I actually crafted this pie as a Mother’s Day surprise towards the beginning of the month. Mothers are sweet…and often need to be just a little tart and slightly salty.
At least in my opinion. Thus, Blackberry Grapefruit Custard Cream Pie in a Saltine Crust came to be.
I’ve baked a purely Saltine crust in years past, filled with a decadent and ultra aromatic Grapefruit -Campari Custard. So, this was a bit of a play on that, but also a whole ‘nother level of goodness – well, several levels, actually: sort of like a parfait – layers and layers of goodness.
I began with a “half” salted cracker crust, meaning, only half the flour needed for a normal crust was used, and the remainder was filled with salty cracker crumbs! Yum… I’m a salt fanatic.
Then with a hankering for a fruity sweet layer, came the Blackberry Jam.
Delightful.
Next was a semi-sweet cream filling layer, just to tickle your tongue.
And on top of the luscious cream came a semi-sweet tart and tangy fresh grapefruit custard.
With a little fresh fruit garnish, all at once the flavors explode in your mouth if your mind is not yet blown by the appearance of this pie.
Go for it.
It’s no longer Mother’s Day – but everyday is a day to celebrate – with PIE.
Blackberry Grapefruit Custard Cream Pie in a Saltine Crust
Crust:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup “saltine flour” (about 1 sleeve of salty crackers finely processed)
8 Tbs. ice cold butter, cut into 1″ cubes
1 large egg
1 Tbs. white vinegar
ice water
Layers:
1 1/2 cups Blackberry Jam
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
juice and zest of 1/2 red grapefruit (without the Campari, the custard will be yellow from the egg yolks and butter)
fresh blackberries
fresh grapefruit, thinly sliced
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the crust ingredients, adding a touch of ice water for the correct consistency, until crumbly.
Transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap and form into a disc.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out the dough disc on a well floured surface to form a crust large enough to fill a 9″ pie plate.
Transfer to the pie plate – don’t worry about fluting the edges so much – the Saltine texture makes this tricky.
Bake, with pie weights or a heavy oven safe bowl in the center of the pie for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow the pie crust to cool thoroughly.
Once the crust is cool, spread the Blackberry Jam evenly over the inside bottom.
Chill for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, whip together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Spread over the top of the chilled crust and jam.
Chill again for at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and sugar over medium heat in a small pot.
Constantly stirring, whisk in the eggs and reduce the heat to very low.
Keep stirring to prevent the eggs from cooking unevenly.
Add the fresh juice and zest.
Continue to simmer until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Feel free to strain the custard if you feel like any egg whites are appearing.
Pour the custard over the once again chilled pie.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set before garnishing with fresh fruit and slicing!
