For pie bakers winter is an easy time. You don’t have to rush to buy the freshest seasonal berries; the first crop of apples or the much coveted bushel of peaches are a memory of warmer days.

Custard pies, however, go beyond seasonal boundaries. Recently I came across an old recipe from the Borden Dairy Company, a recipe that probably dates from the 1930s. (On the current Borden Dairy website the recipe is much different.) I found it on a wonderful website called acakebakesinbrooklyn.com, by Brooklyn blogger Susan LaRosa, who chronicles old handwritten recipes, many of which come from companies touting a particular product.

This one featured buttermilk and we’re fortunate to have great buttermilk in Maine from local farmers such as Balfour Dairy Farm and a host of smaller producers who you can find in other markets outside Portland.

But the two most easily available products come from Balfour and Smiling Hill farms. I buy both regularly. Buttermilk, if is’ cultured (compared to old-fashioned buttermilk), lasts a long time, much beyond its sale date. Just give it the smell test: if it finally emits a foul order then it’s past its prime. But I find that it can keep for months.

Of course my stash of buttermilk doesn’t last that long because I use it constantly in biscuits, breads, pie fillings, ice cream and so forth.

The buttermilk pie offered here is very simple to make. All you need is butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, flour, nutmeg and vanilla extract. This recipe, though, calls for the butter to be creamed with the sugar so prepare for that, allowing the butter to soften to room temperature, which will take at least an hour.

The irresistible goodness of buttermilk pie

I served this to friends recently and it was gone in nearly an instant, before I could even take a photo of the whole finished pie. Include it on your holiday table or any time of year. Top it with some unsweetened whipped cream or plain. Or in the summer spoon some macerated berries alongside. The pie is so rich, though, it hardly needs any adornment.

Baking notes: Use a good pastry dough recipe, though if you must resort to store bought it’s not the end of the world. But I offer here my favorite recipe for a very flaky pie crust. Though the original recipe doesn’t call for pre-baking the dough, I did pre-bake, otherwise the dough could become soggy from the weight of the filling.

The top of the pie will brown nicely and should be done in the baking time indicated. If the filling wiggles easily when you test, give it more time. It will firm up and that’s when it’s done.

Allow the pie to rest for 30 minutes before slicing

Borden Buttermilk Pie

Servings: 6 to 8

Flaky pastry

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch salt

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, cut into cubes and frozen for 10 minutes

2 tablespoon (1 ounce) freshly rendered lard, cut into cubes and frozen for 10 minutes

1/4 cup, or more, ice water

Filling

1 stick butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup farm-fresh buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A few gratings nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; lower to 350 degrees when ready to bake the pie.

Pastry. Put the dry ingredients into the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the frozen butter and lard (you can use shortening instead if you must but I highly recommend the lard, available at Rosemont, The Farm Stand or Swallowtail stand at the Winter Portland Farmer’s Market). Pulse 10 times until the mixture has little pieces the size of small peas.

Pulsing, add the water until the dough comes together easily. If it seems dry add drops of more water; it should feel moderately moist and come together easily. Dump out onto a board, form into a rough disk, knead once or twice, shape into a disk and wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface to an 11 inch circle. Roll around your rolling pin and undrape into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the edges to an overhang of about 1 inch; fold under and make an attractive border pinching the rim with thumb and forefinger. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and put in the freezer for at least 10 minutes; this will help prevent the dough from shrinking when pre-baking.

Take out and fit a buttered piece of foil all around the pastry case, fill with dried peas, beans or pastry weights, put the shell on a baking sheet (so butter doesn’t drip onto the oven bottom) and in the middle of the oven, bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil carefully—the dough will not be browned. That’s OK since you’re only prebaking it to firm up. Set aside until ready to fill. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Filling. Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs, and mix until creamy. Add the buttermilk. Add the flour, vanilla extract and nutmeg and mix on low speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour into the pie shell, put on a baking sheet and bake (350 degrees) for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is browned and the filling seems firm—it won’t wiggle when you jiggle the pan gently.

Let rest at least 30 minutes before serving, but serve while it’s still warm. Top with unsweetened whipped cream or macerated berries. Store, covered with foil, in the refrigerator.