nutmeg-maple cream pie
Do you flood your pancakes/waffles/French toast with so much maple syrup that you at times question whether they are simply a vehicle for your favorite sweetener, and have nothing to do with breakfast at all?
Do you wonder why, oh why, more desserts are not sweetened with this cozy ingredient, instead of granulated sugar, which is really so boring in comparison?
Have you tried to swap maple syrup for sugar in a dessert in the past, such as Pumpkin Pie, only to end up sorely disappointed that the maple flavor wasn’t pronounced at all?
Come, sit down next to me. [Hat tip.] Pull up a chair, let’s brew a strong espresso and stay for a while, because I have the dessert that you–and by you I mean we–have been searching for our whole lives.
There is no greater homage to the goodness of maple syrup than this Nutmeg Maple Pie (though I used a tart pan, because I am a rebel) from the New York Times archives. Yes, I worried that the nutmeg would distract us from the main event, too, yet it folded so eloquently into the final flavor, I entirely forgot it was there. I just knew there was something unrecognizably better. This tart is spectacular. It is breakfast, it is a late afternoon coffee break, it is calming, centering dessert after an elaborate dinner. It is that Thing, that recipe you’ve been searching for to bring to Thanksgiving this year, something so fall flavored, people won’t realize they’re breaking with tradition to eat it, but so innovative, you’ll get a break from the predictable.
It is one of the best dessert surprises I’ve had in a good long while. And now, I’m off to bake the extra custard (because I had to be a rebel with the tart shell, which holds less) into a new crust. I can’t wait.
One year ago: Orangettes
Nutmeg-Maple Cream Pie
Adapted from the New York Times
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie crust or tart shell.
1. Par-bake pie crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pie refrigerated pie shell with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until beginning to set. Remove foil with weights and bake 15 to 18 minutes longer or until golden. If shell puffs during baking, press it down with back of spoon. Cool on wire rack. Lower temperature to 300 degrees.
2. Prepare filling: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup or bowl with pouring spout. Stir in salt, nutmeg and vanilla.
4. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pie is firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
This has nothing to do with the lovely pie you just posted – but about the fideos. I’ve adapted the basic concept to whatever is sitting in my cupboard and it does wonders for poor grad students everywhere as wine from trader joes, spaghetti, onions, garlic and cheese are always around.
:)
also – i made the cranberry scone recipe you posted for a department tea time and it was a huge hit!
just wanted to say thank you.
the nutmeg photo is lovely!
I always wish that maple syrup was more easily available here, and that it didn’t cost an absolute fortune to buy.
Your recipes always have such fab pictures that I always leave here feeling hungry. yum x
I made this last year for Thanksgiving (didn’t I comment about that here recently? or was that somewhere else?) and it is absolutely one of my favorite pies ever. I have to get to the farm for some cream before Wednesday’s baking extravaganza!
OH.MY.GOSH. That looks so good. I was just thinking of how to incorporate maple into Thanksgiving this year. My last attempt (not bad, not great) was to add maple syrup to whipped cream as a topping to Pecan Pie. I like this better.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Not yet.
I love maple syrup! And nutmeg, this seems fabulous!
I have a question about the vodka pie crust recipe, would it be disgusting to use a flavoured vodka? Like vanilla or something to add to the flavour of the pie?
…And I think I’ve found the dessert I’ll make for Thanksgiving this year.
A few questions: did you use Grade A or Grade B maple syrup? Should I use a slightly smaller amount if I’m using Grade B, since it has a stronger flavor?
And I know I shouldn’t even be asking this, but I’m a grad student on a budget (and I don’t have the time to drive all the way out to Penzey’s): is pre-grated nutmeg okay? I mean, obviously it won’t be as good as the fresh stuff, but do you think it will render the whole thing mediocre?
Amy — You might have. Someone said in the comments (I am too lazy to look it up, admittedly) that I should try this on the very day I did. I love such synchrony. This recipe is one for the ages.
