Maple Custard Pie Recipe
Y’all, this pie isn’t for the faint of heart. If you are looking for a dessert without heavy ingredients like syrup, cream, and butter, then this isn’t the one for you 🙂 This recipe uses real whole ingredients that come together to produce a delicious, sweet maple custard pie.
This pie recipe uses real maple syrup instead of refined white sugar. That is a big step up from the previous version of this recipe that called for heaps of white sugar. On those days when Mama needs a treat, this Maple Custard Pie definitely fulfills the need!
What is a Custard Pie?
For years I mistakenly called this recipe a cream pie. It wasn’t until recently that I learned what I have been baking is actually a custard pie. So what is the difference between a cream pie and a custard pie?
A custard pie is made with a base of eggs, sugar, and cream. The uncooked filling is poured into an uncooked crust and baked together in the oven.
A cream pie is made with the same type of base, but the filling is cooked on the stove and then poured into a pre-baked cooled crust.
What Pie Pan is Best?
I believe that everything tastes better when cooked in a cast iron skillet (like Apple Pie Bread Pudding and Corn Bread) so this is usually my pan of choice, but I also use ceramic and glass pie pans for this recipe regularly.
A 9-inch pie plate fits the crust best, but I use a 10” pan (as seen in the photos) without issue.
The Best Southern Maple Custard Pie Recipe
Southern Maple Custard Pie Ingredients:
**this recipe makes enough for 2 pies
- 2 9″ pie crust (here is my favorite pie crust recipe)
- 5 TBSP flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 2 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream (split up)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP butter cut into small pats
- a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
Southern Maple Custard Pie Directions:
STEP 1: Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 375° F for blind-baking the crust. You will need to bring the temperature back down to 350°F when baking the whole pie (step 9).
STEP 2: Prepare the Crust
To prepare the crust, you need to blind-bake it and add an egg wash.
If you are making a homemade pie crust, do that at least an hour before you need to bake the pie because the dough for the crust will need time to chill. If you are using a store-bought crust (or one that you already have made & chilled) then you can jump right in!
Gently press the chilled dough into the pie pan and press down. I like to pinch around the edges to finish it out a bit.
This maple custard pie recipe works best if the pie crust is blind-baked since the filling is liquid. You can see blind baking instructions in this post, but basically, you just add a piece of parchment paper and pour pie weights on top of the crust in the pan. Then bake the weighted crust for 15-20 minutes.
To add an egg wash, beat together one egg and 1-2 TBSP cold water. Then brush the wash onto the outer edges of the crust before baking. You can also use melted butter instead of an egg wash. It will give a little bit of a different finished look, but it works just fine.
STEP 3: Mix the Dry Ingredients
Use a whisk or a fork to mix the flour and salt. Make sure that these ingredients blend together well.
STEP 4: Add the Maple Syrup & Heavy Whipping Cream
Whisk, but don’t beat 2 cups of the heavy cream plus the real maple syrup into the dry ingredients and incorporate it thoroughly.
STEP 5: Mix the remainder of the ingredients except for the butter and the cinnamon.
In another small mixing bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with the whole milk, the egg yolks, and the vanilla.
To separate your egg yolks from the whites, crack the egg in the center and split the shell while holding the yolk & white in one half of the shell. Carefully move the yolk back and forth from one half of the shell to the other over a bowl until all that is left is the yolk.
STEP 6: Add the two mixtures together
Now you can pour the egg mixture into the maple syrup mixture and blend well, but do not beat. Be sure that everything is mixed completely before moving on to the next step of this maple custard pie recipe.
STEP 7: Add the custard filling to the crust
Slowly pour the pie filling into your prepared crust. This mixture is very thin so it will splash when pouring if you are not careful.
STEP 8: Top with butter & cinnamon
Add small pats of butter (2 TBSP worth) evenly onto the top of the filling.
As the butter melts, it will spread across the top of the pie. This gives the signature sweet (and a little salty) Southern taste that we all know and love!
If you are not a fan of cinnamon, then you can skip it, BUT I highly recommend giving it a try. Cinnamon is delish with this Southern Maple Custard Pie recipe!
STEP 9: Let it Bake!
Place the pie in the preheated oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes at 350°F.
At the one-hour mark, check to see if the pie is “bubbling through”. This just means that the entire pie (from the outside all the way to the center) is boiling. Let it bubble through for 10-15 minutes and remove from the oven.
See the video below to see what my pie looked like during the “bubble through” stage just before I pulled it from the oven.
At this point, the center of the pie will still jiggle, but it will not be sloppy and wet.
