2008.07.30
Reader recipe: Wineberry Custard Pie
Now THAT is one pretty pie.
This photo was sent to me by reader Daniel, who picked a mess of wineberries on a recent camping trip and transformed them into this lovely custard pie. Daniel tells me he grew up baking and worked as a mess boy, and later a steward, on an oil tanker. Sounds like he knows a thing or two about baking a good pie.
Daniel says he grew up eating fruit custard pies with everything from peaches or apples to cherries or blueberries. He runs into folks all the time who have never had a custard pie, and I'm racking my brain to remember if I've had a custard pie before myself. With all the pies my grandmother used to make, I find it kind of hard to believe I have never had some form of a custard pie -- besides pumpkin, of course.
At any rate, Daniel shared his recipe for a custard pie, which looks too incredibly easy to pass up. A word on wineberries: They are a wild, raspberry-like berry that can be found in these parts during the summertime. My predecessor on the food beat, Beth Macy, did a column about wineberries once.
I don't have much experience with them. My wild berry-picking experience is limited to huckleberries, wild blackberries and tea berries, which are really only good for eating right then and there, in my opinion.
Below, you'll find Daniel's custard pie recipe. And if we're all very lucky, maybe Win will decide to share her recipe for rhubarb custard pie (hint, hint). Enjoy!
Update: I forgot to note that Daniel says if he makes a peach or apple custard pie, he sprinkles cinnamon over the top before baking.
Fruit Custard Pie
Makes 2 pies
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts
6 eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar (more or less, depending on sweetness of fruit)
2-4 cups of fruit (give or take-- you want enough to cover the whole top of the pie once you pour in the custard)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line two pie pans with a pie crust and crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork.
Beat eggs. Mix with milk and sugar until well-blended. Pour custard into pie shells.
Top custard with fresh fruit until the entire top of the pie is covered. The fruit will float.
Bake pies for 10 minutes at 400, then cut oven temperature back to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes.
Editor's note: Daniel did not mention covering the edges of the pie crust with tin foil, but if you find that the edges are getting too brown before the pie is set, you may wish to cover them with foil to prevent burning. -- L.N.







That sounds delicious.
I love custard pies.
Comment by Jordan — July 30, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Wow! That's absolutely gorgeous.
Great going Daniel!!
I can't remember ever putting fruit into my custard pies, either Lindsey. I've now found a new genre of pies to enjoy!!
Comment by Amy Hanek — July 30, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
The pie looks great! I haven't tried making pies yet, but I did make a blueberry cake for my husband this weekend. He decided it should be my new signature cake! I love summer berries!
Comment by Autumn — July 30, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
Let me introduce myself...I lived in Roanoke for 12 years and moved back to Erie, PA (my home town) 6 years ago. I still read the Roanoke paper... the Fridge Magnet Blog being my favorite. You can't beat that "Southern Cooking." I have a recipe for Rhubarb cream pie.
2 cups rhubarb, cut in 1" pieces
1 cup sugar
3 tab. flour
4 egg yolks...save whites for meringue
4 tab. melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix sugar, flour, butter, milk,egg yolks & vanilla together. Pour over cut-up rhubarb. Put in unbaked pie shell. Bake 425 degrees 45 to 60 min. Note: you might want to pre-bake pie shell a bit. I do so the bottom crust is not soggy and bakes well.
After pie is done, put meringue on pie
Meringue
4 egg white
1/4 teas.plus 1/8 teas. cream of tarter
1/2 cup of sugar
Mix egg whites with cream of tarter until they just slip in the bowel. Add sugar a little at a time, mixing till sugar dissolves and soft peaks form. Bake 400 degrees for 7 to 9 min., or until meringue is a little browned.
Yummy!!!
Patricia DeSantis
5520 River Run Drive
Fairview, PA 16415
Comment by Patricia DeSantis — August 2, 2008 @ 2:00 pm