Wildflower Buttermilk Pie (A Cottagecore Fantasy; An Easy Reality)
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Is there anything more pastoral than buttermilk and wildflowers? To me, this combination immediately transports me to floral gingham and an old farmhouse, the smell of sweet hay and times gone by.
It can be all-too-easy to romanticize the past (or the simple pleasures of a life away from the standards of modernity), but sometimes I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Yes, it’s important to recognize that the bucolic beauty of farmhouse kitchens and roving cows represents a lifestyle of hard work - real-life “dairymaids” certainly get more use out of rubber boots than fancy floral dresses, and please let’s not revert back to the cultural biases and baggage of days long past. But as a fantasy, a daydream, what’s the harm?
This particular aesthetic fantasy is known as “Cottagecore” I had actually never heard of Cottagecore until I was approached by the New York Times in early 2020 asking to feature some of my work in an article about it. I did some quick research and submitted some pictures. It was exciting!
I did have a rather odd realization, however. Much of my life has been spent living the closer-to-nature lifestyle that is woven into a Cottagecore fantasy.
I grew up in a town of less than 1000 people, right on the edge of a huge swath of BLM land. My family spent a lot of time outdoors - we went fishing, foraging, biking, hiking, swimming, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, and even ice skating in relatively remote areas close to home. I grew up learning how to preserve food; making jam, canning pickles, making sauces and condiments. I also learned how to bake, cook, operate a grill, build a fire, and forage for wild edibles. In the summer, my parents worked on a remote fire lookout that was a 40-minute drive from our tiny town, then a steep 4 mile hike in. At the beginning of each summer, we’d be helicoptered in with giant baskets of supplies and non-perishables dangling in nets beneath the copters (very exciting stuff for a couple of little girls!) Then, for the rest of the summer, we had to carry in any fresh food we wanted. We carried our drinking water half a mile up from the spring. We didn’t have any indoor plumbing; showers were solar showers, baths were water heated on the woodstove and poured into a tub, and the toilet was an outhouse. The radio in the middle of the room was our link to civilization, and it was for signing in and signing off and reporting fires only. Left to our own devices, my sister and I buried ourselves in art projects, imaginary games, and exploring the natural oddities of our mountaintop home. Along the way, I learned to sew, weave, knit, carve, paint, and otherwise manipulate a great variety of materials.
When I left home at 18 to move to college in a big city, I felt that my upbringing was too picturesque; that the way to stand out was to make work that was gritty, urban, and caused the viewer some discomfort. I floundered through my first year trying to be something I wasn’t. Then, something clicked. I started making artwork that was true to myself, and my classmates latched onto it as a source of comfort, a fantasy, a picture of a way of living outside of their own experiences. Since then, I have taught many friends the pleasures of making jam and bread. I’ve shown people to find food in nature, to slow down, to pay attention to cycles and rhythms. It is immensely beautiful to be able to share that.
So, for me, what Cottagecore seems to represent is not a pastoral fantasy but instead a lifestyle that I’ve embodied for most of my years on this planet. There’s still an element of fantasy (let’s face it, nobody really goes foraging in a delicate skirt) and make-believe, but those root desires to feel more wholesome, self-sustaining, and in-tune with nature are something that I think many people are searching for. Cottagecore is one door to that wholesome fantasy.
Perhaps the problem with a rustic fantasy is the pure fantasy component. Yes, it’s baking bread on a slow sunny morning or twirling through a meadow. It’s also leeches on your legs from collecting cattail pollen for those perfect golden scones, bug bites from picking huckleberries, and arduous work processing foraged foods once they come home. It’s understanding that manure and rose bushes thrive hand-in-hand, and that dirt under your fingernails is part of the enchantment.
Cottagecore is not survivalism, nor is it a return to traditional gender roles, despite its feminine undertones. In many ways it is a celebration of femininity, but that doesn’t end with women. I love seeing people all along the gender spectrum enjoying the fantasy of cottagecore. There are no rules stating that one must travel back in time and step into the shoes of homesteaders; in fact, it’s the exact opposite. “Cottagecore lesbian” is a phrase that has settled comfortably into the modern zeitgeist. Trans, Non-Binary, and other often misaligned queer folk are finding a welcome space to just be, without being overtly sexualized or excluded. Perhaps that is the way it is a fantasy the most. Whether it’s your lifestyle or your fantasy (or both), the bucolic pleasures of Cottagecore life can offer great comfort, and what is wrong with that?
