Salty Honey Pie

Why hello caramel colored flawless pie top sprinkled with beautiful fleur de sel! 

Well, I tried another recipe from that book I got a few weeks ago! Remember? The book that resulted in this pie?

This salty honey pie was actually the first pie I had heard of long long ago that first sparked my attention to the four and twenty pie shop. Salty Honey pie?! Who had ever heard of such a combination of flavors? Not I! I was immediately intrigued.

This pie tastes like a ... hmm how would I describe it...like ...it almost tastes like a mouth full of salted caramel latte. You know, the kind from Starbucks? But then, upon further tasting it is most definitely the flavor of honey...just all nutty and wonderful and the like. So wonderful and nutty! Side note - I did cut out a good bit of sugar out of this recipe and would recommend it as it was plenty sweet enough.

Shout-out to my best friend for the cheese platters on which this picture was taken!

Boy was I surprised to cut into the pie and see a beautiful custard colored filling underneath. It just made the pie that much more visually appealing.

The flavor in this pie is so unique and the fleur de sel saltiness is a wonderful, wonderful counterbalance to the sweetness of the honey. Upon eating a slice I actually ended up going back and sprinkling more salt onto it!

Salty Honey Pie
Adapted from: The Four&Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

For the crust:

Any old butter crust will do. May I refer you to this blog post by my co-author Elyse for a wonderful recipe on butter and oil crusts...or you can buy a crust (judgement free zone here). My favorite is the Trader Joe's pie crust!

For the filling (this part is more fun anyway): 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornmeal (for texture)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup honey
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Fleur de sel for garnish

Note about the salt: you don't have to use fleur de sel. Any flaked salt with do but plain old table salt will not. These salts have a higher moisture content allowing them to sit on top of baked goods without simply melting away into them and losing their prettiness. 

Preheat your oven to 375 F. 

In a bowl stir together your butter, sugar, cornmeal, salt and vanilla. Add in your honey and your eggs (once at a time). Once well incorporated, stir in your heavy cream and vinegar. Pour your honey mixture into your pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Your pie will be done when the middle is all puffy and your pie is golden brown. Allow the pie to cool for 2-3 hours thereby giving some carry over custard pie time. Sprinkle with a flaky salt and taste this baby. I mean...pie. 

Enjoy!
Sam