A Pie Per Week: Sugar Cream Pie

Sugar Cream Pie

Brian:  Everybody has a favorite pie, and sugar cream pie happens to be mine.  The pie originated in Indiana, just like me, and we are both delicious!

Angie:  My Aunt Sandi makes an awesome sugar cream pie, and it was one of the first pies we made, right before we started to blog on our pie baking adventures.  The pie was a major hit at the Richardson house, so we knew we had to make it again.

Creaming butter, sugar, cornstarch.

                                     

Brian:  We are constantly asking for recipes, and our friends Tanda and Mike sent us this family recipe.  Apparently it placed at the Indiana State fair, and it features a unique secret ingredient...

Angie:  The secret ingredient is ice cream! 

We all scream for ice cream!

Brian:  It's been a very busy but fun weekend for us.  My twin brother and I celebrated our birthday on Saturday, and he made the journey from Nashville, TN to come spend the weekend with us.  There were lots of cards played, old stories re-told, and Pacer playoff games watched on the television.  What we didn't have, was lots of extra time, so we postponed pie baking until Monday.

Adding the cornstarch

Angie:  It was so nice to have the 4 day weekend, and I love visiting with Brian's family. I got the crust ready, and let Brian get to work on the filling.

Ice cream and milk added

Brian:  You cream together the sugar, cornstarch, and butter in the pan over low heat.  I had a metal whisk handy that I used pretty constantly preparing the mixture.  After that all combines, you add the ice cream and milk, and move to medium heat. And then to quote one of my favorite rock artists Tom Petty, "The waiting is the hardest part."

Nice and thick, thicker than pudding

Angie:  It really does seem like you are moving that whisk around forever, but when it does start to thicken, it thickens quickly.  You top the pie with some fresh ground nutmeg, which is resting on my microplane in the picture below, and fresh makes a big difference.  What's beautiful about this pie, is that there is no baking required.  The filling cooks in the saucepan, so you just pour the filling into the baked pie shells and wait until it cools.  We were told it is best to let sit overnight, but we really couldn't wait to find out.  :)

Fresh nutmeg sitting on the microplane

Brian:  It was a wonderful recipe and very simple to make.  Heck, you don't need a mixer or an oven to bake the pie, as long as you have a pre-baked pie shell.

Pie Recipients of the Week:

My friends Andy and Jenny

We have 2 pie recipients this week, Andy and Jenny, two friends I have known for quite some time.  I used to work with Andy and his wife Becky, and I am happy to work with him again at ExactTarget.  The first time I met Andy, he helped jump start my car at our previous employer, and that alone will let you know what a quality guy he is.  His wife Becky is also a gem, and I hope they enjoy their 1/2.  :)

Jenny and I also worked at the same company, and I most associate her with winning the company Karaoke contest.  This company had some amazing talent, as yours truly only netted 3rd place.  She recently had twins, who like all twins are amazingly cute, and this is her favorite pie.  She always has such a friendly smile and I'm glad to also count her as a fellow ExactTarget employee. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Sugar Cream Pie

1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup vanilla ice cream
4 Tbsp cornstarch

Cream sugar, butter and cornstarch over low heat. Add milk and ice cream. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Pour in baked pie shell. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on top. Let cool before eating.

A helpful tip is to pre-measure the ingredients and leave the ice cream sitting out, so it doesn't take forever when you are stirring constantly. Also, it does seem like it is taking forever, but once it starts to thicken, it will thicken pretty quickly. 

About Your Bakers