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Custard Pie (For a large pie take three)
For a large pie, take three eggs, one pint of milk, half cup sugar, and flavor. The crust for custard pies may be baked (not too hard) before putting in the custard; prick it before putting it in oven to prevent blistering. This prevents it from becoming soggy. -Mrs. N. S. Long.
A bare-bones custard formula of the kind that assumes the cook already knows what a custard pie looks like coming out of the oven. Everything hinges on baking it gently and pulling it before it looks finished.
- The ratioThree eggs to one pint (2 cups) of milk and half a cup of sugar is a soft, lightly sweet custard. It will set, but it stays quivery; an extra yolk gives a firmer slice if you want one.
- "A large pie"Three eggs to a pint of milk will roughly fill a 9-inch plate of ordinary depth, serving six or so; a deeper shell would need proportionately more custard.
- No temperature is givenA custard wants a moderate oven, in the region of 350F on a modern dial. Anything hotter risks curdling the eggs and weeping water into the crust.
- Blind bakingMrs. Long's point is the useful one: bake the shell first, pricked all over so it does not blister, but stop while it is pale. Pie weights or dried beans on parchment do the job better than pricking alone. A wash of beaten egg white over the hot shell seals it further against the wet filling.
- Pour the custard into a warm shellPour the custard into the shell while it is still warm from its pre-bake if you can; a warm shell is a little less prone to soaking. Some cooks set the pie plate on the oven rack and pour the custard in there, to avoid slopping it over the rim.
- "And flavor"The house flavorings for this period were grated nutmeg over the top, a spoonful of vanilla, or lemon peel steeped in the scalded milk. Nutmeg is the traditional choice for a plain custard pie.
- Scald the milkNot stated here, though many period custard recipes call for it, and it is worth doing. Warm milk shortens the bake, which means less time for the crust to soak.
- When it is doneTake it out when a two-inch circle in the center still wobbles as a unit; carryover heat finishes it. A knife inserted an inch from the edge should come out clean. Baked until the center is firm, the custard has already begun to break and will weep as it cools.
- CoolingCool completely before cutting or the slices slump. Refrigerate any pie not eaten the same day; an egg-and-milk filling does not keep at room temperature.
Custard pie descends from the medieval "custarde" or "crustade" -- a pastry coffin filled with a set mixture of eggs and cream -- and the name is generally traced to the crust rather than the filling. By the nineteenth century it was a staple of American home baking because it asked for little beyond eggs, milk, sugar and a flavoring, all of which a farm kitchen had on hand. Mrs. Long's contribution is a note as much as a recipe, offered for the one trick worth passing along -- pre-baking and pricking the shell against the soggy bottom.