Mama Steph

Simple Crème Brûlée Pie

I had extra eggs in my fridge this week, as I had bought some of my friend Melanie’s Aracauna chicken eggs to play with with my camera.  They are so beautiful! I love the pale blue color of them.   Here they are mixed with some brown eggs:

I really want to keep chickens, but others with whom I live are not convinced that this is a good idea.  We’ll see.  I guess I’m just blessed that we have friends who keep them!

But I digress; I had the excess eggs in the fridge, and searched for a dessert I could make to use some of them up.  I happened across a recipe for Crème Brûlée Pie at the Antiquity Oaks blog.  It looked really easy, and I had every ingredient in the kitchen already. Also, it really only took about five minutes to put together.  Perfect! Here is the recipe:

Simple Creme Brulee Pie

(From the Antiquity Oaks blog with minor changes)

Grease and flour a 10-inch, deep-dish pie pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the following ingredients into a blender and blend on low for about 30 seconds or until all ingedients look well mixed:

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp real vanilla extract
4 eggs

For the topping: ground nutmeg (freshly ground, if you have it) and demerara or turbinado sugar.  (these types of sugar are readily available at most grocery stores now; if you don’t find it there, health food stores have it. My local Walmart and Brookshire’s grocery stores both carry it.)

Pour mixture from blender into pie pan.  Sprinkle with nutmeg, and lightly sprinkle with turbinado or demerara sugar to lightly cover the entire top of the pie. The  sugar will stay crunchy on top of the pie through the baking process and mimics the flame-kissed top of crème brûlée. The batter will be quite loose, so be careful when placing in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. A sharp knife inserted into the center of the pie should come out clean, and the sliced area should stay open and not look liquid-y inside.

Prior to baking
Just out of the oven
Creme brulee pie and whole nutmeg

The pie is perfect for you if you like  baked egg custard; I especially loved the top, with its crunchy sweetness! It’s best to serve cooled, in my opinion, but it would be ok to eat it warm.  I used Smucker’s caramel ice cream topping to drizzle on top of it, which was a nice touch.  Any excuse to use caramel topping will do!  🙂

Let me know if you try this one!  Leave a comment if you do, or if you have additional suggestions as to how to make this pie even better!



61 comments

  1. Steph, I can’t wait to try this one. Chickens are not that much fun to raise; childhood experience. And lastly, your food pics are beautiful. I love seeing your pictures as much as reading the blog and trying the recipes.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Vicki! That means a lot coming from a photographer like yourself! 🙂 I’m sure you’re right about the chickens, too; I just like the idea, but in reality, maybe I’d regret it. Perhaps better to just keep buying from other brave souls? 🙂

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      • I cannot wait to try your recipe. The caramel topping is what caught me. As far as raising chickens,getting up on a cold morning to take care of them, is a bit inconvenient. However, I have 15 hens and a rooster, named Chaunticler. Each hen also has a name.I must say after having them for 3 years they are becoming my friends. Each spring,I will have a few hens that will hatch some eggs for me. talk about exciting!raising chickens is not a good way to make extra money. However, it is a rewarding hobby. It has been the best relaxation therapy I could ever imagine. It is so relaxing to sit in a chair and watch my little hens peck around the yard. Believe it or not, but each hen has her own personality. I have come to the conclusion, that the inconvenience of getting up on those cold mornings, is worth the rewards of raising chickens. Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love my chickens and how much I love to raise them. If you like animals I doubt you would regret it. You might try just a few of them. Good luck!

      • Hi Michelle.. & yes, I totally agree with you about the chickens..!!! And like you, I also beg to differ about the chickens ….. Having chooks seems to run in my family (I suppose – except for my Dad..!!!) :/ ..who hated them – mainly roosters..!! :/ My Nonna had them, I had 600 (at one time), including the lovely Araucanas, and both my kids grew up with them … and absolutely loved them..!! Watching the chickens hatch, feeding them, collecting the eggs .. & more. ^_^ In fact if my son was unsettled, or needed baby-sitting (when I was doing chores outside), I would park him (in his pram) in front of our lovely Silkies, and he would have happily sat there watching them, for hours..!!! (Y) And I agree, they are the best fun..!! (Y)

      • Hi Steph, Love yr recipes too..!!! (Y) But I beg to differ about the chickens ….. Having chooks seems to run in my family (I suppose – except for my Dad..!!!) :/ ..who hated them – mainly roosters..!! :/ My Nonna had them, I had 600 (at one time), including the lovely Araucanas, and both my kids grew up with them … and absolutely loved them..!! Watching the chickens hatch, feeding them, collecting the eggs .. & more. ^_^ In fact if my son was unsettled, or needed baby-sitting (when I was doing chores outside), I would park him (in his pram) in front of our lovely Silkies, and he would have happily sat there watching them, for hours..!!! (Y) Go for it.. they are the best fun..!! (Y)

  2. Thank you for posting this recipe. It looks easy enough that even a challenged cook like myself could make it. I also love your pictures. You are not only a talented chef, gifted writer, but a darn good photographer to boot..

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  4. I also wish I could raise chickens but at least I also know someone who has them. This is a gorgeous recipe! (I’m starting to think gorgeous is my word of the day.)
    I’d love to make this in individual servings.

    Reply

    • Yes, it’s nice to know chicken-ers….wait, is that a word? 😉 I’m glad you like the recipe; let me know if you try the individual ones. I’d love to know how it works out!

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      • Hey! Just wanted to give you another interesting fact. A person who raises chickens are called chicken “fanciers”. Kind of sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Still loving my biddies! 😉

  7. I love creme brulee. I want to try this today. I’m a custard lover. I only have white sugar…won’t that get good and crusty, too? I’m not familiar with the sugars you mentioned.

