Cranberry Custard Pie

Move cranberries from your side dish to your dessert table this holiday season with a Cranberry Custard Pie. Smooth, creamy custard and fresh cranberries pair with a flaky butter crust in the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

Three is an odd number. Both literally and figuratively since it’s not only the opposite of even but also quite peculiar. Three is the number of circles at a Ringling Brothers Circus, the number of seconds to throw a grenade after pulling the pin and the average number of pie varieties served on Thanksgiving. Three’s a good start, but I want more: more monkeys, more time before my hand blows off and more pies than a pilgrim could dream of.

Imagine a world with a four-ring circus, four-second hand grenades and four holiday pies. I’m talking next-level entertainment, time-delayed ammunition and a quad-squad of pies to celebrate Thanksgiving: it would be a utopia. Better yet, a pie-topia. No longer would Americans endure the annual constraints of pumpkin, apple and pecan, but freedom would ring with a fourth pie. A silky, Cranberry Custard Pie popping with color and flavor.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for tradition over here…, but variety is the spice of life, pumpkin spice is not. So if you’re up for diversifying your holiday desserts, let’s get down to business with a custard cranberry pie. Baked in a flaky, all butter crust (called pâte brisée by the fancy-pants French), the smooth, creamy filling is so simple to make that it comes together in 5 minutes flat. Striking the perfect balance of sweet and tart, the Big 3 holiday pies need make room for 1 more because this show stopping Cranberry Custard Pie just earned its spot at the dessert table.

Before sharing the recipe for Cranberry Custard Pie, here are a few tips to help you out:

Ingredient Tips

Fresh cranberries are highly recommended but frozen will work in a pinch. Defrost, drain and pat dry before use to avoid excess moisture making the pie soggy.

Preparation Tips

Peek through your oven window after the first 30 minutes of baking. If pie edges are overbrowning then cover with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield for the remaining time.

How to Store Cranberry Custard Pie

Cool pie completely after baking then cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Pie is best the day it is made.

I hope you enjoy this custard pie recipe. Please leave a rating and review below when you try it yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you like cranberry pie then you’ll love this recipe for Cranberry Orange Bread. With fresh cranberries and zested orange peel this quick bread is a soft, fluffy mingling of sweet and tart. 

Cranberry Custard Pie

Heather Wolf

Move cranberries from your side dish to your dessert table this holiday season with a Cranberry Custard Pie. Smooth, creamy custard and fresh cranberries pair with a flaky butter crust in the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

chill dough 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course Pies and Tarts

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Equipment

• Food Processor

Ingredients

  

Pie Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt fine
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 8 tbsps unsalted butter cold and cubed
• 2 tbsp ice cold water

Cranberry Custard

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tbsps unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract pure
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries rinsed and dried

Instructions

 

Pie Crust

• Add flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor. Pulse to combine.
• Add chilled butter then pulse until butter is reduced to the size of small peas.
• Drizzle in ice cold water and pulse until mixture begins to clump.
• Remove dough from food processor and place on a floured surface. Flatten into a disk then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with buter or spray with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface, rotating a quarter turn after each roll of the rolling pin until dough is 12-inches in diameter.
• Gently drape dough into pie dish then trim edges leaving a 1-inch overhang. Tuck excess dough under itself then pinch to crimp edges around the rim.
• Place pie plate in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove pie crust from the freezer and line completely with aluminum foil. Next, fill foiled crust to the top with pie weights (dried beans or dried rice also work well).
• Bake for 50 minutes.
• Remove pie from the oven. Carefully lift aluminum foil by the edges to remove both foil and weights from the crust.
• Allow crust to cool slightly while you prepare filling.

Cranberry Custard

• Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, heavy whipping cream, eggs and vanilla until combined.
• Add flour and salt then whisk until mixture is smooth.
• Place cranberries in the par-baked crust then pour custard on top of berries.
• Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until pie is golden brown and custard is puffy. The center of the pie should have a slight jiggle when wiggled and will continue to set as it cools. Avoid overbaking. If pie appears to be overbrowning as it bakes, tent with aluminim foil.
• Remove pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cover and store cooled pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Pie is best the day it is made.

Keyword cranberry, custard, pie