Jelena — I really hope this doesn’t sound impolite, but I think vanilla-flavored vodka might be kind of ick. Maybe it’s just my personal taste but… it’s just, well, they use very strong artificial flavors in the vodka, and those wouldn’t bake out. I think it would trample over the really good flavors in there–namely butter. However, if you’d like to flavor the crust, a splash of vanilla extract (swapped for the same amount of vodka) or even a small scraping of fresh vanilla bean could be wonderful.
Elise — I used Grade A, because that’s what I had in the fridge. I’m pretty laissez-faire about this stuff and wouldn’t be concerned about a stronger flavor. That said, I don’t actually think there could be a such thing as too strong of a maple flavor, so I am indeed biased.
I meet all your criteria. I love, love, love maple syrup and it is readily available here in the northwoods. But I have one question for you. I love maple syrup but don’t like things that are overly (sickly) sweet. Will I like this tart?
Deb – I stumbled across your website recently and have been a regular visitor ever since. You never fail to make my mouth water. I’ve been looking for a new pie/tart recipe to try out for Thanksgiving and I think this one will definitely fit the bill. One question though – how the heck did you get it out of the tart pan in one piece?
Yes, I’m with you. My espresso is still buzzing in my head and, please, can I have more pie?
Oh man, another dessert I must try. I guess there will be three desserts at the table this Thursday. I have to make a traditional pumpkin pie for the kid, then my favorite paradise pumpkin pie, which is a two layer pumpkin and cheesecake pie. And now this one. It’s a good thing I’m sharing pies or I’d really be in trouble.
Kary — I don’t think this tart is overly-sweet. It’s definitely a dessert, but not tooth aching or anything. Hope that helps.
Jenn — I only use removable-bottom tart pans, so the finished dish pops right out. I honestly don’t know what people do with the other ones.
Christina — But of course!
Wow! That looks delicious! Can I come over?
I am new to your blog Deb and just want to say I will be trying pies soon….alongh with plenty of Christmas cookies and tarts…but…. in the meantime
in the meantime…what? …hey,wha’ hoppen?
There I was, telling you about finding your blog …using your recipe for Ratatouille, finding it easier than the original, but that it was still a bit of work with the slicing etc…and it disappeared when I posted…hmmm… oh, well..
Thanks for a fun blog to read…yummy recipes and helpful info any cook can use..
*Raises hand* Yes! I adore maple syrup and always keep a bottle in my fridge along with a nutmeg for grating. Now I just wish I had a fluted pie pan as pretty as yours (mine are flat-rimmed, culled from garage sales and family attics). Then, and only then, could I make something so gorgeous. (Though I reckon flat or fluted, the flavor is just the same.) Thanks for the Thanksgiving dessert inspiration!
Beautiful! I love the color especially. It looks so striking next to the raspberries!!!
This looks so lovely. I can’t wait to try this out!
Elise, I used grade b syrup (I buy it by the gallon from my friends’ farm) and pre-grated nutmeg. I can’t imagine how it could get any better, but I’ll use fresh nutmeg this year anyway, just because I have it.
Deb, that was me that suggested it! Great minds think alike. ;)
Oooh. And here I was already thinking of doing the cranberry tart you posted a little bit back for Thanksgiving. This looks and sounds amazing, but I’m not a huge maple syrup person. Perhaps this will convert me?
Your photos are scrumptious! Thank you for this mouthwatering post.
Oh boy, that pie looks heavenly! What a refreshing change from pumpkin. I’m definitely going to throw the family a curve ball this year and make this one.
So for those of us slightly slow on the uptake- the pie recipe you posted makes two tart shells? And the filling filled two tart pans? is this correct? I have been DYING to use my new tart pan. Just trying to figure out if i will have extra of either crust or filling or if I try to do this recipe as a tart x 2. thanks!
Celia
Thank you! I am the “pie-girl” in our family, and I’ve been struggling to think of something interesting to make this year for the holidays. This is the perfect homage to a much beloved local product! (I’m from New Hampshire where the maple syrup flows like water!)
I adore maple syrup. In SPain it´s an expensive delicacy, and not that easy to find, but I can´t be without. Just had a huge bowl of oatmeal porridge sweetened with it, after reading your post, very inspiring it´s been.
