Pin Busters! Crème Brulée Pie aka Custard in a Cake Pan

Gus loves custard and crème brulée. His grandma used to make custard, and to him, she was Queen of the Kitchen and nothing will ever compare to her pancakes, custard, cookies, and meatballs. I feel the same way about my grammy and her noodles, rice pudding, snickerdoodles, and fried potatoes. I think it's that special "grandma love" that goes into everything - it can't be reproduced no matter how exact you are in following their recipes. Until you're a grandma and you cook for your own grandchildren - then, and only then, do you get your Queen of the Kitchen tiara.

So while I'm waiting for grandchildren (and I'm in no hurry!!), I'll just keep honing my skills in the kitchen. Maybe I can be the Duchess. Is there a tiara for that?

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of pie - I just don't care for all that crust. And yes, I know - "there's a name for pie without crust - pudding". Hardy-har-har. But I saw a picture of this crème brulée pie (on Pinterest) that looked delicious. There's no crust!! So I think that just makes it crème brulée made in a pie pan, but that's okay.


The pin led me to Mama Steph F's Blog, and she adapted her version from Antiquity Oaks blog. I adapted it even more, and this is my version, which I'm just calling Custard in a Cake Pan. Why? Because I didn't put turbinado sugar on top of it (I don't like that crunchy stuff) and I didn't have a pie pan, so I used a round cake pan. :-)



Ingredients:

2 c. 2% milk
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 10-inch cake pan.

Add sugar and mix for another minute.

Gradually add flour while mixing for another 30-60 seconds.

Pour mixture into cake pan and lightly sprinkle with nutmeg. (I placed my cake pan onto a cookie sheet before adding the liquid - it's a little more stable for getting in & out of the oven.)


Bake for 40 minutes. Or so the original recipe said.

But here's the deal - after 40 minutes, it was still liquid everywhere but the edges. And it had a huge lump/bubble on one side.


After 60 minutes, about 2/3 was still liquid. After 75 minutes, it still looked a bit liquid-y in the center, but I was afraid to cook it any longer.


According to the original recipe. "A sharp knife inserted into the center of the pie should come out clean, and the sliced area should stay open and not look liquid-y inside". Once it cooled, I was able to do this - but not while it was hot. Did they mean once it cooled? It didn't say that, so I assume they meant while it was hot. I hate recipes that aren't clear.


The outer edge and bottom were so browned, they were almost like crust. A rubbery brown crust. But we were able to just scrape the custard off the "crust" and eat it that way. It was pretty good, and had a custard-y consistency.


The verdict - not Pin-worthy IMO - but - I feel I need to clarify that I did substitute 2% milk for the whole milk and that may have made a difference. I've made custard before, and it is supposed to be cooked with the dish sitting in a pan of water - you don't do that with this recipe. So this one is a bit easier, but "real" custard tastes better IMO, so I think I'll stick with that.