One of my all time favorite desserts in the world is creme brulee. There is truly nothing better than breaking the crunchy sugar on top to reveal a creamy custard underneath. I was thinking about creme brulees last year at Thanksgiving when I was eating a sad pumpkin pie, and thought, why not make a creme brulee pie?!

5 days of recipe testing, and 4 creme brulee pies later, I finally perfected the creme brulee pie so your Thanksgiving table has a dessert that you can look forward to. It is creamy, crunchy on top and bottom, and perfect for any creme brulee lovers out there.

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Pie Crust – in this recipe I give options for both a gluten free or normal pie crust. Luckily for you, I have recipes for both and video tutorials. If you don’t want to make a pie crust from scratch, you can use a store bought crust!
  • Heavy Cream – I am sorry for you dairy free girlies out there, but I tested this recipe a few ways and we need the heavy cream! Don’t try to use half and half or a dairy free, because it won’t work quite as well.
  • Egg yolks – I decided to go with just the yolks to make it silkier and creamier. If you want, you could use 4 whole eggs instead.
  • Vanilla beans – this gives the best vanilla flavor, however they are expensive! So you can use vanilla extract instead if you like.
  • Granulated white sugar – this is the best for this recipe for appearance and also brulees the best on top!

Tips for Making Creme Brulee Pie:

  • Making the crust: follow crust steps and don’t rush the process! Make sure to chill the dough before rolling out, or it won’t be flakey. Blind bake the crust, this means bake with parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans first, then remove the beans and bake until the bottom is golden.
  • Making the custard filling:
    • Steep your cream – this means bring it up to a barely a bubble, then turn off the heat. We don’t need to simmer it or make it too hot, we just want to bring it up to temp to melt the sugar and salt and to properly temper your eggs.
    • Temper the eggs – do this by VERY SLOWLY whisking in the hot cream, a little at a time. If you whisk in too much at a time, it will scramble and cook the eggs. Whisk a small amount at a time until all of it is incorporated.
  • Baking the pie:
    • Make sure the crust is slightly cool before pouring the custard filling into it, if it is HOT, it will result in a weird texture filling.
    • Bake at 300*F for 35-45 minutes, or better test is pull it when the edges are set but the middle has a very slight jiggle to it.
  • Cool the pie completely and brulee it RIGHT before serving, if you brulee it too early, the hardened sugar will turn soggy.
  • You can make this pie a day prior to serving, then serve and brulee right as you are serving!

@kellyscleankitchen

How to make creme brulee pie #pie #cremebrulee #cooking #dessert

♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design
  • SERVINGS:  1 Pie
  • PREP TIME: 30 Mins
  • COOK TIME: 1-1.5 Hrs
  • TOTAL TIME: 2 Hr

This is the perfect pie for Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Make the pie dough. Follow the instructions for the normal crust, or gluten free version linked in the ingredients. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out, you can also make the dough 3 days in advance.

STEP 2.

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Normal crust version: While the oven is heating up, roll out your pie dough on a floured surface. Roll the dough out so it goes 2 inches past the pie pan. Roll up and onto the pie pan that has been oiled. Cut away excess edges and crimp the edges. Add parchment paper and pie weights to the middle of the pie, or dried beans, and bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and remove the beans and parchment. Bake for another 5 minutes until the middle is golden, remove.

For the gluten free version: If using gluten free version, roll out on parchment paper. Flip the rolled out dough onto your pie pan and cut away excess and crimp the edges. Press into the pie form. Add parchment paper and pie weights to the middle of the pie, or dried beans, and bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and remove the beans and parchment. Bake for another 8 minutes until the middle is golden, remove.

Set aside the crust to cool to room temp. DECREASE THE OVEN TEMP TO 300*F.

STEP 3.

Make the custard filling. In a pot over medium heat, add the heavy cream, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt and vanilla. Bring up to a steep and whisk together. Turn off the heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. While whisking, very slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture, a small amount at a time. Make sure not to add too much at once or it will cook and scramble the eggs. Do this until all the cream is added.

STEP 4.

Pour the cream mixture into the pie crust. Blow out any surface bubbles with a torch to get a smooth surface. Bake in a 300*F oven for 35-45 minutes, until the edges are set, but the middle has a slight wiggle. Cool at room temp for 1 hour, then set in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

STEP 5.

Right before serving, add 2 tbsp of sugar to the top and shake around so it is even. Brulee with a torch, then slice and serve!

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