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Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie

Source of Recipe

From "The Perfect Pie" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"For a delicious eggnog, three elements need to be in perfect balance: sweetness, richness, and the amount of alcohol. We wanted to strike that balance in a custard pie for a new take on this classic holiday drink. Adding cinnamon and nutmeg to our custard base gave it a subtle hint of spice, but in our opinion it wasn't truly eggnog without a little booze—just 2 tablespoons of dark rum added plenty of depth to our pie without overpowering it. To preserve the rum's flavor, we stirred it into the filling after heating and straining the custard. To top off our eggnog pie, we whipped up our Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream. If you prefer your pie with a boozier punch, increase the rum to ¼ cup; if you prefer a nonalcoholic eggnog, you can omit the rum altogether and use regular whipped cream."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 recipe single-crust pie dough
â—¦ â…” cup sugar
â—¦ 3 large eggs
â—¦ 3 tablespoons cornstarch
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
â—¦ â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg
â—¦ â…› teaspoon salt
â—¦ 2 cups whole milk
â—¦ 1 cup heavy cream
â—¦ 2 tablespoons dark rum
â—¦ 1 recipe Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream


Recipe

Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.

Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.)

While crust bakes, whisk sugar, eggs, cornstarch, â…› teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in bowl. Bring milk and cream to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture to temper, then slowly whisk tempered egg mixture into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, bubbling, and registers 180 degrees, 30 to 90 seconds (custard should have consistency of thick pudding). Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into clean bowl, then stir in rum.

With pie still on sheet, pour custard into warm crust, smoothing top with clean spatula into even layer. Bake until center of pie registers 160 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours. Spread whipped cream attractively over pie and dust with remaining â…› teaspoon cinnamon. Serve.

Serves 8



Classic Single-Crust Pie Dough:

â—¦ 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 tablespoon sugar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
â—¦ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
â—¦ 3 tablespoons ice water, plus extra as needed

Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter shortening over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter over top, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses.

Transfer mixture to bowl. Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Stir and press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. If dough does not come together, stir in up to 1 tablespoon ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does.

Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap and form into 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)

Makes one 9-inch single crust



Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream:

â—¦ 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
â—¦ ½ cup sour cream
â—¦ ½ cup packed light brown sugar
â—¦ â…› teaspoon salt
â—¦ 2 teaspoons bourbon

In bowl of standing mixer, whisk heavy cream, sour cream, brown sugar, and salt until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 4 hours or up to 24, stirring once or twice during chilling to ensure that sugar dissolves.

Add bourbon and beat mixture with whisk attachment at medium speed until small bubbles form around edges, about 40 seconds; increase speed to high and continue to beat until fluffy and doubled in volume, about 1 minute longer. Spoon cream on pie.

Makes about 3 cups