Vanilla Custard Pie

Vanilla Custard Pie

with ground nutmeg

I came across an article about Desperation Pies a few weeks back. Desperation Pies were pies made during the Great Depression with little to no ingredients. A lot of times, they were made from almost anything that a farm hand could find on hand or scrounge up during lean times. Almost a feat of trickery considering many of the “normal” ingredients used were unavailable and some quick thinking was needed.

So with pie on my mind and some desperate thoughts running through my head, I decided to make a go to pie that I had not made for a really long time, my Vanilla Custard Pie. I used to make this for my Dad when I was younger since it was his favorite out of all the crazy creations I would attempt. It pretty much consists of eggs, milk (heavy cream) and sugar, which are three ingredients that can be found in almost any refrigerator. Normally, it is made with regular milk, but since I am lactose intolerant I don’t keep it in the house anymore. I do however; keep a small container of heavy cream because you never know when whipping cream is going to be needed, especially since my boyfriend as a sweet teeth the size of Texas.

Custard itself is like an elevated pudding. It is light, creamy and oh so delicious. It has a pillow like texture that is pure perfection. It isn’t an overly heavy dessert, which is a nice break since it happens to still be winter and doesn’t leave your gut feeling like a truck stuck in the mid. So desperate times call for desperate measures and in this case as a Vanilla Custard Pie.

Directions:

1. Make your piecrust using the recipe linked above.
2. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pastry. Beat eggs slightly with hand beater.
3. Beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate. Bake 20 minutes
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until a knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean, 8-inch pie, 10 minutes longer.