Great-Grandmother’s Egg Custard Pie Recipe
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By Rhonda Crank – Custard pie is a delicious way to put your fresh eggs to good use! In my experience, either you’re an egg custard pie lover or an egg custard pie hater. My husband and I are custard pie lovers! My great-grandmother, Ma Horton, was known for her pie and cookie making. My grandmother learned from her and I was blessed to learn from my grandmother. This recipe is Ma Horton’s Egg Custard Pie.
Begin by preparing your favorite piecrust recipe.
Easy Homemade Pie Crust
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon real salt (this means kosher or sea salt)
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil in solid form
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon solid unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoons raw organic apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Preparing The Crust:
- In medium bowl, mix flour and salt together.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and coconut oil until the flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you use a mixer or food processor, be sure not to over process.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and mix in thoroughly. Now carefully add the water one tablespoon at a time until a ball of dough forms—you don’t want it to be sticky.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a generously floured surface until it’s a few inches larger than your pie plate: four-to-five inches larger is a good goal. You may have to flip the crust to re-flour your surface and the crust to prevent it sticking to the surface and your rolling pin.
- Once you have your pie crust rolled out, lightly flour the top of it and carefully roll it up, loosely, or fold it into quarters. Then gently lift it and unroll it into your pie plate.
- Leaving enough dough to flute (fold under itself) the crust, trim it evenly around your pie plate.
- Gently flute (fold the excess dough under itself) even with the pan. Now you can crimp the edges with your fingers or use a fork to mark the edge.
- Heat the oven to 425˚ Fahrenheit degrees. While the oven is heating, prick the bottom and sides of your crust generously with a fork. This will prevent the crust from rising in the middle, causing peaks and valleys in your crust. Bake the pie crust for 10 minutes, until your crust is light, golden brown, or to your desired doneness.
Egg Custard Pie Filling
Prep time: 15 min.
Bake time: 35 to 45 min.
Makes eight servings – or at least it can, depends on the size of your slice. I use a 9” deep dish pie pan.
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 2/3 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice (optional)
Instructions:
- Move your oven rack to lowest position and preheat your oven to 450°F.
- Using a wire whisk and a medium bowl, or your electric mixer on medium (I use my Vitamix), mix the eggs until well blended.
- Next, add the milk and sugar, blend well. Then add the vanilla, salt, and spices and mix well.
- It’s a good idea to place your pastry-lined pie plate on the oven rack and then pour the filling into it. This helps prevent any spilling. I also place a baking sheet under the pie while it cooks, just in case.
- Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes. Check every five minutes until a knife inserted halfway between the center and edge comes out clean.
We like our pie warm and chilled, so once it sits for 15 to 20 minutes, we enjoy a warm slice. Refrigerate the remaining pie and have it chilled. If you prefer a chilled egg custard pie, let the pie sit for 15 minutes then refrigerate for about four hours. An unchilled egg custard pie will be less firm than a chilled one.
If you’re interested, I estimate that one serving (if you use an eight-serving size slice) contains about 270 calories, but who’s counting? It’s egg pie, it has to be good for you. Right?
Originally published in Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.
