Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie (2024)

by Thrifty Homesteader

Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie (1)

If your backyard hens have thrown themselves into full production mode, and you want a super delicious and FAST dessert, creme brûlée pie is the recipe for you. I included this one in Homegrown and Handmade, and because it was so fast to make, I often demonstrated this when doing TV talk shows to promote the book. It was no problem at all to get this mixed up and into the pie plate in the 5-minute TV segments.

Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie (2)

It is also not nearly as decadent as it tastes. With only 172 calories per slice (1/8 of the pie), I have even been known to eat a slice for breakfast. Compare the nutrition facts with a lot of children’s breakfast cereals, and this pie is actually more nutritious. I am not saying you should have it every day, but you don’t have to feel guilty if you have this as a dessert every now and then.

Butter a 10-inch, deep-dish pie pan. Do not flour it, or the custard filling with bubble up, and you’ll have some very thin areas after you take it out of the oven and it falls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the following ingredients into a blender and blend on low for about 30 seconds or until all ingredients look well mixed:

2 cups whole milk (cow or goat)
1/2 cup flour (all purpose or rice flour)
3/4 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla
4 eggs

Pour into pie pan. Gentlysprinkle with 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar. The turbinado sugar will stay crunchy on top of the pie through the baking process and mimics the flame-kissed top of creme brulee. The batter will be quite runny, so take care when placing in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. A sharp knife inserted into the center of the pie should come out clean, and the sliced area should stay open and not look watery inside. We chill the pie in the refrigerator for at last four hours before serving, although a few people have told me that they like it when it’s still warm. And a word about the lovely yellow color of the pie in the picture — don’t expect your pie to be that dark unless you are using eggs from pastured chickens.

Gluten-free alternatives

Rice flour is the best gluten-free alternative. Oat flour also works nicely, if you don’t have a problem with cross-contamination in oat products. Almond flour and coconut flour will create something that is nothing like creme brulee.

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Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie (4)

19 thoughts on “Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie”

  1. This is such an easy looking recipe! I think it would be wonderful for an Easter dinner too. Thank you so much for linking up to the Sunday Social Blog hop this week.

    Reply

  2. I did make this:
    Just wonderful and easy
    thank you

    Reply

    • Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. Glad it worked well for you!

      Reply

  3. I have made this many times in the past weeks, everyone loved it that I shared it with. This is a wonderful way to use up those eggs and fresh goats milk,,, so easy too just my style!

    Thank you, do you happen to have a good goats milk fudge recipe?
    Dianne

    Reply

  4. Any way to make it Gluten Free for us Celiacs?

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you asked! In the second edition of Homegrown and Handmade I added a gluten-free alternative. Rice flour is the best alternative flour, and oat flour comes in a close second, although I know some people have issues with cross-contamination with oats sometimes. Almond flour and coconut flour are terrible in this recipe!

      Reply

  5. Any way to make this so I can print it for my recipe folder? I’m still old-fashioned that way. 🙂

    Reply

    • My old-fashioned idea is to cut and paste it into a Word document. 🙂 Sorry this recipe is not in the recipe app because I posted it before I had the recipe app.

      Reply

  6. Looks delicious!! Have you ever tried this with a refined sugar alternative like maple syrup?

    Reply

    • I have not, although we make our own maple syrup, and I make ice cream with maple syrup. I’m worried about increasing the liquid content and it not setting up firmly enough to be able to cut and slice it.

      Reply

  7. Hi- The pie recipe looked great and I plan on trying it soon! My question is about using raw goats milk. If the pie bakes at 350 degrees for 40 min. would it be pasteurized? I have some family members who can’t drink it raw but I think would enjoy it in this recipe as long as its pasteurized. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Yes, as soon as milk hits 170 degrees, it is instantly pasteurized.

      Reply

      • Great! Thank you!

        Reply

  8. It’s in the oven now. I made with almond extract. Plus, I substituted the whole milk with equal parts 2-percent and half-and-half (what I had on hand). And I used 1/2 cup sugar in mix, and sprinkled with 1/4 cup. I can never leave a recipe alone or follow directions. If it’s a disaster, I’ll let you know. But thanks for sharing your recipes.

    Reply

    • No problem! The almond extract sounds like a great variation! If the top cracks badly, it’s because of how much sugar you sprinkled on top. I eventually settled on only 1 tablespoon because whenever I used much more, the top would crack during cooking, so there would be large areas where there was no sugar.

      Reply

  9. Have you tried this substituting honey for the sugar in the pie?

    Reply

    • I have not. Since we have plenty of maple syrup, we sometimes substitute that in some recipes, which is another liquid sweetener, so keep in mind that because this pie needs to firm up, if you add honey, you should decrease the milk so that the amount of liquid stays about the same.

