Old Fashioned Egg Custard Pie!

  

  

I have had so many requests for a recipe for the egg custard pie.  I guess  a lot of you, like me, grew up with these pies being served by your mother or grandmother.  For me, it was my great aunt that made this pie at least what seemed like once a week.  It's actually a simple pie to make, but there a few key things you have to know about making it and getting it to turn out right. 

 

Here is what you will need for the egg custard pie:

 

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

 egg white, beaten

3 whole eggs plus one egg yolk, beaten

¾ cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 ½ cups half and half or can use whole milk, scalded

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Separate 1 egg and set the white aside.  Mix eggs, sugar and salt.   Scald the milk and then set it off the heat to cool slightly.  Pour and blend the scalded milk into the egg mixture.  Add the vanilla.

 

Line a pie plate with pie crust or if you are using a frozen crust that works also.  Brush the beaten egg white over the pie crust including the edges.  This helps to keep the crust from getting soggy.

 

Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet or pizza pan.  Pour about half of the egg custard in the pie shell.  Now, carefully place the cookie sheet in the oven and then slowly pour the rest of the egg custard into the shell.  If you try to fill the shell before placing it in the oven, it will slosh out over the edge as you put it in the oven, no matter how steady your hand is because the filling is rather thin.  You might have more than a regular pie crust will hold, so you can pour it into a little ramekin and bake it separately.  You could also use a deep dish crust, but that does not give you the traditional looking custard pie so I don't.

 

 

 Sprinkle the top of the pie with the nutmeg.  As I have mentioned before, I am not a big fan of the taste of nutmeg used in dishes, so I actually use pumpkin pie spice to sprinkle mine with which contains a slight bit of nutmeg, but also has cinnamon and ginger and is a much milder taste.   Traditionally, nutmeg is used though.

 

 

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.  Usually 30 does it but ovens do vary.  A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.  Cool and serve at room temperature.

 

Traditionally this was not served with whipped cream, but I think whipped cream makes everything better, so I add it! 

Old Fashioned Egg Custard Pie!