Q: My husband has challenged me to make a different cream pie every month for a year. I've already done a butterscotch cream pie for August, and I'm envisioning chocolate, banana, and coconut cream pies in our future. But I'd love some creative (and seasonal) ideas for the other eight months.
Does anyone have killer cream pie ideas?
Incidentally, I did clarify that, at least in my husband's world, "cream pie" means "crust with a pudding or custard filling" and it does not necessarily need to be topped with whipped cream. (Photo attached is of a slice of that butterscotch cream pie I made.)
Sent by Ann
Editor: Ann — YUM! What a delicious project!
Readers, any ideas or tips for Ann? I'm thinking peanut butter, for sure...
Related: Do You Have a Great Recipe for Sugar Cream Pie?
(Image: Ann via The Kitchn's submission form)
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Pumpkin, Grasshopper (Chocolate mint), Eggnog, Lemon, Key Lime, Bananas layered under a toffee or caramel cream, Mississippi Mud, Peach...
Pumpkin or cranberry could be great holiday options! I think Ferran Adrià has a recipe for a pistachio custard - you could use that as a great starting point to adapt the concept for your pies.
What a funny idea, very cool ! This grasshopper pie got stuck in my mind : http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/2012/09/grasshopper-pie.html
There is a pecan custard pie on the Joyofbaking.com site, I don't know if it goes by your laws... Pastéis de nata are also very good. I have a prune tart recipe that calls for prunes, mixed peel, and custard, with a bit of apricot jam on the bottom crust : very nice.
Sweet potato, black bottom*, coffee, cream cheese or creme fraiche, meyer lemon buttermilk, and mango season is wrapping up right now. Mango lassi pie!
Looking forward to all the magnificent fruits of spring and summer - strawberry, apricot, blueberry, peach.
*This reminded me that you can also get creative with crusts.
Citrus, Pomegranate, hazelnut, cranberry, eggnog, cider/wassail, cherry.
This wasn't my recipe but I made this Raspberry Ripple pie all the time when I was a kid http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1937,149160-240203,00.html . It is more refrigerator pie than custard pie but might be a nice change of pace.
Chai Cream Pie. I riffed on a recipe from Cooking Light but without any of the "Light" ingredients as I believe pie should be full fat. Tastes exactly like a chai latte.
Raspberry custard, peach custard and rhurbarb custard are all delish!
The next pie I plan to make fits this bill pretty well: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/apple-cider-cream-pie
lol. smart husband.
I'm going to second (third?) pistachio, and add that some sort of... whisky cream pie might be good. (Is that a thing, or did I think of something impossible?)
My husband did a pie-a-month blog ... not quite as specific as your project, but he made some great pies, including a chai pie that was a big hit. You can find the recipe here: pie-curious.blogspot.com
Thanks for all these great responses! We wrote up the cream-pie challenge on our blog. We enjoyed an awesome chocolate cream pie with caramel whipped cream in September. I'm definitely considering peanut butter for this month. And I love the ideas listed here! Thanks for the help, Kitchn friends!
Mmmm - how about a maple/pecan (late-winter's maple harvest) cream pie or pecan praline cream pie (think Mardi Gras)?
Cranberry cream pie! Just like lemon. Cranberry has a lot of natural pectin so it should turn out. Beer cream pie? Not sure how but maybe a guinness reduction or something.
October: Apple cider - http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/apple-cider-cream-pie
November: Pumpkin - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/pumpkin-cream-pie/
December: Cranberry- http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cranberry-cream-pie-10000001681114/index.html
January: Peanut Butter - http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peanut-Butter-Cream-Pie
February: Mexican chocolate - http://scarlettabakes.com/mexican-chocolate-cream-pie/
March: Grasshopper - http://www.cookingclub.com/Recipes/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/5261/Grasshopper-Cream-Pie
April: Key lime - http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2012/05/15/recipe-for-key-lime-mascarpone-cream-pie/S4huO1THRZPhgnk6w74ZPJ/story.html
May: Mango - http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/mango-tart-ghk
June: Strawberry - http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/strawberries-and-cream-pie/0c4fae0f-9bc6-4a05-aa8f-95e347005628
July: Cherry - http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cherry-Cream--Pie
Don't forget lemon meringue.
Hooser Cream Pie (aka Sugar Cream Pie)... so few ingredients and so delicious - don't skimp on the best, fresh cream you can buy. You'll love it.