If this sour cream raisin pie tastes like something your grandma would make, it’s because she probably would! This pie is sweet, creamy, and delicious. The sour cream gives it a tang that tastes a bit like a lemon pie with raisins with a pillow of fluffy meringue on top.
This old fashioned pie is creamy with a bit of tang from the addition of the sour cream. It is perfect for raisin lovers and people who aren’t huge fans alike. Each bite comes with a bit of delicious nostalgia.
Have you ever had a raisin pie? Beneath the layer of white meringue lies a filling made of sour cream and raisins. It sounds kind of strange, but it is super delicious.
This vintage recipe tastes like a classic because it is. Serve up a slice and your taste buds will be instantly transported to grandma’s kitchen.
I have been wanting to whip up one of these pies for quite some time. My friend Val from Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids makes a lot of pies and raisin is one of her favorites.
She has an updated sour cream and raisin pie recipe that looks delicious. Every time she mentions making it my mouth waters.
But it is a bit different than what I have in mind when I think of a raisin pie. That is because the only time I’ve had a pie like that was at a diner that used to be in a small town just outside of ours.
My parents went there for lunch quite a bit. I joined them once and my mom was raving about the raisin pie. It quickly became her favorite pie and she frequently went there just to get a slice.
It sounded like such an odd pie filling so I was intrigued. Of course we had to order a slice.
That diner put a HUGE cloud of meringue on top of theirs. Then there was the creamy sweet filling dotted with raisins.
You know what? It lived up to the hype!
I haven’t had a raisin pie since that day. But seeing it mentioned every so often makes me want more.
So, I had to recreate the diner pie. This recipe does it with the creamy raisin filling and pillowing meringue.
Making the Raisin Sour Cream Pie
You want to start by giving the pie crust a blind bake. Make homemade flaky pie crust or buy a crust from the store, either works well.
Then line it with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans. Bake it until it is lightly golden brown. Set it aside to cool.
You will want to make sure you have everything out and ready when you get ready to fill the pie. You want the filling to still be as warm as possible when you put the meringue on top.
The filling is loaded with an entire 16 ounce container of sour cream. This is not a great place to try to save some calories and use low fat.
The full fat version is going to give you a much creamier and more delicious result. Ideally your sour cream won’t have stabilizers or anything in it, you want real deal sour cream.
The filling ingredients are really simple and there are so few of them, you want to make sure they are good quality so they can sing. Make sure the filling mixture is bubbly and thick before you turn off the heat.
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The flour and egg yolks should give the filling a nice custard-like consistency. It is the perfect thing to suspend the plump raisins and it almost has a citrus flavor without the addition of lemon juice.
The Meringue Topping
Meringues always feel a little bit tricky. There are so many things that can go wrong, but really they are pretty simple.
For the best results, you want the filling to be hot when you put the meringue on top. So leave the warm sour cream filling in the saucepan on the stove until the meringue is ready to go.
Make sure your bowl and beaters are super clean. Any tiny little bit of grease can affect how well the eggs whip.
On the same vein, even a tiny drop of yolk in the whites can ruin the meringue. It is a good idea to separate the eggs over a separate small bowl.
Once you are sure the egg white doesn’t have any yolk in it, dump it in the bigger bowl. That way if you accidentally break a yolk, you don’t have to start over if there are multiple whites in the big bowl already.
It is possible to over whip the egg whites and make it grainy. So make sure to keep an eye on it and stop when it has a sheen and holds it shape well. This should take about 3 minutes.
Once the pie has been baked and the top of the meringue is a light brown, remove it from the oven and let it cool slowly. That will help keep the meringue from weeping.
After the pie has been cooled to room temperature, transfer it to the refrigerator to make sure the filling is set. After a couple of hours of chilling it is ready to serve!
Seal the edges with meringue
Putting the meringue over hot filling helps to cook it evenly as well as reduces the risk of the filling steaming and causing a layer of liquid between the filling and the meringue. You also want to try to get the meringue all the way to the edges.
That way the meringue doesn’t shrink as it cooks and cools. You want to create a seal and give it something to hold on to.
What Does it Taste Like?
The filling is super creamy. It almost tastes like there is lemon in it from the sour of the sour cream.
The raisins are soft with a slight chew. The meringue is like a fluffy marshmallow cloud on top!
It is super tasty, but on the rich side. So err on the side of smaller slices.
The reactions of my family were pretty funny. My dad instantly remembered it from the olden days and my mom was super excited.