    Reply

    • Regular sugar won’t work, nor will regular brown sugar because they are too fine and will simply be absorbed by the liquid in the mixture. Turbinado and demerara are very large grained and coarse and don’t easily melt in liquid, which is why they stay crunchy.

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  9. Looks fabulous! Will bring to family dinner tomorrow. I’m going to poach some pears (and possibly some roasted grapes) to add on the side. Great photos!

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  10. Do you serve it warm or cold? ie should it be popped in the oven after dinner (allowing for a break before dessert), and served out of the oven, or should you make it before hand and throw it in the fridge?

    Can it be heated up afterward? The poached pears sound like a great addition, along with the caramel sauce!

    Reply

  11. Can not wait to try this. We have chickens and have a blast with them. Every one has a different personality. They really are not that much work.

    Reply

    • I totally agree Nancy..!! And I too I beg to differ about the chickens ….. Having chooks seems to run in my family (I suppose – except for my Dad..!!!) :/ ..who hated them – mainly roosters..!! :/ My Nonna had them, I had 600 (at one time), including the lovely Araucanas, and both my kids grew up with them … and absolutely loved them..!! Watching the chickens hatch, feeding them, collecting the eggs .. & more. ^_^ In fact if my son was unsettled, or needed baby-sitting (when I was doing chores outside), I would park him (in his pram) in front of our lovely Silkies, and he would have happily sat there watching them, for hours..!!! (Y) Dont’ you agree.. they are the best fun.??!!! (Y)

      Reply

  12. This looks delicious! I’d love to try a gluten-free version of this. And I like the idea of using turbinado sugar for the crunchy topping. I’ve held back on buying a kitchen torch because creme brûlée would be the only use for it here.

    I’d be curious to try caramelized sugar syrup, like flan.

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    http://imakeiam.wordpress.com

    Reply

  14. If you only have regular or brown sugar, bake the pie first, after it is done cooking, remove from oven, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over pie, put it under the broiler till golden brown, WATCH CLOSELY ! You will end up with a very traditional brulee on top !

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  15. I was so excited to see this recipe “simple creme brullee pie”.. I made it tonight and it is definately a custard pie! If you like custard it would be a great recipe but I was actually looking forward to creme brullee and was dissapointed a bit! It should be called “simple custard pie”

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  16. I’m a little puzzled by Kendra’s comment! Isn’t creme brullee a custard dessert? My hubby loves creme brullee! He orders it whenever he spots it on a menu! I’ll have to surprise him with this one! Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Made this tonight…wonderful! I used regular sugar on top and it was just fine. I tend to “tweak” recipes the 2nd time around; I’m thinking of trying Carmel on the bottom for a little added sweetness. We used Smuckers Carmel on top, but felt it needed a bit more. Thanks for this recipe, will be using again for certain!

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  23. Exactly how much turbinado sugar are you supposed to put on top? I didn’t see a measurement in the recipe so I guessed, and it was way too little. Need to correct for next time.

    Otherwise the pie was delicious and everyone wanted seconds 🙂

    Reply

    • I just use Demerara sugar and cover the whole top with it, sprinkling it so no big lumps of sugar fall in. But it’s definitely covered. The original recipe (referenced and linked above..great site to visit!) used plain white sugar, I think. Just use whatever is your favorite. I use Demerara because its a bigger crystal and lends a nice crunch and more flavor. 🙂

      Reply

    • I’m the author of the original recipe, and I used turbinado. I have the recipe in my book, Homegrown & Handmade, and I suggest 1-2 tablespoons of turbinado or demerara. If you use plain sugar, it won’t be as crunchy. You don’t want to go over 2 tablespoons of sugar because it will cause a huge crack to open up, and although the crack will close, there will be zero sugar on that part of the pie.

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      • I made this pie yesterday from your recipe. It suggested – chill for 3 to 4 hours but when I did that the crust became sticky and not crunchy as it was when taken out of the over. I put it in the fridge as that is what I thought you meant by chilling. It still tastes great but the crunch is what I love about crème brulee.

  24. I’m planning on making this tomorrow and can’t wait to try it! I wonder if I could add a little cream cheese to it?

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  25. I made this tonight and all I taste is sugary scrambled eggs. The only thing I did different was change the flour to almond flour. Any ideas as to what I may have done wrong?

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    • Hi Laurel! I’m sorry it didn’t taste the way you expected; that had to be disappointing! You may have done absolutely nothing wrong; it definitely has an egg-y flavor, but shouldn’t taste truly like scrambled eggs unless you forgot your sugar or vanilla. I’ve done that before with other recipes. 🙂 Beyond that, maybe this one is just too egg-laden for your taste buds, sweet lady. Sorry about that!

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    • I should have mentioned that I have tried making this recipe with almond flour, so I know that’s what caused your problem. It was a very weird consistency that had a very unpleasant mouth feel — grainy rather than creamy.

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      • Yeah, it was pretty grainy. I’m also wondering if I should’ve used just the egg yolks, instead of the whole egg?

    • The original recipe uses the whole egg. Using only egg yolk with almond flour would not yield anything close to the original pie, so you’d essentially be developing a whole new recipe, and I’m sure it would not come anywhere close to creme brulee. The only thing you did “wrong” was to use the almond flour. I’ve made this recipe hundreds of times over the years and tried a lot of variations, so if you want something that resembles creme brulee, you should follow the recipe as it is written. The only alternation I ever tried that came close was to sub oat flour for the wheat flour.

      Reply

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