Description
Festive holiday dreams come alive with Christmas Eve Cinnamon-Vanilla Creamy Custard Pie, a sweet symphony of warmth and comfort. Delicate spices and silky custard invite celebration, promising pure delight for those who savor seasonal magic.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Ingredients:
Pie Crust Base:
- 1 ¼ cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 4 tablespoons ice water
Custard Filling Primary Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups (600 milliliters) whole milk
- ½ cup (120 milliliters) heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
Flavoring and Seasoning Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch of salt
Optional Topping:
- Cinnamon sugar
- Whipped cream
Instructions
- Craft the foundational pastry by blending flour and salt in a mixing vessel. Incorporate chilled butter using a pastry cutter, working the mixture until it resembles coarse granules. Introduce ice water incrementally, gently combining until the dough coheres. Form the mixture into a compact disc, encase in plastic film, and chill for a minimum of half an hour.
- Heat the oven to 375F (190C). Gently roll the chilled dough on a flour-dusted surface, ensuring it fits a 9-inch pie pan. Carefully transfer the dough, trimming excess edges and creating decorative crimped borders. Shield the crust with parchment paper, filling with ceramic weights or dried legumes. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove weights and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely.
- Warm milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk eggs with both sugar varieties, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until smooth. Gradually stream the heated dairy into the egg mixture, whisking continuously to prevent curdling and create a silky custard base.
- Gently pour the luxurious custard into the pre-baked pie shell, ensuring an even distribution. Transfer the filled pie to the preheated oven with careful precision.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325F (165C). Bake for 40-50 minutes, monitoring until the custard sets around the edges while maintaining a slight wobble in the center. Once perfectly cooked, extract from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature.
- Refrigerate the pie for a minimum of two hours to achieve optimal setting. Before presenting, dust with a delicate layer of cinnamon sugar or crown with pillowy whipped cream for a festive flourish.
Notes
- Ensure butter is thoroughly chilled when making the pie crust to achieve a flaky, tender texture that melts in your mouth.
- When tempering eggs, pour the warm milk slowly and whisk continuously to prevent scrambling and create a silky smooth custard.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute regular flour with almond or coconut flour in the crust, maintaining the same mixing technique.
- To prevent soggy bottom, pre-bake the crust until golden and let it cool completely before adding the custard filling.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg