A Southern Grace: beany, baby.

May 24, 2013

beany, baby.

Yum

While I did make my mom a tried-and-true coconut cream pie for Mother's Day, I also played with a new recipe, which is always a risk.


Fortunately, the results were incredible.

While it might not be quite as magnificent as my beloved brown sugar pie, this pie is definitely going to be part of my favorites rotation. I think vanilla beans are fantastic--I love the speckled appearance of the tiny black seeds against the pristine white filling. Their taste is enjoyable too, and much more intense than vanilla extract.


Yep, this pie is truly tasty. Though there are no eggs in it, it sets up like a dream and is extremely smooth and velvety. The highlight for me, of course, is the sprinkling of cinnamon, and the final step of broiling the top is key in bringing out some fine flavors.


The original recipe was entitled Sugar Cream Pie, but that just didn't sound descriptive enough for me. Patrons at my restaurant rely on our menu board and the servers' descriptions for information about our desserts, so the name has to say a lot. I thought it'd be good to include the primary flavor, vanilla bean, and most important ingredient, cream, in the name.

Vanilla Bean Cream Pie
(an amalgam of this and this)
Ingredients:
  • 9 inch pie crust, baked and cooled
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or one vanilla bean
For topping:
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch; set aside.
On low to medium heat in a medium-sized sauce pan, add 4 tablespoons of butter, heavy cream, and milk. If you're using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean and add them and the empty bean to the pot with the liquids. After the butter has melted, remove the bean, then slowly add the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk just until the mixture is thick and creamy. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using.
Immediately pour the mixture into the pie crust and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Place the pie under the broiler until the butter bubbles. Watch your pie carefully; this will not take long.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

40 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

Oh this looks wonderful! I fall hard for custardy desserts!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Mmmmhhh, luscious! This pie is irresistible.

Cheers,

Rosa

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

Good call in using both "vanilla" and "cream" in the recipe title. Reading both words would make me want to order a slice of pie!

Pam said...

I could eat several slices of this beauty - it looks and sounds amazing Grace.

Cheesy Pennies said...

Love this one. The cinnamon topping? Just wow.

Rachel Cotterill said...

Looks good to me! Quite different to the kind of pie fillings I usually make (I tend towards fruit, out of habit).

José Manuel said...

Que ricura de corte

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I'm so saving this recipe for my MIL who doesn't eat eggs! :D

Becki's Whole Life said...

Oh wow. I want to call this a custard, but no eggs so not sure if it still is? I guess the cornstarch is what sets this up so nicely? Love it. I love simple desserts like this where one or two flavors make the whole recipe. Guess I need to go get me some good vanilla beans!

Joanne said...

That must taste a little bit like a cross between creme brulee and ice cream in a pie crust. And that is always a good thing.

Chocolate Shavings said...

The texture looks just perfect - yum!

lisa is cooking said...

This is a beauty! I love seeing those flecks of vanilla seeds.

Gloria Baker said...

Look wonderful Grace, OMY!! really tempting!!

Mimi said...

Diet be damn, I'm in.
Mimi

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Vanilla beans add a flavour I just love.

Angie's Recipes said...

Very creamy and tempting!

Haddock said...

Any more pieces like that left ?

Rosita Vargas said...

Magnífico pie un regalo para la vista y el paladar me encanta,abrazos y abrazos.

I Wilkerson said...

How inspired! I love vanilla as a flavor!

vanillasugarblog said...

That sounds good Grace!
I love vanilla cream. well banana cream too!

pam said...

How long would it take you to get to Soddy Daisy TN? I need you to bring me some of this!

jillian said...

Sounds wonderful! I, too, love the cinnamon on top!

Blond Duck said...

Oh Lord!

Katerina said...

That cinnamon sprinkle on top of this pie makes it simply irresistible!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Oh my, this looks divine!

Lori said...

Check. On the to do list. Looks amazing.

Anonymous said...

Up North we call it sugar cream pie and we use nutmeg instead of cinnamon. Great Pie.

Natalie @ Obsessive Cooking Disorder said...

I can't believe there's no eggs, it looks luscious! My sister gave me a jar of real vanilla beans and I've been looking for the perfect recipe to test them out :)

Sarah said...

Mine is not getting thick and creamy and it has been more than 15 minutes of whisking.. Any technique I am missing? or maybe I don't understand what thick and creamy should look like.

grace said...

@Sarah: Hmm. Once the cornstarch is added and the mixture gets hot enough, it should thicken nicely. Is your mixture thick enough to coat the back of a spoon? That should be sufficient--it doesn't have to be super thick like pudding and will set up more as it chills. I'm sorry my directions weren't clear!

Sally Dee said...

it was delicious thank you

Unknown said...

Could you use Soy Nog in place of the milk? If not, is skim ok?

grace said...

@Shannon: I've never tried soy nog and have no experience with it, so I can't say whether or not it would work. Skim milk can work, but the results are less creamy and if I'm being honest, pretty disappointing after you've had the real version. If you try the soy nog, let me know how it turns out!

knbarbknecht said...

So I made this pie for our potluck at work today. In fact, I made 2 and it's a good thing! This pie is scrumptious. People raved. It was devoured. Thank you!

Unknown said...

I credit this pie for snagging my boyfriend for me. Once again, I'll be making this for Thursday. Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I made your pie and while the taste was excellent it was still kinda runny even though I cooked it twenty minutes longer then the recipe calls for cause it wasn't thickening. Coffee infused whipped cream and a hazelnut crust go amazing with this filling so I'm gonna try again.

grace said...

@Anonymous: That does sound amazing!!

Kelsie Michelle Tomei said...

This pie is delicious! Will make again, but I recommend using 2 vanilla bean pods,also I made a macadamia nut Graham cracker crust, and it was amazing with the creamy custard

grace said...

@Kelsie Michelle Tomei: Those changes sound delicious!

Unknown said...

I love it,
I browned the butter and it is Awsome.