Eudora Welty's Raspberry Rapture

A pie unlike any other.

Southern Living Raspberry Rapture Pie sliced and ready to serve
Photo:

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Yield:
2 9-inch pies

Eudora Welty's friend Winifred Green Cheney of Jackson, Mississippi, shared her recipe for a Raspberry Rapture with Southern Living many years ago. In her own cookbook, The Southern Hospitality Cookbook, Cheney wrote about this pie, "Created and served at a dinner party honoring my dear friend Eudora Welty who had just returned home after receiving the Gold Medal for fiction."

When she tried this light, ethereal dessert, Welty asked of Cheney, "What are you going to call it, Raspberry Rapture? It's so divine, I am not sure that the title is adequate." The name stuck, so you can decide for yourself if it truly captures this unique pie's best qualities.

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Ingredients

  • 1 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries

  • 2 large egg whites

  • 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided

  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

  • 2 tsp. crème de almond, divided

  • 1 cup chilled whipping cream

  • 1 Tbsp. Framboise liqueur or brandy

  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in butter

  • 2 (9-inch) pie shells, baked and frozen

  • Garnishes: fresh raspberries and sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Place partially thawed berries, egg whites, sugar, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon crème de almond in a large mixing bowl and beat at high speed with an electric. Mixer for 15 minutes, constantly scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula (this makes a very buoyant mixture).

  2. Whip chilled cream in a cold bowl. When it stands in peaks, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon crème de almond, liqueur, and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream mixture and almonds into raspberry mixture.

  3. Spoon raspberry mixture into frozen baked pie shells and freeze until firm, about 8 hours. Let thaw at least 30 minutes before serving.

    Southern Living Raspberry Rapture Pie ready to serve

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

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