Award-Winning Berry Custard Pie

I have just remembered that I am a contributor on this blog and could, perhaps, contribute something. So here's the recipe I made (and adapted) for Night of 1000 Pies:

Yes, this really is an award-winning pie, though I didn't win the award. This recipe won the Washington Post Magazine's annual pie contest in the category of custard pies. The berries really snazz it up. It's also a great recipe because of its adaptability: you can put in whatever berries you like, and because they're going to be encased in a custard, fresh berries are not essential; frozen will work just as well. Enjoy this pie in the dead of winter if you like.

I made this as a strawberry pie, but like I said, any berries will do, in any combination. Go wild.

The original recipe called for simply a 9" pie crust. Possibly a store-bought one. But as I had long ago discovered the perfect pie crust recipe, I just used that, with one special modification of my own: to enhance the sweetness of the pie and the strawberry flavor, I substituted strawberry cream cheese for half of the butter. This can get a little bit tricky because the cream cheese will be softer than the COLD butter you need to use to make a good pie crust, but in the end, it all worked out beautifully. Just be patient, and keep all the ingredients as cold as you can.

Pie Crust recipe, with modifications:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced (if using salted butter, omit the 1/4 tsp salt)
  
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, chilled
  
• 1/4 cup ice water

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Rub in butter and cream cheese until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I recommend using your hands. It's the only way.) Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. (Make sure the water stays COLD.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate, adding more flour or ice water as needed. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

The pie recipe:

• 12 oz. fresh or frozen berries (I used Nature's Promise organic frozen strawberries. Defrost berries overnight if using frozen.)
  
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk (or, if you're me and don't want to buy whole milk because you'll never drink the rest of it, substitute. I had a can of evaporated fat-free milk sitting in the pantry, so I used that. I wouldn't recommend using plain skim milk, though; I think it would compromise the creamy taste needed here)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon flour

Position oven rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375 degrees.
Make sure berries are defrosted fully if using frozen. Retain any juices from the berries.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the sugar and flour; combine until smooth.
Arrange the berries in an even layer in the unbaked pie shell. (I cut the strawberries into halves here, also.) Pour in any reserved juices.
Pour the egg-milk mixture over the berries. (Warning: You may have more mixture than will fit into your pie crust. This recipe's ingredient amounts may need some adjustments.)
Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the center of the pie has set.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.


Enjoy! I know I did.