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Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie

By Russell Selander

Published on December 2, 2019

Time

2 hours, plus 6½ hours chilling, and 4 hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie

Ingredients

Dough

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided1 ½ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon table salt ¼ cup ice water, divided

Filling

¾ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar 3 large eggs 3 tablespoons cornstarch ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon table salt 2 cups whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons dark rum

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled½ cup packed light brown sugar ⅛ teaspoon table salt ½ cup sour cream 2 teaspoons bourbon

Before You Begin

If you prefer your pie with a boozier punch, increase the rum to ¼ cup; if you prefer a nonalcoholic eggnog, you can omit the rum altogether and use regular whipped cream.

Instructions

    for the dough

  1. Grate 2 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
  2. Pulse ¾ cup flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining ½ cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
  3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
  4. for the pie

  5. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
  6. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  7. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.)
  8. While crust bakes, whisk sugar, eggs, cornstarch, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in bowl. Bring milk and cream to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture to temper, then slowly whisk tempered egg mixture into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, bubbling, and registers 180 degrees, 30 to 90 seconds (custard should have consistency of thick pudding). Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into clean bowl, then stir in rum.
  9. With pie still on sheet, pour custard into warm crust, smoothing top with clean spatula into even layer. Bake until center of pie registers 160 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours. Spread whipped cream attractively over pie and dust with remaining ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon. Serve.
  10. for the whipped cream

  11. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl of stand mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Whisk to combine before whipping.
Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.

Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie

Headshot of Russell Selander
By Russell Selander
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Time

2 hours, plus 6½ hours chilling, and 4 hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

Dough

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ½ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup ice water, divided

Filling

¾ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon table salt
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons bourbon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Dough

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ½ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup ice water, divided

Filling

¾ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon table salt
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons bourbon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Dough

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ½ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup ice water, divided

Filling

¾ cup (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon table salt
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon table salt
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons bourbon

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

For a delicious eggnog, three elements need to be in perfect balance: sweetness, richness, and the amount of alcohol. We wanted to strike that balance in a custard pie for a new take on this classic holiday drink. Adding cinnamon and nutmeg to our custard base gave it a subtle hint of spice, but in our opinion it wasn't truly eggnog without a little booze—just 2 tablespoons of dark rum added plenty of depth to our pie without overpowering it. To preserve the rum's flavor, we stirred it into the filling after heating and straining the custard. To top off our eggnog pie, we whipped up our Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream.

Before You Begin

If you prefer your pie with a boozier punch, increase the rum to ¼ cup; if you prefer a nonalcoholic eggnog, you can omit the rum altogether and use regular whipped cream.

Instructions

    for the dough

  1. Grate 2 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
  2. Pulse ¾ cup flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining ½ cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
  3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
  4. for the pie

  5. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
  6. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  7. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.)
  8. While crust bakes, whisk sugar, eggs, cornstarch, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in bowl. Bring milk and cream to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture to temper, then slowly whisk tempered egg mixture into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, bubbling, and registers 180 degrees, 30 to 90 seconds (custard should have consistency of thick pudding). Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into clean bowl, then stir in rum.
  9. With pie still on sheet, pour custard into warm crust, smoothing top with clean spatula into even layer. Bake until center of pie registers 160 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours. Spread whipped cream attractively over pie and dust with remaining ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon. Serve.
  10. for the whipped cream

  11. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl of stand mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Whisk to combine before whipping.

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