Eggs, milk, and vanilla with a dusting of nutmeg make this traditional southern Egg Custard Pie a delicious childhood memory.
Y'all know how much I love my "heritage" recipes. This one of the absolutely best of those. Just chock full of childhood memories - Egg Custard Pie.
I'm not absolutely certain that this pie is strictly a southern heritage recipe, but it seems so to me. Maybe that's just because it has always been one of my favorites.
Now, if you're looking for one of those "mile high" type pies that's rich and extra sweet, then this pie is not for you. But if you want a luscious, creamy treat that is perfect after any meal, I have your recipe right here.
This is really nothing more than egg custard baked in a pie crust. It has the richness of whole milk and eggs and the perfume of a dusting of nutmeg but it is not overly sweet. If I had to choose my favorite pie, it would be difficult to choose between this one and a coconut meringue, but I think the egg custard would win.
This is the simplest recipe that I know for egg custard. Lots of recipes require the milk to be scalded and gradually beaten into the egg and sugar mixture and I've made it that way many, many times.
But, I have also found that it doesn't make much difference at all whether the milk is scalded or just added right into the eggs and sugar. I can't tell the difference in the finished pie and skipping that scalding step makes this recipe go so quickly. I'm all for fewer steps and less time making dessert. In fact, you can make this pie up in less than five minutes, pop it in the oven and have a lovely dessert baking away while you cook dinner.
Eggs, milk, and vanilla with a dusting of nutmeg make this traditional southern Egg Custard Pie a delicious childhood memory. Click To Tweet
How to Make Egg Custard Pie
Start by preparing the pie crust. Now I won't go into it all over again, but just suffice it to say that homemade pie crusts and I are not friends. We're barely on speaking terms. Homemade pie crust hates me and the feeling is pretty much mutual.
So, I'll start with a frozen crust which I have thawed according to its package directions. Prick the crust all over with the tines of a fork. Lightly beat an egg white and brush it all over the unbaked crust. The egg white will help keep the crust from becoming soggy.
And for some reason, I always think egg custard is best in a regular crust instead of a deep dish. It just seems more old-fashioned and that fits perfectly with this pie.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set the crust aside while you prepare the custard.
In a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs and egg yolk, the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix those together a little and then whisk in the milk.
Put the prepared crust on a baking sheet and then pour the custard into the crust. You will probably have a bit left over just like I did. You can cook that up in two little custard cups. It makes two delicious little treats for the cook :-) Dust the top of the pie and custard cups with nutmeg.
Carefully place the baking tray into the oven and let the pie cook for 30 to 35 minutes. Check to see if your pie is ready by inserting a knife near the center. If it comes out clean, you're all set.
Remove the pie (and custard cups if you used them) to a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature and refrigerate any leftovers.
Occasionally I serve a spoonful of very lightly sweetened whipped cream alongside my Egg Custard Pie, but I think it's really perfect all by itself.
Enjoy!
More Pie Recipes on Never Enough Thyme
- Chocolate Meringue Pie
- Coconut Meringue Pie
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Pecan Cheesecake Pie
- Vintage Hot Fudge Pie
custard recipes from Other Bloggers:
- Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie from Myrecipes.com
- Mom's Lemon Custard Pie from Taste of Home
- Blueberry Custard Pie from Lisa is Cooking
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Egg Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
- 1 egg white lightly beaten
- 3 whole eggs plus one egg yolk beaten
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Instructions
- If using a frozen pie crust, allow it to thaw at room temperature according to its package directions.
- Prick the crust all over with the tines of a fork.
- Brush thoroughly with beaten egg white. This helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
- Set the crust aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat together.
- Using a wire whisk, add the milk.
- Place the prepared pie crust on a baking sheet.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture into the pie crust filling baking cups with any excess mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with nutmeg.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
- May be served either cold or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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Lana Stuart is the cook and occasional traveler here at Never Enough Thyme. Lana has been cooking since she was tall enough to reach the stove and started this blog in 2009 to share her delicious home cooking recipes. You'll find about 700 recipes here so there's sure to be something your family will like!
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Nathan Gilpin Sr
thank you for this simple but great recipe. I gave up making my own pie crust, but when I do I use lard.
The Pillsbury pre-formed are good now. I make my Grandmothers milk pie and shoo fly also.
Thanks again
Lana Stuart
You're very welcome, Nathan. And I agree that the Pillsbury pie crusts are excellent and quite convenient, too.
Cherie
Perfect. Easy and delicious. Thank you.
Lana Stuart
You're welcome!
Kim
One of my two favorite pies! The other is sour cherry. I haven’t made this in years, and I’ve lost my grandmother’s recipe, but this seems similar. I’m a good pie crust maker, so I will try this with my all butter crust. Thanks for this heritage recipe!
Pat Colby
Lana I grew up in South Georgia too (Baker and Miller County) and this was my father’s favorite pie. Don’t know that recipe is same because Mama never wrote it down. Oh how I wish I had some of those old recipes. I don’t do much cooking anymore especially baking but when I did, like you, pie crust was never easy to make until I found one using boiling water in a Southern Cooking cookbook by Mrs. S.R. Dull. Copyright was in Atlanta, Georgia, 1928 and 1941. It was a gift sometime around 1960. Don’t know if it is still around. I use frozen now too.
Lana Stuart
I have Mrs. Dull's cookbook and it's great even though it's a bit hard to follow. I'll have to look for that pie crust recipe in it :-)
Hope
Am making this for New Years Eve and so used egg nog instead of milk. Fingers crossed.
CAFinNY
I made this with duck eggs, most of them were smallish for duck eggs. I used my blender & it was full (5 cups) before I could get all the milk in! had 3 custard cups left over after filling a 9" deep dish frozen pie crust. Hopefully this will work out with less milk
lisaiscooking
Thanks for linking to the Blueberry Custard Pie! Your Egg Custard Pie looks amazing.
Miss P
That's the pie on which we grew up. We made it lots and lots of times. The beauty was that even crazy kids could make the thing, and it would turn out beautifully and taste great. Still is the beauty of the pie.
I have the same inappropriate disdain for pie crust. Not only do I not make the stuff, I really don't care for the taste. So, get one of those "roll it out" crusts out of the refrigerated section, and put it in a really good looking pie plate. It looks homemade, and folks who like the crust think that you went to great trouble.
Miss P
Patricia
Made this pie and it turned out delicious. I have tried using lactose free and 2% milk but the pies have not turned out very well compared to using whole milk. I also use the deep dish pie crust, put the pie into a shallow pan and add water to the pan while it is cooking. Love this recipe. Thanks for the great recipe.