Salted Honey Pie

Spoiler alert–the next few weeks are all David Lebovitz recipes all time.  I’ve probably already talked about how much I enjoy the author, blogger and former Chez Pannise baker.  But have I talked about his Instagram (@davidlebovitz)?  I don’t experience a ton of social media envy but Mr. Lebovitz curates his gram very, very well (and enjoyably).

I can’t remember if I saw this pretzel crust on his instagram or blog but I knew I had to try it out with “why didn’t I think of that” urgency.

He paired it with a salted honey filling.  And since honey pie sounded simultaneously sounded delicious and novel, I followed suit.

A note on honey.  I used what I already had in the pantry–which I think was an everyday clover honey.  Mr. Lebovitz suggests using a darker honey because it is less sweet.  About a week after I made this pie, I was chatting with a former student who had spent some time during her after graduation travels working on  a kibbutz in New Zealand that made manuka honey (produced from the Manuka tree).  Manuka honey is pretty pricey–but also supposed to be medicinally magical. So next time I might spring for some Manuka honey for a salted honey pie…as if pie could get any more transcendental.

While I didn’t find the honey taste to be particularly overt, the combination of salty pretzel and creamy rich filling was incredibly satisfying (at least until I wanted another bite).

Salted Honey Pie with Pretzel Pie Crust

for the crust

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 C (140g) pretzel crumbs (I ground mine in the food processor)
  • 3 TBS sugar
  • 6 TBS (85g) unsalted melter butter plus additional for preparing dish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Lightly butter a pie plate or pan with butter.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the pretzel crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until the crumbs are saturated with the butter and everything is moistened and evenly mixed.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie plate or pan and use the heel of your hand or the bottom of a coffee mug (TMH preferred method) to press the crust mixture across the bottom of the pans and up the sides.
4. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, until it’s slightly golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.

for the pie and filling

Ingredients
  • 8 TBS (113g)  unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 C (45g) sugar
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 3/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 C (240g) honey
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 C (120g) sour cream, heavy cream, or crème fraîche (TMH: I used heavy cream because I had it in the fridge)
  • 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
  • flaky sea salt, to finish the pie

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC).
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and honey.
  2. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the sour cream and vinegar. Scrape the filling into the baked pie shell.
  3. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is almost set. It should still jiggle, but not be watery. (If the edges of the crust get too dark during baking, use one of the techniques listed in the headnote to mitigate that.)
  4. Let the pie cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving.
Note: Mr. Lebovitz offers a variation whereby you replace 3 TBS of the dairy (cream/sour cream etc) with bourbon or dark rum.  Someone needs to do this and report back.