Description
This Christmas Eve Cinnamon-Vanilla Custard Pie is a comforting and festive dessert featuring a smooth, spiced custard filling nestled in a flaky pie crust. Infused with warm cinnamon and fragrant vanilla, it’s an elegant holiday treat perfect for sharing with family and friends.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 1 pie crust, homemade or store bought
Custard Filling
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick for steeping
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or seeds from one vanilla bean
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pie Crust: Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Fit the pie crust into a nine-inch pie dish, trim any excess edges, and crimp the rim neatly. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights to prevent bubbling during baking. Blind bake for ten minutes until the crust is set.
- Heat Milk and Cream with Cinnamon: In a medium saucepan, gently warm the whole milk and heavy cream with the cinnamon stick if using. Heat just until bubbles begin to form around the edges, but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to steep for fifteen minutes to absorb the cinnamon flavor.
- Whisk Eggs and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until the mixture is pale, smooth, and slightly thickened. This ensures a silky custard texture.
- Add Flavorings: Stir in the vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds, ground cinnamon if not using a stick, a pinch of salt, and optionally the ground nutmeg and orange zest. Whisk until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Combine Custard Base: Slowly pour the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture while whisking steadily to prevent the eggs from curdling. Once combined, strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any cooked egg bits or cinnamon pieces ensuring a smooth filling.
- Reduce Oven Temperature: Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the Custard Pie: Pour the custard filling into the partially baked pie crust. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the custard is just set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center. This gentle baking preserves the creamy texture.
- Cool Properly: Allow the pie to cool fully at room temperature before refrigerating. This step prevents the custard from becoming watery when sliced, helping set the filling perfectly.
Notes
- Allow the pie to cool completely at room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator to maintain the custard’s texture.
- If using a cinnamon stick, remove it after steeping before mixing the custard to avoid bitter bits.
- For an extra citrus aroma, add orange zest to the custard mixture.
- Blind baking the crust prevents a soggy bottom and ensures a crisp pie shell.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 160mg