Me too, me too, I’m a maple syrup fan and so is my dad, so I know what I’ll be adding to the pie list for Wednesday’s baking extravaganza.
I made this last year too and it will be a welcome repeat this year. It’s a perfectly balanced pie– not “too” anything; just right. Except for the amount of filling. It isn’t that your tart pan is too small; this recipe makes too much filling for a 9″ standard pie pan as well. Not that I’m complaining– in little custard cups, baked in a water bath, the leftover hardly goes to waste. However this year, I’m going to try a 10 1/2″-11″ tart pan (not hard to find if you don’t have one). That should hold it all. And usually a good crust recipe for a 9″ standard pie will be enough for that size tart with maybe a little dough left over to stamp our a few maple leaf “cookies” for decorating the top. And if I’m wrong, well, those little custards are awfully good….
I would love to bring this on our Thanksgiving trip. Can anyone who has made this tell me if this is would travel well? I am concerned about the custard. We’ll be driving 3-4 hours. Maybe I should wait and try it for Christmas?
Celia — There isn’t enough for a whole extra shell (and a 9-inch tart shell holds less than a 9.5-inch pie dish) but there is a little extra, as CEN below attests, which can be baked in ramekins or in even a smaller shell or two.
CEN — Good to know there is too much filling. I never got to baking the extra custard but might try to tonight… water bath–great idea!
Carrie — I think it should travel just fine. If you’re worried about warm, a cooler or just a couple of those blue bricks underneath it should be fine. The tart is surprisingly firm for a custard, not really wiggly and cuts cleanly, so the bumps in the road shouldn’t be a huge issue.
I love using different sweeteners….. YUM! So many underrated flavors to use. I gotta be honest, I don’t know when I’ll get to this one. The good news is that I just subscribed to your blog so I could keep the recipes I intent to make in my inbox. That and the fact that I just got nutmeg and love to use my microplane. I love simple recipes that are freakishly good. This looks like a contender! OOOOO, I know this is a day too late but I am getting a pastry blender. So excited…cause, you know, I need more kitchen gadgets….. *sigh* Hopefully, the hubby won’t notice that I keep accumulating kitchen stuff…..
I’ve made 2 Grapefruit Cake already & get nothing but oooo’s & aaaahhh’s! I love what you’re doing here, keep up the good work.
This looks absolutely perfect for the close of a heavy meal – and it’s that cup of espresso that really caught my attention -a nice rich coffee to pair with the delicate maple flavor, nothing to overwhelming or creamy… and I think the thin tart probably is a better vehicle than a deep pie- but I think I’ll keep the crust recipe the same and just make two, since they’ll go fast!
OMG, I am going to try this Today! I LOVE maple syrup. I normally use it to make a mean pecan pie, but this sounds so much better. I have everything I need to make it. I’ll report back later with how it came out.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for your feedback on the sweetness. With that, this will be on our thanksgiving table. (Also, it’s very helpful to hear from those who have made this already.)
deb: this is perfect. Sounds like the fall-holiday twist on summer’s lemon or key lime tart… thanks: pulling up a chair with you is always worth it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
This looks amazing. I too am always in search of bigger maple flavor in my maple desserts, and don’t even get me started on fresh-grated nutmeg… *swoon*. I’ll definitely be trying this soon; might even just sneak it in for Thanksgiving!
Oh wow, I was really touched and impressed by this post. I’d love to sit next you and have a bit of that goodness. And YES, I love maple syrup. Lately I have been using lots of honey, but I might switch to maple syrup as a change. I will be definitely making this. Soon. Very soon.
Hello there!
This looks utterly delicious. You can’t go wrong with maple syrup. Ever.
This looks absolutely DECADENT!! Must try!
I just made this one, it’s delicious…perfect b/c it’s not too sweet! Thanks for the post!
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I would lwould love to try this with a shortbread crust, do you think this filling would pair well with that kind of crust?
I had extra filling because I used a 9″ tart pan instead of a 9.5″, so I chilled it in the freezer for a bit and then poured it over pumpkin ice cream. YUM.
