Cream Pie
One tablespoonful of flour, one pint of cream, threequarters of a cupful of sugar. Boil all together and flavor with a little nutmeg. Have the crust baked and cold before filling.
A three-ingredient boiled cream filling in a pre-baked shell, from the era when "cream pie" meant exactly that and not a cornstarch-and-egg custard. The proportions are unusually lean, so know what you are getting before you commit a pint of cream to it.
- The hinge: thickening is minimalOne tablespoon of flour to a pint (2 cups) of cream will not set into a sliceable custard. Expect a thick, pourable sauce that firms only a little on chilling, best served in a shallow shell and eaten with a spoon. Cooks who want a cuttable wedge use roughly 4-5 tablespoons of flour or 3 of cornstarch per pint, or add 2-3 egg yolks.
- No eggs hereLater cream pies are egg-yolk custards. This one is a flour-thickened cream, which means the flavor is milder and the setting weaker, but it will not curdle or scramble on you.
- Mix the flour firstWhisk the flour into a few tablespoons of the cold cream to a smooth slurry before adding the rest, or it will lump the moment it heats. Then bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and hold it at a gentle boil a full minute or two so the raw flour taste cooks out.
- Sugar levelThree-quarters of a cup to a pint is sweet by modern taste. Half a cup gives a better balance if the cream is good.
- NutmegGrate it fresh from a whole nutmeg; "a little" means about a quarter teaspoon. Pre-ground nutmeg that has sat in a jar contributes almost nothing here, and there is nothing else in the pie to hide behind.
- Crust baked and coldThe original is explicit on this point, and it matters. A fully blind-baked, thoroughly cooled shell keeps the bottom from going soft under a wet filling. Dock and weight it, bake at 400F until dry and lightly colored, then cool completely.
- Cooling and skinPress a piece of buttered paper or plastic directly onto the surface of the hot filling if you want to avoid a skin, and chill at least two hours before serving. It should be cold when it goes to the table.
- YieldA pint of cream fills one 8- or 9-inch shell to a shallow depth; six to eight servings.
Cream pie is one of the simplest lines in the American pie repertoire: a boiled milk or cream filling in a pre-baked shell. Nineteenth-century books print many near-identical versions under names like cream pie, custard pie and Boston cream pie, and the boundaries between them are loose -- the name "Boston cream pie" came to be attached to a filled cake rather than a pie. The reliance on flour rather than cornstarch suits this style's likely date: commercial cornstarch production in the United States began in the 1840s, and cornstarch took time to displace flour in puddings and pie fillings. Nutmeg as the sole seasoning is likewise characteristic of milk and cream dishes of the period.