Honey Chess Pie

5 from 3 votes

This salted honey chess pie has a creamy custard texture full of floral honey flavor. It's baked in a flaky all-butter pie crust (or frozen pie crust) and topped with a drizzle of honey, flaky salt, and fresh whipped cream.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Chill time8

Total Time9 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 290kcal

Author: Callan Wenner

Equipment

Food processor or pastry cutter for homemade pie dough
9" pie plate
Parchment paper
Pie weights, or dried rice/beans
Whisk

Ingredients

1 pie crust all-butter pie crust or store bought*
½ cup granulated sugar 100g
⅔ cup honey 224g
½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs + 2 yolks reserve the whites for egg wash
½ cup full-fat buttermilk 114g
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
1 tablespoon corn meal
Flaky salt for topping

Instructions

Pie Crust

Roll out the pie dough, fit it to the pie plate, then trim and crimp. Place the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 375℉/190℃.
1 pie crust
Remove the crust from the freezer and dock the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork. Add a piece of parchment paper then fill the crust completely with pie weights or dried rice and beans.
Par bake the crust for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and weights and brush the insides of the crust with an egg white wash to seal. Bake for another 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325℉/163℃.

Filling

Heat the honey and butter in a small saucepan and stir until the butter is completely melted.
⅔ cup honey, ½ cup unsalted butter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs vigorously until slightly lighter in color.
½ cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs + 2 yolks
Stream in the slightly cooled honey mixture while whisking, then add the salt, buttermilk, vanilla, and corn meal and whisk to combine.
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup full-fat buttermilk, 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract, 1 tablespoon corn meal
Add the pie plate to a baking sheet, then pour the mixture into the cooled par-baked pie crust. Very carefully transfer the tray to the oven, careful not to slosh the filling over the sides.
Bake the pie for 40-50 minutes, moving the pie to the lower third of the oven for the final 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for two hours, then refrigerate (uncovered) for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Top the pie with flaky sea salt before serving. You can also add whipped cream and an extra drizzle of honey to the slices, if desired.
Flaky salt

Notes

Store the baked pie lightly covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Save the egg white (from the yolks needed) to use as an egg wash on the pie crust during the par-baking process.

When done, the pie will still have quite a lot of jiggle to it, but it should not be sloshy. The outer two inches will be more set than the center. It will feel underbaked, but it will set up during the cooling process. The pie will be slightly puffy and lightly brown around the edges, as well.

*If using a store-bought pie crust, par bake with weights for 10 minutes, then egg wash and bake for another 5 minutes.

Add a foil rim to the crust edges if they're browning too much during the baking process.

I recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure temperature accuracy. Too high can burn the honey on the top and too low won't set the pie.

Whipped cream topping (optional): add ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to a stand mixer and whip with the whisk attachment on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Nutrition