How fantastic! I loved getting a little insight…and being able to look at these super sexy photos. Mm.
I absolutely love Maple Syrup – awesome pics too! Is there a way I can replace the egg in this recipe?
I tried this, and I’m pretty sure I did something wrong. Mine is not nearly as pretty and perfect as yours (sigh). The crust turned out though! I wonder if the pan was supposed to have been baked in a water bath? I didn’t have a flan pan so I used my quiche pan, which is about 12″ across, about an inch deep. I baked it for an hour, as per the recipe, but it came out not quite baked enough, not very high, and brownish on the top. The flavor was nice and my kitchen smelled wonderful, but it was just a bit too undercooked to be perfect. I had a hard time waiting though, so we had some while it was still warm. Could this be the issue? I’ll try it again sometime… after all, I have more crust in the freezer!
Jennifer in NYC — Not sure exactly which shortbread crust you have in mind, but I certainly don’t think it will taste bad. Shortbread has a lot in common with pie dough, anyhow, minus the cutting in the butter to get flakiness. Neither have an egg or yolk, and my crust without it did just fine. Good luck!
Akay — I have not practiced egg replacements, so I can’t give you much advice. However, my instinct tells me that it might be difficult as the custard is structured by the egg and yolks–that’s what makes it firm in the oven. Without it, you’d need a new stabilizer…
Shelly — Mine didn’t require a water bath (thank goodness, as I am lazy). Mine was done in an hour, however, perhaps another 15 would have done the trick for you. We’re ANY parts of yours that were set? (If the edges were but not the center, may have needed more baking time. If none was, I’m thinking it was an oven or ingredient issue.)
I cannot wait to try this recipe! I live in Québec so I can get maple syrup pretty much any time and I use it in like, everything! Have you tried it in coffee instead of sugar? Such a treat. Thanks for posting this recipe, again, I can’t wait to make it.
What a delicious looking cheesecake!! Oh and thanks for posting delicious recipes up every day in November! They’re all so great to read.
Hi Deb. Thanks for the answer. With the pie (I also filled 2 little ramekins), the very outer edge, next to the crust was ok, but the middle seemed a like pudding, same with the ramekins. Now, because I live in Australia, I’m thinking that all the metric conversions messed me up. It took forever to figure out how much butter to use for the crust, I finally ended up stuffing it into a tablespoon measure, it was quite a mess. Then even that didn’t turn out light and fluffy like yours appeared. I wonder if I need to increase the heat and cover it with foil next time. Sheesh I wish I had paid attention in math class when they were teaching the metric system!
definitely making this tart for thursday. any ideas on a fruit-based sorbet or maybe a sauce to drizzle along the side? i definitely don’t want to take too much attention away from the maple falvor, but maybe add a little freshness to cut the ruch custard. maybe cranberry or pear?
Thanksgiving! This completely explains why the shelves were stripped of maple syrup at the supermarket.
A beautiful–and mouth-watering–pie. I especially like the addition of nutmeg.
Thank you for posting this. I love anything maple.
I really love your writing and the photos. Not sure I could be tempted to make this particular pie though as I am not a maple syrup lover. But, I have enjoyed some of the other recipes on your site. Thanks! Happy thanksgiving!
Hi Deb,
Each year from October to December, every department in the nonprofit that I work at chooses a charity project they will donate to. My department is raising money for grinding machines for widows in Nigeria, so they can start small businesses.
All that to say, for the bake sale yesterday (Tuesday), I make the nutmeg maple cream pie. It was a fabulous hit! Several people came to me afterward, asking for the recipe. So, of course, I directed them to your site.
The pie had a great, smooth, creamy texture that was sweet enough, but not too sweet for my Dutch husband. :) Thanks so much! And we raised $192 for the Nigerian widows.
This pie/ tart sounds like a slice of heaven. Beautiful photos, too!
I have this baking in the oven right now. If it tastes half as god as it smells, I’ve just made an addition to my regular desserts
Sorry to post two comments, but after perusing the rest of your site I have this thought: Would bourbon not go well in this one also?