Sometimes the world we live in can feel really overwhelming. Life in the city can be loud, exhausting. The expectations piled upon us can be heavy. Maybe it’s not so bad to take a little time, every now and then, and slip into an escapist fantasy to keep your spirit happy. And if you can weave that fantasy into your real life, so much the better, right?
So don your favorite spring dress or shirt, grab a cute basket, and head out into the wilds of meadows or urban spaces to forage early spring wildflowers. Pick up some buttermilk, and pretend it was delivered in glass jars in the wee hours of the morning, or that you milked the cow yourself. Settle into the wholesome process of making lovely, flaky pie crust as you infuse the buttermilk with the essence of spring. Lean into the fantasy. Find that space between daily life and fairytale and let yourself just play.
Spring Blossom Buttermilk Pie:
This creamy pie is the perfect balance of tangy and sweet, accented with the flavors of early spring’s floral magic and a wholesome, nutty crust. The fat in buttermilk is where the magic hides; it’s what picks up on the floral flavors of forsythia and primrose so well, so don’t hold back on using full-fat buttermilk. You’ll want to let the flowers infuse overnight, so plan ahead!
Ingredients:
1 c. fresh edible spring flowers, like primroses and forsythia, gathered from clean locations
1 ½ c. buttermilk
⅓ c. granulated sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 eggs, plus one egg yolk (save the white for the crust, below!)
½ c. heavy cream
½ c. maple syrup
Pressed edible spring flowers, to decorate (optional - candy them!)
Directions:
Pour your buttermilk into an airtight glass container and add the wildflowers. Let infuse in the fridge overnight.
Pre-bake your pie crust using the directions below. Lower the heat of the oven to 325F while you prepare the filling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the cream and maple syrup and mix well. Strain, then strain the buttermilk and whisk it in until just combined.
Pour the custard into a large heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture has just slightly thickened and is about 160F. Be careful not to let the custard mixture boil!
Carefully pour the filling into the baked crust and then gently place your pie on the middle rack in the oven. Bake it for 30-35 minutes.
The pie should be just barely set and a little “jiggly.” The most reliable way to check for done-ness is to measure the temperature, which should be between 170-180F. (Don’t worry, you can hide that hole with a pretty pressed flower!)
Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. Transfer to the fridge and chill until it is completely set.
Right before serving, decorate the top with pressed edible wildflowers!
Candying flowers:
This process can be done with fresh flowers or pressed flowers, as long as you are gentle. I wanted mine to lay flat on the pie so I used pressed flowers. Just mix 1 tsp. Vodka with an egg white and gently paint all of the petals with a soft, food-safe paintbrush. Dip the flower in sugar to cover, then gently brush off the excess. Let dry.
Pecan Pie Crust:
This wonderful recipe rounds out the flavor of the pie perfectly. It’s got a shortbread texture and a nutty flavor with a bit of salt. I like my crusts thick so I use the full recipe, but if you like thinner crusts be sure to roll out any extra and bake it too, it makes great savory shortbread snacks! Based on a recipe in Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
Ingredients:
⅓ c. pecans
1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. Sea salt
½ c. very cold unsalted butter
1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
Very cold water
1 egg white, saved from above.
Directions:
Blend the pecans in a food processor until they are very fine. (Be careful not to blend too long and create a paste.) Add the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse a few times to blend well.
Cut the butter up into small cubes and add it to the food processor. Pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the apple cider vinegar to a cup measure and add ¼ c. very cold water. With the food processor running, drizzle in the water, a tiny bit at a time, until the mixture climbs up the sides of the processor. When you open the top and feel the dough, it should hold together but not be sticky. If it crumbles, add a tiny bit more water and mix.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and bring it together into a ball. Press the heel of your hand into it and push it away from you, then gather it back into a ball. Repeat a couple of times, just until it comes together to form a cohesive ball. Shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is nice and thin, then gently transfer it to a pie pan. Trim ½” past the edge of the pan, then fold the dough under to make a nice edge. Decorate as desired.
Line the pan with parchment and pie weights (or dried beans) and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and put the pie back in until the edges are golden and the bottom is no longer shiny, another 10-15 minutes.
Remove from oven. While the pie is still hot, brush the interior with beaten egg white. This will help create a barrier for the filling. Let the crust cool fully, then make the filling and bake as directed.
