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| Custard Pie |
Brian: We made custard pie this weekend, one of my all time favorite pies. It also helps that my favorite band, Led Zeppelin, also has a song entitled "Custard Pie." I had a chance to learn what "scalded milk" is, so each week offers a learning experience for me.
Many of the old recipes called for scalded milk, and there were varying explanations on how to make it, and what the purpose of it is for. Essentially it is milk that is heated up to 180 degrees, which is just short of boiling. Some explanations state that it is no longer necessary to scald the milk, because it was a form of pasteurization, and others say that it makes a difference in the taste or texture. So if you have ever heard of the term but didn't know what it meant, hopefully you are now enlightened.
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| Here are the ingredients |
Angie: When you type in "custard pie recipes" and do a Google search, you are going to find an extensive array of recipes. The ingredients and amount of ingredients varied drastically. For example I saw some recipes for as little as one egg for the filling, and others had as many as six. I decided to combine multiple recipes, aiming towards the middle, in an attempt to make the perfect custard pie. I circled the amount of ingredients we ultimately decided to use, so I would be able to later assemble my recipe.
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| Angie's 4 recipes, circling ingredients used |
Brian: Since we were on the road, we decided to go for frozen crust, and we are at least two weeks away from sharing the crust recipe, which we keep promising to (and failing to) share. Figuring out which recipe to use was the hard part, but it is largely a recipe where you load items into the mixer and let it rip.
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| Eggs. Remember when Rocky drank this? |
Angie: The different recipes called for milk, evaporated milk and water, and cream, I decided to use cream (half and half) instead of milk, because I figured it would be thicker, and we could avoid the process of scalding milk. Some of the recipes offered a binding agent, like cornstarch or flour, while others advised nothing. I opted for flour in this recipe.
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| Cream... much easier than scalding milk. |
Brian: There was literally no preparation we did outside of the mixer with the ingredients, with the exception of softening the butter. The eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, cream, flour, butter, and sugar all get added into the mixer one measurement at a time. Be sure to scrape the edges and add in any flour that doesn't get mixed in.
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| Scrape the edges and mix again |
Angie: My mother had warned me that the custard would be a little soupy when you pull it out of the oven, and it needs to cool completely before it sets. You also have to keep your eye on it, because it does rise a bit during the cooking process. In order to avoid a "soggy bottom" crust, I recommend pre-baking the crust, which is what we did here.
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| They plump when you cook 'em |
Brian: I thought the pie was delicious. I don't see custard pie offered very often, and I can't remember the last time I had it. Now that we have a pie recipe, I predict that will change.
Angie: Here it is... I didn't really like this pie. I've never liked custard pie and though this has tasty flavor, it's a texture thing for me. It was like a sweet quiche to me. For those of you who love custard, you will love this recipe!
Pie of the Week Recipients
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| Angie and Mark |
Angie's brother Mark and his wife Angie are our pie of the week recipients. They are posing with an "Alfred" mannequin, but he did not partake of the pie. They are great people, and Mark is quite the chef himself. One of the joys Angie has is cooking with Mark, her brother Brad, and her mother. There are no microwave cooks in the Figg family, and they have a good time doing it. Angie (our sister-in-law) is just a blast to be around and we are so glad she is a part of our family.
Custard Pie Recipe
1/4c Butter
3/4c Sugar
3 Eggs
3T Flour
1 1/2c Half and Half
1t Vanilla
1/4t Nutmeg
Cream together butter and sugar then add flour. Beat in the eggs, add half and half, vanilla and nutmeg and mix completely. Pour into a pre-baked pie shell, sprinkle top with nutmeg, place on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove pie from oven. Pie will need to cool to set completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more.
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