So, mine doesn’t look nearly this good. Since I have another pie already made and I only committed to bringing one dessert I think maybe tonight we will dive into this. It probably tastes just fine…
This tart looks awesome! I just made a maple pumpkin pie that is yum, but different:-)
Shelly, I always struggle with the butter conversion too–I’m American living abroad and all the butter is packaged in grams, and the sticks are different sizes than in the US. Plus, you can’t just do a regular conversion, something about the density. Anyhow, here is an awesome link http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_butter.htm Happy Thanksgiving!
Martha ~ Thanks for that conversion sight! I played with it for about 5 minutes and will bookmark it.
UGH! I don’t have a pie plate….thought I’d be clever do it in a square pan, like I have for key lime pie (w/ cookie crust)…but the reason you NEVER SEE PIE CRUST LIKE THIS IS BECAUSE IT FLOATS. This is what I get for baking at 6AM. Its in the oven, I’m crossing my fingers. I did use a palm oil shortening that claims to be The Answer and the pie crust cookies I made with the leftover crust were fabulous…esp the ones I dusted with vanilla sugar.
dan — garnish with fresh blueberries? or maybe a lemon blueberry sorbet? is that too breakfast-y? tart fall apples would be good too.
So, I made this last night, and I definitely screwed it up. I used the CI pie crust recipe (although I only had a little bit of shortening so I used mostly butter) and an 11″ tart pan (since the thought of having such an intense, homogenous filling in something as deep as a pie was unappealing) and… my crust collapsed during the prebaking. When I took out the pie weights I noticed that the sides were already starting to shrink down, and then when I took the finished crust out of the oven I discovered that a big section of the side had sort of melted down into a heap. I tried to patch it up with some dough scraps but the sides were still so short that it could only hold about a half-inch of filling.
The filling was good, but since it was so shallow the ratio of crust to filling was way off. I think I should stick to premade pie crusts, because it’s the one thing I always manage to screw up.
UPDATE – My accidentally upside down pie was hideous and PHENOMENAL. Thank you for posting this recipe, it’s a hands down winner.
I’m not much of a baker because (gasp) I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I make probably one or two cakes a year and my husband loves oatmeal cookies, so I make those. I love to cook, though, and always put together the whole Thanksgiving spread, but end up buying pies or having other people bring them. This year, this recipe inspired me to make my VERY FIRST PIE (or in this case, first tart) … which meant that I also made my VERY FIRST PIE CRUST. I used my Kitchen Aid (poor thing, doesn’t get too much use) and I have to say that while this was probably the most time-consuming thing I’ve ever made due to my need to read and then reread to ensure I followed the steps correctly … IT WAS DIVINE and AMAZING and DECADENT. I am so very proud of my first tart/pie!!! Thanks so much for all the wonderful photos and detailed directions – they helped me enormously!
Just a follow-up and a short cut. An 11″ tart pan does not hold all the filling either, and it doesn’t leave enough to make the little “bonus” custards one can get if using a 9-9 1/2″ pie/tart pan. It does make elegantly “slim” tart slices if one wants something a little lighter (and needs a couple more slices than a 9″ pie might give). To the cook whose pre-baked pie shell collapsed: I never have any luck with pre-baking (shell filled with beans even!) unless the crust is frozen (at least 20 minutes to days) prior to baking. Works every time that way. The short cut: I found myself with only 1/2c of maple syrup in the house on Thanksgiving morning. So I skipped the reduction step, just combining the 1/2c syrup with the cream for the simmer. I detected no loss of maple flavor or change in texture.
so did you like this pie dough better than the ones you have tried before?
I made this for after Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit with my family. It may come to replace the pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving next year too!
I made this pie for Thanksgiving at the in-laws, and it was a HUGE hit. Thanks for a great recipe, Deb.
I just made this last weekend for dessert when a friend came over for dinner. It’s absolutely, unbelievably, incredibly, fantastically, amazing. I absolutely love this recipe. The fact that it tastes like you slaved all day over it but didn’t doesn’t hurt either. The filling would make an amazing ice cream. Hmmm… since it’s essentially a custard I wonder if it couldn’t be turned in to a an ice cream recipe.
