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A cream pie or tart is where the filling is made
from a cooked custard or mousse,
spread in a cooled, pre-baked pie
shell. On the other hand, a custard
pie is when the filling, an uncooked custard, is poured into an unbaked
pie shell and both are baked together.
If cooking a pie filling (like a pastry cream or
pudding) over the stovetop be sure that you let it cool slightly before pouring
it into your cooled, pre-baked pie shell. A hot mixture added to a cool crust is
likely to create a soggy bottom crust, while a completely cooled filling just
won't adhere to the layer below it. A warm filling is ideal.
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A pie crust made with cookie crumbs
will sometimes stick to the pan when the pie is chilled. A quick
remedy is to soak a dishtowel in very hot water, wring it out, and wrap it
around the base of the pie plate for 5 minutes. The heat will soften the
butter in the crust thereby loosening it for easy removal. |
If you're topping a pie with
meringue remember to spread it all the way to the edge of the crust to
prevent it from shrinking or producing a watery edge.
Cream pies will cut more cleanly if you wipe the
blade of a hot knife (dipped into a container of hot tap water) often with a
damp towel.
For information
about storing Custard Pies, go to
Baked
Goods & Candy Storage.
 My
favorite "cheater" pie is a basic chocolate cream pie. Just mix 2, 4
serving boxes of instant pudding mix with 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 cups
of milk until very thick. I like to whip this until light and thick with
my mixer. Then fill the pie shell and top with whipped cream or Cool Whip,
to your preference. Top with grated chocolate and you have dessert!! -Tami |
CRUST TYPES - Besides using a
Flaky
Pie and Tart Crust Recipe,
best used for making savory pies and tarts, there are other choices. Just make
sure the one you use is pre-baked, also known as
blind-baked:
 Sweet crusts
tend to pair well with sweet fillings.
Make one with graham
crackers, chocolate chip, Oreo, gingersnap, vanilla wafer or Amaretto
cookies. Be sure to cool crust completely before filling. |
Sweet Pie and Tart Crust Recipe
(Pâte Sucrée) is
made in a similar way to the flaky pie crust, with
the addition of sugar and sometimes baking powder making them more cookie-like
in texture, best paired with
sweet fillings. It is often used for small tarts where the
filling is baked directly in the raw dough. Perfect
for beginners, pastry recipes containing sugar can be handled less gingerly than
a traditional crust because sugar tenderizes the dough.
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Cream Pie: Not a pie at all, this dessert consists of two layers
of
Sponge Cake
with a thick custard filling, topped either by a dusting of
confectioners' sugar or chocolate glaze. |
Cookie Tart Crust ,
or pâte sablé, is a delicate dough that is usually made by beating
the fat with sugar, then mixing in eggs, with the flour (often cake flour) added
at the end. This dough is usually baked blind and then filled after it has
cooled.
Other crusts include:
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