Flaky cream cheese pie crust from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

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Notes about this recipe

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    See recipe for variations.

  • anya_sf on December 04, 2024

    I have made this crust many times before, but always using the food processor method. This time I used the hand method and found it futzier than the processor method, plus harder to get the dough to come together, even with a little extra water (which I find I usually need to add). The crust bakes up tender and flavorful with a crumbly/flaky texture. This time I used a metal pan since the pie was being placed on a hot baking stone and the pastry did not shrink much when blind baked.

  • Dionysiaca on September 23, 2024

    I have been using this recipe for a range of different pies for over 20 years because my family like the flaky consistency and the fact that it is not sweet or heavy. It does need at least 15 minutes after rolling out and fitting to a metal pan in the freezer before baking, and I only use it with recipes that don't require blind baking, but it always works superbly. For many years, I had to use unbleached flour, because bleached flour was not available in the UK – now, by paying ridiculous prices, I can make it with gold-medal flour, which is even better. Regarding the proportion of liquid, for me it depends a bit on the weather – as with all recipes – but I typically add an external 25 mils of water.

  • ashallen on November 22, 2019

    This crust didn't turn out well for me. I think user error was part of the problem - it seemed like I didn't let the dough warm up sufficiently after chilling. When I tried rolling it out, multiple small cracks formed in the pastry which then widened during baking and allowed my tart filling to leak through. But I also didn't care for the flavor of the baked crust - it seemed a bit too salty and something about the taste reminded me of crackers!

  • Bloominanglophile on January 18, 2018

    I used this recipe as it was suggested for the Cherry Lattice Pie. I think it was fine--didn't really have any glaring shrinkage issues, and the crust was fairly easy to roll out. I can't really say that it made a difference in the pie--I would have enjoyed it just as much if I had used Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe (my go to) instead.

  • Frogcake on November 13, 2016

    Just looking at the proportions of flour to butter to water, I think Trisha is correct about the cause for shrinkage. I compared this recipe to the one that I routinely use (Martha Stewart's basic pie crust) and find that Rose's recipe falls short on the proportions for a crust that is light, flakey, and tender. I believe a pie crust recipe needs to stay simple because the focus should be on the filling. So I think I will stick with Martha's recipe, which never shrinks, is easy to work with, and has a buttery, flakey taste.

  • TrishaCP on March 27, 2016

    This recipe has been successful for many folks per multiple online postings, but it was a complete disaster for me. All was fine (I followed all instructions) until I blind baked the dough, when half of the pie slumped into the middle of the pie plate. I had rolled it, crimped it and left it in the refrigerator overnight so it should have been cold enough-I generally use Pyrex so will not freeze and put a crust into a hot oven (though I will with tart crusts). Would love to hear from anyone else who has used this recipe-at least one other Epicurious user had the same problem that I did. My guess is that the butter and cream cheese combo may cause some issues- apparently many people have some shrinkage with this crust (though RLB says this one is supposed to hold the shape well). I would attempt this again but with a double crust pie only.

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