We just made this pie…tastes really good but came out really wet and runny…any idea what we could have done wrong?
I’ve had this pie bookmarked for like a year, and have been drooling to try it… I’ve decided to finally make it this week for Thanksgiving and I can’t wait! However, I was wondering – do you think a graham cracker crumb crust would work instead of the traditional pie dough? I never seem to be able to get pie crusts right, and I’m kind of lazy too (haha) and can always get crumb crusts to be perfect in 5 minutes flat. What do you think? Anybody else try this?
I don’t see why it would work. A ginger snap crust (such as this one) would probably be even awesomer with the maple/nutmeg flavor.
Hi Deb! Could the Nutmeg-Maple Cream Pie be made two days ahead? I’m trying to schedule all of my Thanksgiving prep-work and will be traveling on Wednesday. I was hoping to make this Tuesday night for Thursday night’s dinner. Will this work? Will this need to be refrigerated because of the custard?
I haven’t made it that far in advance before, so can’t say for sure, but see no reason why it wouldn’t keep. It definitely needs to be refrigerated because it is a custard. The only concern I’d have is that the bottom of the tart might get soggy. You will have the best luck using the Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell, which keeps way more crisp than a pie dough for days and doesn’t require any pie weights–hooray.
Oh yum! My first effort just cooled off enough to taste test. Baked for an hour and ten minutes, but probably could have used another ten minutes as its very very moist (almost but not quite soggy.) Disclaimer: used a store bought crust.
This one goes in to work tomorrow morning, and I’ll be baking the turkey day one on Thursday.
But still, simply divine, although not as pretty as yours, and definitely a new favorite.
This was a delicious addition to Thanksgiving for a nutmeg, custard, and maple-loving family! I plan to make it again for Christmas. I used grade B syrup, fresh grated nutmeg, and the CI vodka crust. It was browner in appearance than the pictures, rather caramelized in appearance, which was actually perfect for Thanksgiving. I preferred it cold rather than room temperature, so I suggest people roll the crust thin so it will cook through very thoroughly and won’t be doughy after refrigeration. The next time I make it, I will watch it more closely, because the bottom crust flaked into layers while cooking and made a steam bubble between two layers. As a result, when the pie cooled and the steam escaped, one area sank low. If I had watched it more closely, maybe I could have hit the bubble with a skewer before the custard set around it.
I made this for a party last weekend (in a tart pan) and it was a smashing hit. I wish I’d gotten more than a tiny sliver. I can honestly say that it was the only dessert that didn’t have a crumb left.
Thanks for this recipe. I’m printing it out to give my mom to use.
Just made this two days ago in a small (7″) tart pan with your/Dorie Greenspan’s sweet tart shell – it was delightful. I have plenty of the custard left over, so I baked some last night as a custard (water bath and all, my first time trying that) and while it was still good, I found it a little monotonous after the first two bites. I think the rest will be baked as mini-tarts and handed out.
(note: I used 500 ml/2 cups of cream rather than 2 1/4 so as not to bother opening a second container and it came out just fine.)
Do you really need to parbake the pie/tart crust? because i’ve made quiche before, and never parbaked the crust and it came out fine.
also, doesn’t the crust get really brown if it bakes for an hour and a half?
Parbaking is a … personal choice. The idea is to avoid a soggy crust. If a softer bottom crust doesn’t bother you, then by all means skip the extra work. It should not overbrown in the time it is in the oven.
After at least a year of dreaming of this pie, I finally had an opportunity to make it – for my office’s annual Pi/e Day competition! Of course we actually celebrated Pi/e Day (observed) since 3.14 fell over a weekend – but it was a giant hit. I made the full deal and baked it for 70 minutes – the top got a little toasty, but it didn’t seem set after an hour. I’ll definitely be making it again, and probably in my sweet little tart pans that I never seem to have an excuse to use.
Love your website, and have had many great results but this recipe was a bit of a disappointment. Your shrinkable crust shrank, and was very very oily! when I took my first excited bite I realized it tasted like something extremely familiar…FRENCH TOAST! Something I am extremely fond of, but if its French toast I love, I rather make the simple version! (and less caloric). Nonetheless, I absolutely love your website and recipes, I felt it was important to give you honest feedback. And also, CONGRADULATIONS on your baby! he is absolutely adorable!
