I don't typically like fresh out of the oven pies for anything but apple, as otherwise I find fruit pies need 6 to 8 hours to firm up. I find pies made the day before are just fine (so long as they are out on the counter, not refrigerated) -- but I wouldn't go much longer than that as the crust starts to get soggy.
I like to serve the pie the same day it is made. I make the pie in the morning and serve it that day. The pastry can be made far ahead and frozen. I keep a few ready in the freezer all the time for a quick pie. All you do is the filling.
There is no substitute for a fresh out of the oven pie. Probably because the butter in the crust gets old tasting pretty fast. Refrigerating pie makes the crust lose its sweet flavor too.
I would recommend trying to do all of the prep work (crust, spice mix) and then wait as long as you can to assemble and then bake. always be sure to blind bake the bottom too before filling- which makes it difficult to fully assemble and store but the result is a golden crust all the way around not soggy. I would say 1-2 days is the most you can save a pie to be served the first time. You can also refresh it in the oven the day of to crisp the crust and warm the filling!
I made a sour-cherry pie the day before a dinner party recently and it was just fine for the party, and still crispy and good on the bottom the next morning, too. I have pie pans with circulation holes on the bottom and use tapioca flour to keep the filling from being too runny. Not sure if that's a cureall but it's worked recently.
In my opinion so that it is fresh I would say the day before you are going to serve it. The pie crust can become soggy especially with fruit pies. I have made a pie and frozen it uncooked and it worked. But after baking I would not let it sit longer than overnight. I will often make pie dough and freeze it so when I need a pie, the dough is made only need to defrost, roll it, fill it and bake.
8 Comments