Custard Pie
Awaiting Trial Recipe version 1 · Filed by the Court (seed pool) · Adapted from 'Custard Pie' — The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer, 1910 edition as read on Wikisource / Project Gutenberg eBook #65061 (public domain) (Ch. XXVIII, Pies; crust Ch. XXVII, Pastry). Measures and oven temperatures modernized. Conversion: the crust is a reformulation, not a swap, per the rule base: Farmer's Plain Paste proportions (1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup lard, 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cold water — Ch. XXVII, Pastry) are rebuilt at 210 g blend (the original 188 g flour weight, +12%), with an egg, sour cream, and vinegar added as binder and acid, and a 1-hour chill; the filling needs no conversion — it contains no flour. Farmer gives the oven only as 'quick at first, then low'; the two temperatures above (425°F, then 300°F) are the standard modern equivalents for that instruction and are disclosed here. No custard pie is in the existing pool.
Two eggs, three tablespoons of sugar, salt, a cup and a half of milk, and a few gratings of nutmeg, strained into a paste-lined plate with a fluted rim. Farmer starts it in a quick oven to set the rim, then drops the heat, because egg and milk together need low cooking. The crust is the converter's reformulated gluten-free paste.
Why this complexity: Pie crust is a reformulation with binder, acid, and a 1-hour chill; Custard is started hot, then finished low so it does not curdle.
Ingredients
- For the crust (reformulated from Farmer's Plain Paste; one crust with a fluted rim): 210 g gluten-free 1:1 baking blend (with gum), plus more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (about 55 g) lard, cold (or more butter)
- 1/4 cup (about 55 g) butter, cold and cut small
- 1 large egg, cold
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water, as needed
- For the filling: 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- A few gratings of nutmeg
Method
- Make the crust: mix the salt with the blend. Work in the lard and butter to coarse crumbs. Stir in the egg, sour cream, and vinegar, then ice water just to a dough.
- Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill about 1 hour.
- Roll a little larger than an 8- or 9-inch pie plate and line the plate. Build up a fluted rim with your fingers.
- Beat the eggs slightly; add the sugar, salt, and milk. Strain the mixture into the crust and sprinkle a few gratings of nutmeg over the top.
- Make in a quick oven (425°F) for 10 minutes to set the rim, then decrease the heat to 300°F and make until the custard is just set and a knife at the centre comes out clean, about 30 minutes more — egg and milk in combination need to be cooked at low temperature, as Farmer warns.
- Cool completely before cutting.
The verdict so far
No testimony yet. This recipe is Awaiting Trial — the empty docket is the invitation. Make it and file the first report.
Testimony
No testimony on the record yet.