Creme Brulee Pie

Every Oscars feast must end with a delicious dessert, and for the past couple years I’ve been in the habit of making a pie. Last year was this epic Salty Honey Pie that I’d been dying to try, and this year I decided on a Crème Brûlée Pie I’ve had bookmarked for ages.

This pie is pretty simple to make, if you don’t mind blind baking a pie shell. Honestly I find this an annoying step, but it helps to prevent a soggy pie bottom, so it’s necessary. The filling is a simple custard made of cream, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla bean paste.

While crème brûlée is something I would never order on a restaurant menu, it turns out I loved it in pie formation. And of course, any recipe that I have to bust out my kitchen torch for is A+ in my book!

Crème Brûlée Pie

Source: Food 52

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cubed
  • 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

  • 1 1/3 cups whipping cream
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
  • 2/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 6 egg yolks
  • pinch salt
  • extra sugar, for sprinkling on top

Directions

  1. For crust, add the flour, sugar and salt to a big bowl, and whisk together. Add the butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut it in, until the butter is the size of peas and the mixture is crumbly. Start by adding 1/4 cup of cold water, and stir together with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. Add more ice water a tbsp at a time, until all the floury bits are incorporated. Knead the dough very briefly with your hands until it all comes together, then shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Stick it in the fridge to chill for about an hour.
  2. While dough is chilling, in a small saucepan, bring the whipping cream, vanilla bean paste and 1/3 cup of the sugar to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
  3. Roll out the dough on a well-floured counter, then gently add to your pie plate, trim the edges and crimp them. Chill in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, and preheat the oven to 425°.
  4. Poke holes in the bottom of the pie with a fork, then cover with parchment paper, add pie weights (or dried beans) and blind bake for 10 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown. Remove the paper and weights, brush the bottom of the pie shell with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water) and bake again for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 350°.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar with the egg yolks and salt. Add the cooled cream mixture (from step #2) and whisk until combined. Strain this mixture into the cooled crust.
  6. Bake the pie for 25-30 minutes, until the custard is set around the edges, but is still jiggly in the centre. Let cool to room temperature.
  7. When pie is cool, sprinkle an even layer of sugar over the top of the custard. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar over top. Chill until ready to serve.