a pretty good job, now if only it would stop being so dark & gray outside!

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  11. Yum! I have an Apple Crumb pie in the oven now, but this one is going to next! Roads are icy here....so no driving for a day or so. Something WE SOUTHERNERS are NO used to! I can throw a rock to the Gulf of Mexico! We are not supposed to have ice storms!

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  12. Such lovely photos. Never thought of baking a honey pie before, must try!

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  13. I think I'm going to require a meeting with this pie. I sure could use a reminder that spring will be here shortly and that this cold, bitter winter is short lived. This is one gorgeous pie. I hope you find a new camera soon.

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  14. I love simple pie recipes like these, they are so classic...and that top photo is gorgeous, reminds me of a gibbous moon.

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  15. @Sue: You're right, it does look like a gibbous moon! (When there's pie involved, who needs cheese?) :D

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  16. Valerie - pies are not my favorite BUT this one might just raise them up on the list of divine desserts. I honestly can't believe how tasty this sounds and looks. Great photos!!!

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  17. Oh no, sorry about the camera- but that will be a good excuse to get a new one ! I am in the mood for some salty sweet comfort pie, this looks like my call :-)

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  18. a very good combination of ingredients and successful recipe, i like the way it look and gotta have a great taste

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  19. I don't think I have ever tried a honey pie. this one looks like a good place to start

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  20. Oh dear, so sorry to hear about your camera, I'd be a wreck and mess altogether if I'd lost mine (and out of job for a while). But this pie, I believe can sweeten any sorrow, take care!

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  21. I'm so in love with this pie! It is just everything a pie should ever be. Gorgeous!

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  22. Hi Valerie! I found your blog a few weeks ago (through Pinterest) and I've been dreaming of this pie ever since! I'm making it right now! One question - Do you cool the pie in the fridge or at room temp? I want to cool it in the fridge, as I won't be serving it until late tonight, but I'm afraid it will "sweat." What do you think? Thanks for the great recipe. I'm looking forward to exploring your blog! Your photos are absolutely stunning! -Rebecca

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  23. @Rebecca, I would let the pie sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before placing it in the fridge. Refrigerating a pie that's fresh from the oven might make the crust soggy (I'm guessing!).

    Hope you love it as much as I did! xo

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  24. Wonderful salted honey pie recipe. I’d love to make this for my family Christmas morning. Do you think it would be possible to make this the 23rd, let it cool and then seal up and then reheat Christmas morning?

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    Replies
    1. Jill, I'm so sorry I never got back to you! For some reason this and several other comments wound up in my spam folder (something I rarely check). If you made this pie for Christmas, I hope everyone loved it. xx

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  25. This salted honey pie just looks so incredibly delicious and I am so craving a slice right now! Thanks for sharing..

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  26. This salted honey pie just looks so incredibly delicious and I am so craving a slice right now! Thanks for sharing..

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  27. i love salted honey pie .i will try it at home made.thanks for this post

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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