Edible Wafer Paper Daffodils:
In real life, daffodils are NOT edible… but in this fantasy pie, they certainly are! These lovely beauties are handmade out of wafer paper and are 100% safe to eat (if you so choose.) They take a while and some patience to make (and are completely optional) but the process can be enjoyable and relaxing if you allow it to be!
You’ll need:
Thin edible wafer paper
1 oz bottle of vodka
Big pinch of saffron
Orange blossom water, optional
Food grade glycerine
1 tsp. Natural yellow food powder pigment
1 tsp. Cornstarch
A clean, fluffy makeup brush for applying blush
A clean flat paintbrush
Small sharp scissors
Leaf-shaper tool for cake decorating, optional
Hemisphere cake molds to shape the flowers
Natural yellow long sprinkles
A little white chocolate
Directions:
Place the saffron in the bottle of vodka and leave to infuse overnight. This will give your flowers both color and flavor! You’ll also want to make some wafer paper “glue” by cutting some small squares of wafer paper and placing them in a little bowl with just enough water to cover overnight.
First, cut out your petals. You’ll want 2 layers of petals, each with 3 eye-shaped petals about 1” long. You’ll also need a rectangle about 1” x 1 ½”. Cut a fluted edge along one of the long sides.
Mix your paper conditioner: Strain out 1 tsp. of the infused vodka (leave the saffron in the rest) and add it to a small bowl, along with ½ tsp. Orange blossom water, 1 tsp. water, and 6 drops glycerine. Mix well.
In another small bowl, mix together the powdered food coloring and the cornstarch.
Using your clean, flat paintbrush, dip it into the saffron mixture and run the brush against the edge of the bowl a couple of times to remove any excess liquid - you want it damp, not wet. With smooth, even strokes, apply the conditioner to the flower petals, doing one set (6 petals total) at a time, until they are evenly coated. Immediately dust gently with the powder mix to remove any stickiness. Your petals should now be yellow in color and pliable. Flip them over and repeat on the bottom side. Be careful not to get them too wet or the wafer paper will start to dissolve!
Place the first trio of petals on the foam pad and use the leaf-shaping tool to gently but firmly press in some lines to give the petals dimension. Place the petals in a hemisphere silicone mold to give them a little shape and shape them with your fingers as desired - whatever shape they are in now is how they will dry. Repeat with the second conditioned set of petals, then do all the rest of them as well. It’s best to prevent them from being completely identical - try gently pinching some petals to be more folded, or curling others slightly to the inside or outside.
As the petal sets start drying and holding their shape, you can assemble the petals of your flowers. Dab a tiny bit of the now-dissolved wafer paper glue in the middle of one trio, then place another trio of petals on top, arranging them to form a 6-petaled flower. Allow to dry thoroughly. (You’ll find that as you move through the flowers, the first sets will dry a fair amount while you are working on the later sets.)
To make the “coronas” (that’s the botanical name for the ruffled center of daffodils), condition one of the rectangles as described above. Gently accordion-fold it to get some texture, then form it into a cylinder and use a teensy bit of wafer paper glue to hold it shut. (It can be helpful to gently form it around something cylindrical, like a straight spoon handle - just make sure you’ll be able to slide it off easily once it is dried!) Repeat with the rest of the rectangular pieces you cut. Let dry completely.
Add a little extra conditioner to the jagged end of one of the coronas, dusting with more of the powder mixture. Use the leaf shaping tool or your fingers to very gently curl the top outward to give it a slight bell shape. The effect should be subtle, but it’ll make a big difference in the realistic look of the finished flowers. Let dry completely. Repeat with the rest of the coronas.
To attach your corona to the petal base, paint the bottom ⅛-¼” lightly with the wafer paper glue. You want the wafer paper to be soft and pliable, but not dissolving! I find it helpful to put the corona on my pinkie finger for this step, ruffled top-end down. Very gently, fold the bottom over the tip of your finger, applying more glue as necessary, to form a little cup. Stick that cup to the center of one of the dried petal sets and let dry completely.
The last step in creating your beautiful edible daffodils is to add the centers! Melt the white chocolate and pipe a little blob in the middle of the corona, then add 5 sprinkles sticking up out of it. Let harden.
To add the daffodils to your pie, use a little more white chocolate to glue them to the crust. (If you just set them on the filling, they’ll start to dissolve.) Once you add them, serve immediately!
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