Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Have you ever had a hankerin' to recreate some comfort food out of your past? Several weeks ago I celebrated a birthday. A birthday I didn't think I would live long enough to experience (at least in my ten year old mind). A birthday that makes me want to breathe into a paper bag every time I think about it. A birthday that the fine facial lines, dark hairs (not grey, mind you, black.... quite an insult to a blonde!), jiggly upper arms (and OTHER areas I don't want to talk about, either), driver's license and seventeen year old son give away. In short, a BIRTHDAY I am still in DENIAL over!

I decided on that birthday that if I was going to be a ** something, I was going to do what I wanted and EAT what I wanted (at least for 24 hours). Recreating the Blueberry Sour Cream pie I ate years ago when I was a 20 something, was on my Birthday Bucket List (so was figuring out how to use my Birthday I pod, but that's ANOTHER story!).

I first ate this delicious dessert at a Frontier Pies restaurant, years ago (back when I could eat whatever I wanted and the calories didn't permanently adhere to my posterior!). It started with a flaky pie crust, then a layer of vanilla custard, a layer of fresh blueberry filling, and finally a deliciously thick layer of sweetened whipping cream! It was divine, and addictive; especially if you are a blueberry lover! I enjoyed it on several occasions, but sadly, the restaurant went out of business. I hadn't thought about it in forever, but as my birthday loomed, I began to crave it again. After a fruitless search on the Internet to find the recipe, I posted a query in the food forum on Pinching Your Pennies. Eureka! Someone found the recipe for the custard layer for me (for which, I am eternally grateful!). Now, I needed to recreate the blueberry layer. After perusing my cookbook collection, I found something similar in one of my favorite cookbooks:



"Heirloom Baking With The Brass Sisters" (written by Marilynn and Sheila Brass; two of my favorite culinary gurus). Here is what I came up with!

(Not the actual picture of the pie. The little piggy's at my house ate it before I could photograph it. This picture is to give you an idea what it looks like!)

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie
(makes one pie)

One prebaked pie crust (deep dish works best)

Custard Layer:
1 small package cook and serve vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Empty dry pudding mix into a medium size saucepan. Whisk in milk. Heat over medium heat until pudding is thickened and bubbly. Take off the heat and let cool until lukewarm. Remove 1 cup of pudding from saucepan(save the rest for another purpose). Place pudding into a bowl and stir in sour cream, lemon juice, and nutmeg until well combined. Pour mixture into baked pie crust and chill for one hour.

Blueberry Layer:

1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (divided)
2 1/2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon water (divided)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Place 1/3 cup of blueberries and 2 1/2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil gently for 4 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk cornstarch and remaining 1 tablespoon of water together. Add cornstarch mixture, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to the cooked blueberries. Return to a boil over low heat for one minute, or until thickened. Let cool completely. When cooled pour blueberry filling over chilled custard. Chill at least 3 hours (overnight is better).

Whipped Cream Layer:

1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour whipping cream into a well chilled bowl (place bowl and mixer beaters in the freezer for an hour before whipping cream). Add vanilla. Whip cream until starts to thicken. Add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat cream until very firm. Right before serving spread whipped cream over blueberry filling. Refrigerate leftovers.

This is a lot of work for one pie, but it is worth it! If your short on time, you can always use a frozen pie crust, and canned blueberry pie filling. This yummy pie almost made it worth turning **.....almost!