Mom’s Favorite Sour Cream Raisin Pie

My Mom grew up on a farm in rural Iowa. I spent many summers as a kid wandering through high rows of corn, gazing out at the endless rolling green hills, and ‘helping’ with farm chores (realistically, they probably just made up stuff for me to do to keep me out of the way). I also loved hanging around in the kitchen watching my Grandmother make pie after deliciously perfect, county fair, award winning pie. The way her fingers danced through crumbles of fat and flour producing a delicate dough that after a short time in the oven transformed into a buttery crisp vehicle for all manner of fillings seemed some sort of kitchen magic. I have been striving to achieve perfect pie making skills ever since. Nothing I’ll ever make lives up to Grandma Gladys’ versions, but my re-creations of her recipes come close enough to evoke the nostalgia in every bite.

There is one elusive Iowa pie, very obscure, that took complete hold of my Mom’s dessert loving heart, many moons ago. No one I know has ever heard of it, this Sour Cream Raisin Pie, and I’ll admit it does not sound all that delicious in name. This pie’s luscious, tangy, sweet creamy goodness is the type of thing that after one bite you’ll be chasing the euphoric pie high for ever. Except, I asked Gladys for the secret, and she gave it up pretty willingly, saving us all a lot of time, stress, and resources of an exhaustive search and recreation attempts. In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m surprising her with her very favorite ‘old school’ pie, in hopes of momentarily transporting us all back to the rolling greens, sweet alfalfa breeze, and carefree sunny summer days where the most important question of the day was: “What’s for dessert?”.

 Chef’s note: Custard pie recipes from days gone by are often made for a shallow, 9 inch pie plate type crust. If you are used to using a deep dish pie crust, you’ll need about 1.5 x the filling.

MOM’S FAVORITE SOUR CREAM RAISIN PIE

Ingredients:

·       ¾ c. raisins, soaked in warm water until plump & tender

·       3 egg yolks

·       1 tsp. vanilla extract

·       1 c. heavy cream

·       1 c. sour cream

·       ¾ c. sugar

·       2 Tbs. flour

·       ½ tsp. salt

·       1, 9 inch baked pie crust

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan (no heat yet), whisk together egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract to form a smooth creamy paste.

2. Mix together the 2 Tbs. flour with 2 Tbs. of the cream in a separate cup or ramekin to form a lump-free slurry. Whisk the slurry along with the heavy cream, sour cream, and salt into the egg mixture, and stir until smooth with no clumps and nothing stuck to the sides or bottom of the pan.

3. Place the sauce pan over low heat, and stir constantly while bringing the custard up to a gentle simmer. Be sure to stir across the bottom of the pan, and into the edges so that the custard does not cook and clump. Cook until the custard has thickened, with low bubbles around the edges, and reaches 200 degrees F by an instant read thermometer.

4. Drain the raisins, and fold them evenly into the cooked custard.

5. Pour the custard into the baked pie crust, and allow to cool completely before serving (at least 2 hours in the refrigerator).