My brother didn’t remember having raisin pie before and he called it an “old people pie” but didn’t have any issue eating his whole slice.
My husband who envisioned a pecan pie texture was pleasantly surprised with the creamy filling. He was pretty excited about the meringue on top too.
No meringue, no problem
If you don’t want to mess with making a meringue, you can make some whipped cream instead. That would be a really tasty way to top this easy custard pie as well.
Old Fashioned Sour Cream and Raisin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust
Filling
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1¼ cups granulated white sugar divided
- 3 egg yolks whites used below
- 2 cups sour cream full fat
- 1 cup raisins
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Roll out the pie crust. Place it in a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges.
- Pierce the bottom several times with a fork. Then line with with foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dry beans.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until it's a light golden brown.
- Remove from oven, remove the weights and allow to cool. Drop the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Meanwhile in a large saucepan stir together 1¼ cups granulated white sugar and the 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour.
- Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a really clean large bowl for the meringue.
- Add the 3 egg yolks and 2 cups sour cream to the sugar and flour mixture in the saucepan. Stir in the 1 cup raisins.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Turn off the heat but leave the mixture over the warm burner to keep it warm.
- Add the ½ teaspoon cream of tartar to the 3 egg whites and beat on medium speed until really frothy.
- Start adding the ½ cup granulated sugar about a Tablespoon at a time while beating the egg whites. Once all of the sugar is added, turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
- Spread the warm raisin filling mixture into the pre baked pie crust. Smooth it out. Spoon meringue over the top of the filling, being sure to spread it all the way to the edges of the pie. You want to seal the whole pie.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour then chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
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The presentation was great! We just thought it was too sweet. Less sugar in the recipe.
Steps 10. Shouldn’t it be medium speed?
You are right! Thanks for letting me know. I will get that fixed right away.
Yet to make, do you think it would freeze okay to prep in advance foe the holidays?
I don’t know that the meringue topping would freeze well. You could likely freeze it without the meringue and then add that when you are ready to serve it.
Delicious recipe. I appreciate that your recipe doesn’t call for all the spices. Someone asked about the water. I remember as a kid (I’m in my fifties now) that it was standard knowledge for recipes that you had to soak the raisins in boiling water before using to plump them up. Now I do that and add a little rum to the hot water. Drain the excess water before putting in your recipe.
That is such a great idea! I am glad you liked the pie.
To be honest, I haven’t made this one yet, but I am in the grocery store buying ingredients as I comment. When I was in high school I worked at a restaurant and we specialized in homemade pies as one of our classic items. We also made our own vanilla ice cream. Yes, in the back of the restaurant making large big aluminum containers full of vanilla ice cream. And one afternoon my mother made a sour cream raisin pie which I immediately thumbed my nose at and walked out the door and then thought I could bring it to work. See if anybody likes it. I sold that pie in 10 minutes and had people fighting over the last slice. Of course I went home and demanded more pies. It’s been 40 years since that day at least 40 years and today I’m in the grocery store buying raisins and sour cream and all the ingredients because I’m stuck at home waiting for surgery. And as I’m walking down the aisle, I looked at dried cranberries and thought oh boy I’m making two. By the way, my mother’s name is Carleen so it really touched my heart that you’re names are so similar. Gotta run.
I love that story so much! I can see why you might have turned you nose up at the idea of the raisin pie. I am glad your opinion was changed. I love how similar the names are too ❤️
I didn’t make this pie and I may not ever, but I had to comment on how freakin’ thoughtful you are to put the quantity of each ingredient below the step it’s being used in so you don’t have to scroll back up to keep checking!! Everything in me loves that!
I am so glad you like that! I find it helpful as well.
I can’t wait to try this pie but if I choose to top it with whipped cream instead of meringue do I bake the filling in the prebaked pie crust?
I wouldn’t. Just make sure you crust is a nice golden brown when you blind bake it. Then add the custard and chill. Cover it with plastic wrap if you want to keep from getting a skin. Then add the whipped cream when you are ready to serve.
The moment you mentioned Sour cream you had my full attention. Yummy. Pinned to have a go at this one.
I hope you love it!
Are you missing the water in this recipe??
No. Where were you thinking there should be water?
You had me curious, so I did some searching and did find some sour cream raisin pies that boil the raisins in water. But that is not necessary in this recipe, it uses more sour cream than those recipes.
This brings back many memories. My grandmother use to make this pie all of the time. It looks marvelous.
I have never seen or tried this before but it looks so incredibly delicious! I bet the flavors are fantastic! Have a great start to your week!