Marie Saba

From My Kitchen To Yours

Sugar Cream Pie, also known as Hoosier Pie, is my husband’s and son’s new favorite pie! And it’s easy to understand why: the creamy, vanilla custard, together with my ultra-flakey pie crust, is utterly irresistible.

Fortunately, this pie is simple to make. The custard is known as an “eggless custard” because it’s made with just cornstarch, sugar and cream. This simplicity is likely what led to the pie’s popularity, beginning in the early 1800s. In the harsh winter months at that time, when eggs were not as plentiful, farmers could still whip up a treat with a few basic ingredients.

For the crust, I use my ultra-flakey, all-butter pie crust, but you can use a store-bought crust in a pinch. Because this pie only bakes for 20 minutes, you will need to blind bake the crust first. For a full tutorial on blind baking, watch my YouTube video for Sugar Cream Pie or the full Blind Baking Tutorial. For the custard, it comes together on the stove in about 8 minutes. The key is to remove the custard from the heat about 10 seconds after you start to see bubbles rise to the surface. Then simply whisk in the butter, vanilla, and bourbon (if using) and you’re ready to pour it into the crust and bake!

I can’t wait for you to try this one! It’s a wonderful compliment to other traditional holiday pies, like my New Favorite Apple Pie, New & Improved Pumpkin Pie, and Classic Bourbon Pecan Pie.

Sugar Cream Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust, store-bought or homemade
¼ cup (32 g) corn starch
1 cup (200 g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups (600 ml) heavy cream
4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, cubed
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoons Bourbon (optional)
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg for topping

Instructions

Roll out pie crust and fit into pie crust into plate; then freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 415 F (212 C) and remove pie crust from freezer. Let crust sit on counter for 15 minutes while oven preheats. Line pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, or fit a disposable aluminum pie plate inside the parchment (pressing down so the plate fits tightly inside the pie crust) and then place an inverted oven-proof bowl in the center to weigh it down. If you have a pie shield, place on top of the parchment and over the edge of the crust. Bake crust on parchment-lined baking sheet until edges are set, 15-20 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights or disposable pie plate and bowl (be careful – the bowl will be very hot!) and set aside. Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork, reduce heat to 350 F (176 C) and bake crust for 18-20 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
While pie crust is cooling, make custard. In a small pot, whisk together corn starch, sugar and salt. Whisk in cream until combine. Heat custard over medium heat until mixture is thick and large bubbles rise to surface, about 6 to 8 minutes. After you see a few bubbles, whisk about 10 seconds more. Then remove pot from heat, and add butter cubes while whisking until fully combined. Add vanilla and bourbon and whisk just until smooth. Pour hot filling into crust and smooth top with a spatula. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 20 minutes (it’s okay if the filling wobbles when you move the pan – it will firm up when it cools). Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 2 hours. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or up to 48 hours. Serve and enjoy!

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