      Reply

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Recipe: Creme Brûlée Pie (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to creme brulee? ›

Cook in a bain-marie

Crème brûlée must be cooked in a bain-marie. It distributes the heat evenly through the egg custard and the temperature can be lowered when necessary. If you put the ramekin dishes into the oven as they are, the custard can split and go grainy, like scrambled egg.

What is the best sugar to use on creme brulee? ›

For the caramelized sugar crust, we recommend turbinado or Demerara sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work, too, but use only 1 scant teaspoon on each ramekin or 1 teaspoon on each shallow fluted dish.

How to make a creme brulee Gordon Ramsay? ›

For the Brulee
  1. 12 fluid ounces heavy cream.
  2. 4 fluid ounces whole milk.
  3. 2 fluid ounces espresso coffee (double shot)
  4. 1 tablespoon tia maria (optional)
  5. 6 large egg yolks.
  6. 2⅔ ounces superfine sugar.

What not to do when making crème brûlée? ›

Avoid These Common Mistakes and Make a Flawless Crème Brûlée
  1. Using the Wrong Size Ramekin. Crème brûlée is traditionally baked in a wide, shallow ramekin. ...
  2. Using Whole Eggs. The pudding portion of crème brûlée should be trembling and tender, but still rich and creamy. ...
  3. Getting Water in the Pudding. ...
  4. Torching the Wrong Sugar.
Jan 20, 2016

What makes crème brûlée not set? ›

My Creme Brulee didn't set properly. What went wrong? This is most likely due to underbaking. Creme Brulee is perfectly baked when it is set and firm around the edges but still has a wobble / jiggle in the middle when shaken.

What creates the hard top on a creme brulee? ›

Crème brûlée is an easy dessert served in individual ramekins with a rich custard base made out of eggs, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. The topping is made out of a thin layer of granulated sugar which is caramelized with a torch to create textually contrasting hard candy-like shell.

What is the best topping for creme brulee? ›

Raspberries – or use mixed fresh berries to pile onto your creme brulee and top with a mint leaf to add flavor and color. Citrus – top with orange or tangerine segments and citrus zest. Berry Sauce – try the homemade Strawberry Sauce, or berry sauce from our Panna Cotta and add the topping just before serving.

Can I caramelized the sugar on creme brulee ahead of time? ›

After you've melted and caramelized the crème brûlée top, let it rest and harden for up to half an hour. You can do this before dinner, put them in the fridge, and then eat after you're done with your meal.

Can I use propane torch for creme brulee? ›

Equipment: For best results, use a kitchen-size propane torch to “burn” the sugar crust. This can also be done using the blowtorch from your garage, or under the pre-heated broiler of your oven, in which case it must be watched closely to avoid blackening the crust or further cooking the custard.

Can you overcook creme brulee? ›

Made well, crème brûlée is a magnificent dessert of silky, vanilla-scented custard—usually made with eggs, milk, and/or cream—beneath a shatteringly crisp topping of caramelized sugar. Made poorly, the dessert is often overcooked, too eggy, or served at the wrong temperature, whether too hot or too cold.

What is the secret of crème brûlée? ›

This is a key step to making perfect crème brûlée – baking your custards in a water bath. A water bath is a pan of water that the ramekins are placed in to bake. A water bath provides some insulation from direct heat which allows the custards to cook gently, evenly, and prevents cracking.

Why did my crème brûlée turn into scrambled eggs? ›

If you have a mixture resembling sweet scrambled eggs then the eggs in the creme brulee are curdling and this happens because they become over heated. If you are making the custard in a saucepan then we suggest that you look at Nigella's Creme Brulee recipe from Kitchen.

What makes crème brûlée crunchy? ›

Creme brulee tastes like a richer, creamier, silkier version of your favorite vanilla custard or pudding. However, the burnt sugar topping adds texture, crunch, and flavor. The burnt sugar topping tastes like bitter caramel hard candy.

Why isn't my crème brûlée hardening? ›

If your creme brulee is not setting, it may be because you didn't bake it for long enough. Make sure to follow the recommended baking time and temperature in your recipe.

What creates the hard top on a crème brûlée? ›

Crème brûlée is an easy dessert served in individual ramekins with a rich custard base made out of eggs, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. The topping is made out of a thin layer of granulated sugar which is caramelized with a torch to create textually contrasting hard candy-like shell.

What is the hard part of the crème brûlée? ›

Creme brulee is a French dessert made of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard, molten caramelized sugar.

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