Watermelon Pie
Red Truck Bakery by Brian Noyes
“I was visiting Knoxville, Tennesse, for a food writer’s conference in 2017, which included a dinner at J.C. Holdway restaurant, a reviver of southeastern regional cuisine. When James Beard award-winning chef Joseph Lenn came out to tell us the menu for the evening, those of us in the back of the noisy dining room mistakenly heard watermelon pie would be served for dessert. What eventually arrived was buttermilk pie, but I was intrigued by the former and went to work on a recipe. Watermelon is a tough flavour to capture, but the whipped cream and condensed milk here carry it nicely. A cool slice of this pie is just as refreshing as a wedge of watermelon on a sweltering summer day…” - Brian Noyes
Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 12 graham crackers)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- Pinch of kosher salt
Filling:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 cups chopped watermelon, seeded, very well drained, and pureed
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F
- Make the crust: In a small bowl, combine the lime zest and the sugar. Let sit for a few minutes to allow the lime flavour to infuse the sugar
- In a large bowl, mix together the lime-sugar mixture, graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Press the crust into the bottom and sides of a 10 inch pie pan.
- Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds firm peaks.
- In a large bowl, mix together the condensed milk and lime juice until thickened. Using a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream until well combined. Fold in the watermelon purée, mint, and the basil until well combined.
- Spoon the filling into the crust and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Chill for at least 8 hours or up to overnight before slicing and serving.
