Description
This Cranberry Custard Pie features a ginger-spiced flaky pastry crust filled with a smooth and tangy cranberry custard, combining the tartness of pure cranberry juice and fresh cranberries with the sweetness of condensed milk and warm ginger notes. Perfect for holiday gatherings or any time you want a festive, flavorful dessert with a unique twist.
Ingredients
Ginger Pastry:
- ½ cup (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 grams) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (50 grams) crystallized ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold butter, cut into ¼” pieces
- ⅓ cup milk or water
Cranberry Filling:
- 3 ½ cups (16 ounces) whole cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup (227 grams) pure cranberry juice (not a blend)
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Make the ginger pastry: Combine all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, crystallized ginger, ground ginger, and salt in a food processor bowl. Process for 1 minute until crystallized ginger is finely chopped.
- Add butter and liquid: Add cold butter pieces and pulse 5 times. With the motor running, slowly pour in milk or water and process until dough forms a cohesive ball around the blade.
- Chill dough: Remove dough, shape into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
- Prepare the crust: Roll out chilled dough to an 11-inch circle within plastic wrap. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough, crimp edges as desired.
- Freeze crust: Place crust-lined pie plate in freezer for 10-20 minutes while preheating oven.
- Preheat oven and prepare crust for baking: Preheat oven to 375ºF with racks placed second from bottom and middle. Line crust with parchment and fill with pie weights.
- Bake crust: Bake crust on lower oven rack for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights, then return to oven for 5-10 minutes until fully baked through.
- Lower oven temperature: Reduce oven heat to 350ºF.
- Cook cranberry filling: In a medium pot, combine cranberries, cranberry juice, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until cranberries burst.
- Puree and strain cranberry mixture: Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree cranberries, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds, aiming for 2 cups of smooth cranberry puree. Add more cranberry juice if needed.
- Mix custard: In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and eggs until smooth.
- Combine custard with cranberry puree: Gradually whisk in cranberry puree to the condensed milk mixture.
- Fill pie crust: Pour cranberry custard filling into baked crust.
- Bake pie: Place pie on middle rack and bake for 30-35 minutes until edges are set with a matte finish and center is slightly wobbly.
- Cool pie: Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack to room temperature.
- Chill pie: Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to fully set custard.
- Serve: Serve chilled, optionally topped with sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- Use pure cranberry juice, not blends, for best tart flavor and consistency.
- Chilling the dough overnight enhances flavor and texture.
- Pie weights can be dry rice, beans, or lentils to prevent crust bubbling.
- The custard is done when edges are set but center still slightly jiggles; it will firm up during chilling.
- Sweetened whipped cream makes a lovely accompaniment but is optional.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 2+ hours chilling dough)
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
