Serves 8 to 10
FOR SOME FOLKS, ESPECIALLY IN THE DAKOTAS, KANSAS, OR THE VERY NORTHERN reaches of Minnesota or Wisconsin, sour cream raisin pie is the purest, simplest type of midwestern comfort food. Outside of that area, the combination usually sounds a bit too bizarre to be true, as though you must eat it in an old-school restaurant with yards of curving, fluorescent-lit pie cases like the iconic Carriage Crossing Restaurant in Yoder, Kansas, to really “get” this pie. It might be the very best definition of a “local favorite.”
There seems to be as many recipes out there for sour cream raisin pie as there are grandmothers who make it. Sometimes it’s lightly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg, but for the most part, it’s a pretty simple combination of vanilla custard, raisins, and basic pie crust. Raisins became part of the recipe because they’re a fruit that’s available in the dead of winter when nothing else is growing. My version employs an oatmeal cookie-esque crust and golden raisins, for a sunnier take on the classic.
Nonstick cooking spray for pan
1½ cups/150 g old-fashioned rolled oats
6 tablespoons/85 g light brown sugar
¼ cup/32 g unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons/85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/160 g golden raisins
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice*
1½ cups/338 g whole milk
½ teaspoon orange zest*
4 large egg yolks
½ cup/100 g granulated sugar
4 tablespoons/32 g cornstarch
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla bean paste
1 cup/240 g full-fat sour cream
1 batch Make-Ahead Whipped Cream (here)
Prepare the crust: Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F/180°C. Spray a light-colored metal springform pan or 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Process until the oats are broken down and tweedy looking, 10 to 15 seconds. Pour into a medium bowl and add the melted butter. Stir with a fork until evenly moistened. Turn into the prepared pan and press firmly about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the pan, and evenly across the bottom. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Bake until golden and set, about 20 minutes. It will shrink a bit upon baking—gently reinforce the shape of the hot crust with a flat-bottomed glass or metal measuring cup. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Prepare the filling: In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the raisins and orange juice. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Leave the bowl covered and set aside.
Pour the milk into a 3- to 4-quart/2.8 to 3.75 L saucepan, add the orange zest, and set over medium-high heat. Bring the milk to a bare simmer, but don’t let it boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until paler in color, about 1 minute. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the hot milk through a sieve into the egg mixture and whisk well. Pour the rest of the milk through the sieve into the bowl, to remove the zest. Whisk until well blended. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Set the pan over low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the custard is just beginning to bubble and then becomes very thick, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and sour cream. Set aside to cool until the crust is baked and cooled.
Assemble the pie: Drain any excess juice from the raisins. Fold them into the filling. Whisk the filling until smooth, then pour into the cooled crust. Cover the surface with a sheet of plastic wrap and chill until set, at least 2 hours. Top with lots of Make-Ahead Whipped Cream.
*From about ½ medium orange