STEP 10: Allow the pie to cool & set.
Your Maple Custard Pie is still going to be soft and jiggly for a while after being removed from the oven. You can go ahead and eat it now if you like, but it will be more of a pudding consistency than that of a pie.
Place the hot pie on a wire rack to cool. To set the pie more quickly, place it in the fridge or the freezer for a little while then cut a slice… or two… or three.Serve slices of this maple custard pie at room temperature or chilled. My favorite way to eat this pie is cold set out of the freezer with a scoop of Homemade Salted Milk & Honey Ice Cream or homemade whipped cream.
Maple Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 2- 9″ pie crust (see my homemade pie crust recipe)
- 5 TBSP flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 2 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream (split up)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP butter cut into small pats
- a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
Instructions
STEP 1: Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 375° F for blind-baking the crust. You will need to bring the temperature back down to 350°F when baking the whole pie (step 9).
STEP 2: Prepare the Crust
To prepare the crust, you need to blind-bake it and add an egg wash.
If you are making a homemade pie crust, do that at least an hour before you need to bake the pie because the dough for the crust will need time to chill. If you are using a store-bought crust (or one that you already have made & chilled) then you can jump right in!
Gently press the chilled dough into the pie pan and press down. I like to pinch around the edges to finish it out a bit.
This recipe works best if the pie crust is blind-baked since the filling is liquid. You can see blind baking instructions in this post, but basically, you just add a piece of parchment paper and pour pie weights on top of the crust in the pan. Then bake the weighted crust for 15-20 minutes.
To add an egg wash, beat together one egg and 1-2 TBSP cold water. Then brush the wash onto the outer edges of the crust before baking. You can also use melted butter instead of an egg wash. It will give a little bit of a different finished look, but it works just fine.
STEP 3: Mix the Dry Ingredients
Use a whisk or a fork to mix the flour and salt. Make sure that these ingredients blend together well.
STEP 4: Add the Maple Syrup & Heavy Whipping Cream
Whisk, but don’t beat 2 cups of the heavy cream plus the real maple syrup into the dry ingredients and incorporate it thoroughly.
STEP 5: Mix the remainder of the ingredients except for the butter and the cinnamon.
In another small mixing bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with the whole milk, the egg yolks, and the vanilla.
To separate your egg yolks from the whites, crack the egg in the center and split the shell while holding the yolk & white in one half of the shell. Carefully move the yolk back and forth from one half of the shell to the other over a bowl until all that is left is the yolk.
STEP 6: Add the two mixtures together
Now you can pour the egg mixture into the maple syrup mixture and blend well, but do not beat. Be sure that everything is mixed completely before moving on to the next step of this maple custard pie recipe.
STEP 7: Add the custard filling to the crust
Slowly pour the pie filling into your prepared crust. This mixture is very thin so it will splash when pouring if you are not careful.
STEP 8: Top with butter & cinnamon
Add small pats of butter (2 TBSP worth) evenly onto the top of the filling.
As the butter melts, it will spread across the top of the pie. This gives the signature sweet (and a little salty) Southern taste that we all know and love!
If you are not a fan of cinnamon, then you can skip it, BUT I highly recommend giving it a try. Cinnamon is delish with this Southern Maple Custard Pie recipe!
STEP 9: Let it Bake!
Place the pie in the preheated oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes at 350°F.
At the one-hour mark, check to see if the pie is “bubbling through”. This just means that the entire pie (from the outside all the way to the center) is boiling. Let it bubble through for 10-15 minutes and remove from the oven.
See the video below (and in the post) to see what my pie looked like during the “bubble through” stage just before I pulled it from the oven.
At this point, the center of the pie will still jiggle, but it will not be sloppy and wet.
STEP 10: Allow the pie to cool & set.
Your Maple Custard Pie is still going to be soft and jiggly for a while after being removed from the oven. You can go ahead and eat it now if you like, but it will be more of a pudding consistency than that of a pie.
Place the hot pie on a wire rack to cool. To set the pie more quickly, place it in the fridge or the freezer for a little while.
Serve slices of this maple custard pie at room temperature or chilled. My favorite way to eat this pie is cold set out of the freezer with a scoop of Homemade Salted Milk & Honey Ice Cream or homemade whipped cream.
>>More Recipes You Might Like<<
- How to Make a Sweet Southern Persimmon Pie
- Southern Skillet Apple Pie Bread Pudding
- No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Salted Milk & Honey Ice Cream Recipe
- Simple Homemade Heavy Cream: 2 Ways
- Homemade Whipped Cream
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