| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 8 hr 50 min |
| Active: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 Servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces walnuts (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 to 4 tablespoons iced water
- 1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup cold heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Instructions
- Prepare the pastry in a food processor, combine the walnuts and sugar and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal with pea size pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and pulse until the dough is evenly moistened. The dough should hold together when squeezed, but not be too wet. Add up to 2 more tablespoons of ice water, if necessary. Tip out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and using the plastic to gather the dough together, form it into a disk. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. (Alternatively, you can freeze the dough for up to 1 week).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer the dough to a 9-inch standard pie plate. Trim the excess dough and fold it to make a decorative edge. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 15 minutes. Line the frozen shell with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake the crust until the edges are lightly golden and the crust beneath the parchment is dry, about 25 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and continue to bake the crust until it is golden brown about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Set a fine mesh sieve next to the crust for later.
- Prepare the filling: In a small saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue to cook the syrup until it has reduced by about half, about 12 minutes. (You can occasionally pour the syrup into a glass measuring cup to check the volume.) In a medium saucepan (away from the stovetop), whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch until smooth. In a slow stream, while whisking, add the milk and cream. Add the salt, butter, and reduced maple syrup. Don’t worry if the syrup seizes. It will smooth out in the next step when you heat the custard. Cook the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it has thickened and come to a low boil, about 7 minutes. Cook the custard for 1 minute more and then pour it through the sieve into the cooled crust and spread it out evenly.
- Press a piece of waxed paper directly onto the surface of the custard and transfer the pie to the fridge. Chill the pie for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. To serve, top the pie with whipped cream.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 542 |
| Total Fat | 36 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Carbohydrates | 49 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 29 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 211 mg |
| Sodium | 239 mg |
Reviews
Just saw this on TV today and I can’t wait to make it! Given all the negative reviews about the crust (and because I’m hella lazy!), I think I’m gonna pour this custard into a homemade gingersnap cookie crust.
I haven’t made this pie yet but I’ve always put maple syrup in to my custard pies. After reading these other reviews I am worried about the crust. Would it be just easier for everyone to just make a different crust and use the same custard filling? Just use a store-bought crust make it easier more make a different crust and incorporate the walnuts into that. I’d give anything to have one of those custard pies right now!
I found the crust too dry, so would add more butter next time. It did taste good, just hard to roll out, fold and get into pie pan. I liked the addition of the walnuts. For me, the maple flavor was lacking after using so much maple syrup. I reduced it as instructed. It is a fine custard pie, but a waste of a lot of expensive maple syrup. So interesting that Annette had great maple flavor. Hard to understand.
Something was really wonky with this crust. It ended up being way too sticky and I had to add a bunch of flour. I had to press it into a pie pan because I could not get it to roll out. Then when I baked it, it became dry and cracked. The crust is also extremely salty. I’ve been trying to reduct the maple syrup into half and it’s cooked a hack of a lot longer than than 12 minutes! I might just have to measure out half and roll with it and hope for the best. Ok so the custard cooked up perfectly. They are setting up in the fridge.
I would say the custard part of this recipe is excellent. I feel like there could be a lot of time and money saved if someone made a maple flavored Karo Syrup because I feel like that’s essentially what I boiled the maple syrup down to. The custard was so yummy! I ate the excess that didn’t fit into the pie with a spoon! The crust needs some help. I can see how having a crushed walnut crust would be fantastic but it’s not this one for me. Thanks for the recipe!
After watching this recipe on repeat last night, I REALLY had to make it. I have made a similar recipe to this before, but this one you cook the custard on the stove instead of baking in the oven with the pie shell. The maple custard is to die for! It is so full of maple flavor. I want to try using this custard to fill eclairs and such.
One of the best pies I’ve ever had. I’m not even a big maple lover. This was divine. I highly recommend this for a holiday pie! (Or anytime of the year, honestly.)
Absolutely fantastic! Light, creamy, and full of great maple flavor. My family devoured it!
I made this for a group of people and used a springform pan instead of a pie plate. Everyone loved it. The crunchy crust was a great contrast to the creamy maple filling. The maple flavor was subtle but delicious. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the crust and it smelled amazing. I think it would be even better if the walnuts weren’t pulverized. It does take a while to cook but if you know how to make a regular pie crust, it’s the same thing with walnuts added. I live at altitude and had to add extra water because of the dry flour. I also added a little confectioners sugar to the whipped cream as well. Definitely a nice, not too sweet fall dessert.
Custard part is delicious but next time I will just use a standard pie crust. Followed directions but even just initial 2 tablespoons of water made dough way too sticky. Had to keep adding flour to get it off the mat and into the pie pan. Baked as directed for 25 minutes but then after removing parchment and pie weights only took another 5-7… not 15-20 and crust cracked and seemed dry.. obviously due to extra flour. Don’t add any water at first .. see if dough comes together. I live in a humid climate so I think that was a contributing factor. Custard is great though… not super sweet.. just lovely maple flavor. Added a little bit of bourbon to whip creme to amp up the flavor of the maple. Would have given 5 stars if it wasn’t for crust difficulty. I think would be good with Ina’s shortbread crust!!! The walnut one just wasn’t spectacular.
This recipe doesn’t read the same as she prepared on the show. Also, I have never heard of baking a pie crust for 40 minutes, I don’t think so. I won’t be trying this recipe but I will search for another.