So it started off sane—even a really good idea. The holidays are upon us, and everywhere you turn, someone is offering up a slice of pie or a glass of eggnog.
I’m fairly practical and love to save time. Why not combine them both? Eggnog Pie.
I know, just the sound of it is mesmerizing, isn’t it?
That was the sensible decision. Then came round two:
Well, custard pies can be a bit soggy and I want this to last.
Answer? Black-bottom crust. Chocolate, if treated kindly, will mold its personality as you wish it: liquid, syrup, chunks or powder. I wanted it to act as a vessel—something that would adhere to my gingersnap crust and not allow my eggnog to slip through and create a sodden and waterlogged shell.
Worked like a charm.
But I couldn’t stop. Then, likely because I’d been working with caramel all week, I needed some sort of dulce de leche—some stickiness factor. Layer number three and all thumbs up.
Next, it was time to pay tribute to the main ingredient. I made an eggnog custard, rather pleased I still had enough to fill the pie due to all my “just need to taste this one more time to make sure I’ve got it right” tests. I got it right. Yeah, baby.
Lastly, for the sheer pleasure of not putting the brakes on for once, I made a batch of eggnog whipped cream to mound on top. And mound I did.
Five layers of Oh My Holy Comoly goodness.
I dare you. I double dare you. No … I five layer dare you.
Eggnog Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
5 oz gingersnaps
4 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup dark brown sugar
8 oz dark chocolate chips
Dulce de Leche
Two 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I chose to use espresso salt—a novelty salt I picked up at a gourmet shop)
Eggnog Custard
2 cups best quality eggnog
1 package of vanilla flavored custard powder
Eggnog Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup eggnog
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated nutmeg
Cookin’
–Preheat the oven to 350°. Place cookies, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until you have fine, moist crumbs. Press into a 9 inch pie plate and bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
-Melt your chocolate (microwave or double boiler) and set aside to cool to room temperature.
-Raise the oven temp to 425°. Pour your sweetened condensed milk into a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish and dust with your sea salt. Place foil over the dish and set inside a larger roasting pan, adding water to the pan to reach about 1/2 way up the glass dish sides. Bake for 2 hours, stirring the contents every 30 minutes. Add water to the pan if needed. When finished, set on the stove to wait its turn. It needs to cool to room temperature.
-Fill your cooled gingersnap crust with the room temp chocolate, spreading to form a thin layer all around the crust. Chill until hardened. (Pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes for speedy work.)
-Pour the dulce de leche over the hardened chocolate and smooth out the top until even. Place foil over the top and chill until set—about 4 hours.
-Follow the package directions on your custard powder, which for me was: pour powder package contents into sauce pan and slowly add milk—I replaced this with eggnog—and stir constantly on medium high (no higher) heat until bubbling and boiling. Stir for 1 minute and remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temp. Here, I stirred it every 5-10 minutes for 30 minutes so it wouldn’t form a skin. Pour over the top of your dulce de leche and again, chill until 30 minutes before serving.
-Lastly, (just before serving) pour your heavy cream into a mixing bowl along with your eggnog, confectioners’ sugar and several good grating scrapes off your nutmeg. Whip on high until cream grows fluffy—3-5 minutes. Mound on top of your pie and finish with another dusting of nutmeg on top.
Make sure your hair looks good, because people will want pictures to memorialize the person who literally sent them to a dreamy, creamy heaven.
Now don’t forget to head on over to the main post (here) to see what I’m bletherin’ on about this week. And check out what we’re talkin’ bout down at the pub (here) too!
Shelley Sackier 