I fretted over what to bring for family dinner at my friend Donna’s house tonight, other than the requested apple pie I’d promised for dessert. I figured with 14 pie-eating mouths to feed one pie wouldn’t be enough, though I majorly underestimated how far my apple pie would stretch. Donna’s extended family hails from the Virginia area so I wanted to bring a southern-type pie. (Is Virginia considered the south? If not, it should be.)
After much internet browsing I decided to go with a custard pie. Though not an obvious choice for a family dinner (no one would really request I make this pie) I went with it because I’ve made it before and knew I liked it. I was hoping Donna’s family would as well and they did. Normally people are pleasantly surprised by the flavor of this pie – even if they wouldn’t, per say, order it at a restaurant.
ingredients.
- Pastry for a single-crust pie (9 inches)
- 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
- 4 T. all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 c. half and half
- 1 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
directions.
- Line a 9-in. pie plate with rolled out pie dough. I used a half recipe of my Basic Pie Dough for a Flakey Pie Crust recipe (all butter). Trim and flute edges.
- Combine brown sugar and flour; press into pastry.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt; pour over brown sugar mixture.
- Bake at 350° for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary.
- Cool on a wire rack; sprinkle with nutmeg. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve plain or with fresh whipping cream.
Oops. I when re-reading the recipe I followed I realized I used four tablespoons of flour instead of teaspoons. I do crap like this all the time. Luckily it didn’t seem to impact the pie in any real capacity.
You must use a 9-inch pie pan. I did not and I could barely fit the contents of the pie in its shell.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 