Indiana's state pie, Indiana Sugar Cream Pie, is a delicious and easy to prepare vanilla custard pie that your family will love.
Did you know that Indiana Sugar Cream Pie is Indiana's state pie? This simple vanilla custard pie is so easy to make, and it is impossible to not love it. The bold vanilla taste and the creamy custard are a delightful match. My friends had never had this Indiana delicacy before, but they became instant fans, and I think you will too!
When I was in Serbia in May I came up with the idea of creating a travel inspired Thanksgiving menu. From then on, whenever I traveled somewhere new I was on the lookout for foods to add to my Thanksgiving menu. (I cook Thanksgiving dinner early so that I can share the recipes here before the holiday). I spent a weekend at a workshop in Indianapolis this summer and when I discovered Indiana Sugar Cream Pie I knew it was a perfect pie for Thanksgiving.
I cheated a little and used a Pillsbury pie crust - and two friends complimented me on it. Traditional recipe for Sugar Cream Pie calls for a homemade buttery crust, but the store bought pie crust paired very well with the vanilla custard filling. I tend to believe that making a crust from scratch for Thanksgiving is putting yourself through unnecessary effort. Using the store-bought crust is a great time saver, and no one will know that you didn't make the crust yourself.
In what became a happy accident, I used fat free half and half instead of regular half and half, but the pie still turned out great! It is a simple substitution that reduces the amount of fat in the recipe.
You can make this pie a day ahead of time. You could even serve the custard filling on its own without a pie crust. If you want a garnish for the pie, it would taste great with some fresh berries.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Pie Crust I used Pillsbury
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- ⅓ cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Fat Free Half and Half
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Use a fork to prick a few holes in the bottom of the pie crust. Then bake the pie crust until it just starts to brown. This will take about 12 minutes. Let the pie crust cool.
- While the pie crust cools, get to work on the pie filling. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Then whisk in the flour. Continue whisking for 2 minutes letting the butter and flour form a paste. Then whisk in the half and half, cream, sugar, and vanilla.
- Bring to a boil and let cook for 7 minutes, whisking frequently as the mixture thickens.
- Strain the filling into the pie crust. Bake for 25 minutes, the top of the pie filling should be very slightly browned.
- Let the pie cool before serving.
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
