Marie Saba

From My Kitchen To Yours

Vanilla Cream Pie is so delicious! It’s rich and creamy, silky smooth with flecks of vanilla bean, and a big pile of whipped cream on top!

To start, you’ll need a fully cooked pie crust. For step-by-step instructions on how to blind bake a pie crust, check out these instructions or this video. This can be done a day ahead. Cool completely and wrap in plastic overnight.

For the Vanilla Cream Pie filling, it’s just one pot on the stove. The hardest part is separating egg whites from egg yolks, so if you can do that, you can make this pie! To activate the cornstarch, the filling needs to come to a boil, but not for long. As soon as it boils, reduce heat to low and whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes. Although I usually don’t bother straining homemade pudding, if you get some lumps in the pudding, you can strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.

As soon as the filling is done, pour it into your cooled crust and cover the surface with plastic wrap. The plastic will prevent a “pudding skin” from forming on top. After cooling completely and just before serving, remove the plastic and add your whipped cream!

Looking for some other pie recipes? Check out our Bourbon Pecan, Classic Pumpkin, Dutch Apple, Key Lime, Peach & Blueberry, or No-Bake Dulce de Leche. So many to choose from! Hope you enjoy!

Vanilla Cream Pie

Ingredients

For Crust:

1 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store bought, cooked and cooled

For Filling:

1/4 cup (35 g) corn starch
1/2 cup (96 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 g) Kosher salt
2 cups (475 ml) milk
4 large egg yolks (16 g each)
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons (6 g) vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter

For Topping:

1 1/2 cup (350 ml) chilled heavy cream
1 Tablespoon (12 g) Instant vanilla pudding powder, optional
2 Tablespoons (24 g) sugar
1 teaspoon (3 g) vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium pot, whisk together corn starch, sugar and salt. Add about 1/2 cup milk; whisk again until completely smooth. Add egg yolks and whisk again. Add remaining milk and heavy cream; whisk again.
Set pot over medium high heat and, while whisking constantly, slowly bring mixture to just barely a boil. (This will take about 5 minutes.) Then reduce heat to low and simmer, while whisking constantly, for about 1-2 minutes, until pudding is thick and smooth. Remove pot from heat.
While pudding is still warm, add vanilla bean paste and butter. Whisk to combine.
Pour warm filling into fully-cooked, fully-cooled pie crust. Smooth top with a spatula. Place plastic wrap flush against the pudding surface (to prevent “pudding skin” from forming), then wrap the entire pie in plastic wrap, and refrigerate to cool completely, 3 to 4 hours.
To make whipped cream, add heavy whipping cream, Instant vanilla pudding powder (if using), and 2 Tablespoons sugar to the bowl. Whisk to combine. Beat until soft peaks form.
Just before serving, spread whipped cream on top of pie and serve.

Make-Ahead Tip: The filing can be made two days ahead. Store in a bowl in the refrigerator. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap to prevent the skin from forming. The crust can also be made a day ahead. Cool completely and wrap in plastic overnight. You can also pour the filling in the pie crust the day before. Just be sure to use the plastic wrap on the surface, store in the refrigerator, and don’t add whipped cream until just before serving.

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