Deb, I have mad love for your site. This tart has my name written all over it and I am making it for Thanksgiving this year. Is there enough custard in this recipe to fill an 11″ tart shell? I thought I would make the cusard the night before thanksgiving, cover and chill and cook it in the prebaked tart shell the next day. Will this work?
“Do you love maple syrup?” Oh yes! As soon as I read the title I was intrigued. And reading through the maple syrup questions, I knew this was the recipe for me. It took me a while to find the time/occasion to make this, but finally Thanksgiving presented me with an appropriate event to experiment on my relatives. It was a huge success! Everyone loved it. I followed the directions exactly (with the exception of the crust, which I purchased). The directions were really simple to follow and the pie turned out perfectly. The overall consistency was a little like a custard. The flavor was delicious. I topped with some blueberries and enjoyed bites with and without them. My only complaint was that I think a lot of my freshly ground nutmeg ended up in the bottom portion of the filling which did not completely fit into the pie shell, so I think I lost some of the nutmeg taste. Maybe next time I can sprinkle some of the grated nutmeg over the filling once it is in the pie shell. Overall the nutmeg-maple cream pie was a delicious success and I definitely intend to make it again.
THIS SOUNDS PERFECT!
I am one of those addicted to maple syrup, and wish I could taste it in everything!
I’m a midnight baker, and plan on making it late late tonite. I can hardly wait.
I was so excited about this pie! But silly me, I mixed the warm cream into the eggs and they scrambled. I don’t think that’s supposed to happen (?) I chronicled the disaster in my blog.
So two years later (2007 to 2009) I get my act together and make this. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Mine came out a little bit darker and I was afraid it was burnt but it was perfect. My husband was annoyed cause I made this one week then a sweet potato pie the next week. He had to keep telling people at the two parties that the pies weren’t pumpkin pie.
Sigh. I am not really into pumpkin pie, I would rather make the pumpkin bread pudding you posted about. :D Thanks again!
I don’t quite understand the rimmed baking sheet step — do I take the crust out of its tin, and put the filled pie on the sheet? Also, how do you water bath bake the leftovers? This is perfect for sharing the pie with my beau, since he won’t be around for the real deal.
There is no water bath step. The baking sheet is just to catch spills, just a precaution.
Oh, I have been intrigued by this for months! I am gluten/dairy/egg/soy/blahblahblah free and so I tried to adapt this recipe. Well…. it was tasty, but oh so ugly, and a strange texture. There is one slice missing from the pie downstairs, and its the one I took. Better luck next time, maybe!
Hello, Deb. Thanks for such an inspiring blog- have been enjoying catching up with it as I found it only recently.
Here’s my question: do you have ANY idea why this tart might taste like bacon? I made it for Christmas; when I checked to see if it was set 3/4 of the way through the baking time, I opened the oven and was hit with a distinct “bacon” smell. Hm… strange, I thought. I could also smell this when it came out of the oven. First bite: bacon. Strange… but kept it to myself until my husband said, “This is going to sound strange, but does anyone get a bacon flavor in the tart?”
We were eating the tart at room temp on the day it was cooked.
Here are some things we ruled out: had not recently cooked bacon in oven; had not used any utensils, pans, bowl, etc. that had recently had contact with bacon; butter was purchased just days before and did not smell like bacon…
I used recently purchased Grade B maple syrup (tried on a spoon- delicious, but no essence of bacon!) and used freshly ground Penzeys brand nutmeg.
It’s a mystery… the next day I had a slice straight out of the fridge and the bacon flavor was practically nonexistent, but 30 minutes out it is noticeable.
My family speculated that perhaps there are aromatics produced that mimic bacon when maple and nutmeg (and the fat in the cream and eggs) are combined.
What do you think? Any chance you had this problem?
I’d like to make this again as I love maple and nutmeg, but am a bit reticent as maple syrup is quite expensive.
Many thanks, Lauren