Ali Bakes: Super-Healthy Sugar Cream Pie

Ok, so I'm in a sarcastic mood, and this pie is NOT healthy.  (Hopefully I didn't turn anyone away!)  But simple ingredients and an excuse to make a pie crust is a recipe combination that I can't resist!  Plus, I saved this recipe ages ago, and it's about time I figure out what it's all about.  (It's in the oven as I type this, so results aren't final yet...though my taste-test of the filling tells me that it can't be TOO bad!)

Now...let's see if I can limit myself to small-ish-sized pieces and only one piece per night!  Good luck to you if you have the same goal, hehe.

Sugar Cream Pie

*adapted from PassTheSushi.com & CatzInTheKitchen.com

Ingredients:

For the Dough (makes 2):

3 cups flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup ice water

 

For the Filling:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt for the dough.  Add the cold butter into the flour mixture and toss to coat.  Put the flour mixture into a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the pieces of the butter are beginning to crumble.  (OR do what I did and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until small crumbles form.)

With four quick pulses of the food processor, drizzle the ice water into the feed tube.  (OR do what I did and drizzle the water into the bowl, followed by continued stirring and then mixing with floured hands.)

As soon as the dough begins to form a ball, place it on a floured surface and divide it into two equal balls.  Flatten to a disk and wrap one in plastic wrap. Firm up the other dough disk in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  (The dough can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.  Thaw in frozen dough in the refrigerator before proceeding with recipe.)

Once the dough is chilled, roll it out and fit it into a greased, 9-inch pie plate.  If needed, trim and crimp the edges with your fingers.  Pierce the bottom with a fork or knife and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm.

Place a baking sheet in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare the filling by whisking the heavy whipping cream, sugar, flour, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Pour into the chilled pie crust, dot with the butter pieces, and sprinkle the top with nutmeg. 

Transfer the pie plate to the hot baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly in spots, about 55 more minutes.  (The center will still jiggle slightly when done.)  Cover the crust edges with foil if they're browning too quickly.  Transfer to a rack and let cool completely. 

 

Serve chilled or at room temperature.