Inspired by Southern buttermilk pie. A Ukrainian twist on an American classic made with Ryzhenka, a baked cultured dairy drink. Serve as is or top with seasonal peaches.

What is Ryzhenka?

It is probably one of my favorite types of kefir or cultured dairy. My kids love it too! The base of ryzhenka is baked milk. BAKED MILK! Think dulce de leche but instead of condensed milk and sugar, it’s just milk that’s been cooked until deepened n color and flavor. The milk is baked for hours until it reduces and caramelizes. The baked milk is then cultured, resulting in ryzhenka. It’s popular across Ukraine and typically enjoyed as is, cold, poured into a glass or added as an ingredient to different dishes.

Making it is a labor of love and I leave that to Lifeway Kefir. Aside from being delicous, unsweetened ( no added sugar) it has 12 active and live cultures and is 99% lactose free (super friendly to lactose intolerant stomachs). Grab a bottle and get to drinking and cooking!

I wish it were more complicated but that’s all it is, and the best way to understand it, is to give ryzhenka try!

What is Buttermilk Pie?

Buttermilk pie is a Southern classic staple dessert. Some recipes date up to 100 years old. It’s a tangy sweet custard made of buttermilk, that is baked in a flaky pie crust. The ingredients are things you’d probably have on hand like eggs, sugar and buttermilk. I love the ingenuity of Southern cooking and it only made sense to switch it up with one of my favorite Ukrainian ingredients: ryzhenka!

Ryzhenka has a mild natural sweetness and caramel flavor. This recipe cuts the amount of sugar typically found in buttermilk pies down to 3/4 cup. The pie is topped with additional whipped cream and sweet fruit.

Premade, Homemade or Cookie Pie Crust?

Sometimes I make my own pie dough, sometimes I use puff pastry, but I rarely use store bought pie dough for pies. It never comes out right and homemade flaky buttery pie dough is closer to pre-made frozen puff than pie dough.

Cookie crusts are great but not for this recipe, this pie needs a good amount of time baking in the oven, and a cookie crust will burn or dry out. Cookie crusts are best for no bake or short bake time projects.

Substituting Puff Pastry for Pie Dough

• Defrost the puff pastry on your counter, you want minimal puff.

• Roll out the puff pastry slightly thinner than usual.

• Gently mark the bottom of the pie with a fork.

• Pre-bake at 425F for 10-20 minutes (depending on cook time of your filling).

• If the bottom puffs up, press it down with the back of spoon before adding the filling.

• Create a foil collar to place over the edges of the pie to prevent over browning during baking.

Ryzhenka Custard Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Lifeway Ryzhenka

4 eggs

2 tbsp AP flour

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

I package puff pastry, rolled and fitted to a pie pan.

Method:

Prebake puff pastry pie shell for 10 minutes at 425F

In a large bowl combine with a whisk  the remaining ingredients until smooth

The mixture will be runny

Pour back into the prebaked pie shell ( no need to cool before filling)

LOWER OVEN TEMP TO 350F before baking the filled pie

Bake at 350F for 55min-1 hr

Add a foil collar around the crust halfway through baking to keep the pastry from overbrowning

Whipped cream

Fresh Fruit ( grab the recipe for easy glazed fruit here)