Old Fashioned Sugar Cream Pie Recipe

Old fashioned sugar cream pie is like a sweet cream cold brew but without the cold brew. It is a very simple pie that is creamy and sweet, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon. The texture is very similar to a custard pie or flan, but there are no eggs. With the cinnamon sugar topping, it is like creme brulee and snickerdoodles come together in a perfect marriage.

This was the dessert for our Indiana state dinner. If you are new to the blog, we are working our way through the United States enjoying dinners made of each state's famous food!

In my post on the Indiana dinner, I shared the history behind this old fashioned sugar cream pie recipe. You may have heard of a Hoosier pie, Indiana farm pie, or a finger pie. These are all the same thing as a sugar cream pie.

Preparing the Crust

Do you know someone with impressive pie crust making skills? My mom is one of those people. She always makes her pie crust from scratch and it is perfect every time!

I remember as a kid being awe-struck with how well she fluted the edges. She tried to teach me and I blame my left-handedness for the fact that has been so hard for me to learn. With a whole lot of practice, I have improved, and would now give my skills a solid "B" grade.

You will see in the picture below that I still get really thin sections that burn easily. One trick for that is to use extra pie crust and work it into the edges so that you have a thick dough to work with.

This pie crust needs to be baked completely before we pour in the custard. After you put the crust into the pan you will want to poke holes all over it with a fork. This will allow the air to escape and prevent the dough from bubbling up.

You could also line your pie crust with foil and pour in some dry beans as it bakes. But I rarely have dry beans in my pantry, and I find the fork method to be much easier.

How to Make the Custard

This is the fasted pie to make! You simply whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, then mix in the butter and cream.

Boil it for one minute and you are done! Essentially, all you have to do is heat up the liquids and allow the sugar and cornstarch to melt into them.

This transforms into a creamy, delicious, eggless custard! I have read some reviews on other sites about the custard not setting up, and the cause seems to be boiling for too long.

So once the custard starts to bubble, set your timer for one minute, and remove the pan from the heat once that timer goes off.

Caramelizing Cinnamon Sugar Topping

The most delicious part of this old fashioned sugar cream pie is the topping.

If you like creme brulee you will love this pie! Melted butter and cinnamon sugar are poured over the custard and put under the broiler for just a minute or two.

Don't be scared of your broiler! Just keep an eye on it. Depending on your oven, you may need to keep an eye on it through the closed door.

I didn't realize that our oven had a safety feature that turned the broiler off when the oven door was open. When the topping still wasn't caramelized after 5 minutes I thought our oven was broken! Oops! This snafu resulted in me burning the crust, but once I figured it out (okay, Matt figured it out) the topping caramelized right away.

One tip to help you avoid a burned crust is to cover the crust with a pie shield. You can also cover the crust with aluminum foil. Either of these will help you keep your golden crust while caramelizing your pie sugar.

Other Dessert Recipes You May Enjoy

The Actual Best Snickerdoodle Cookie
Huckleberry Pie Recipe
Bourbon Peach Cobbler Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake

If you tried this recipe, please rate and review it so others can see what you thought. Tag me in your photos on Instagram @stateofdinner. I would love to see your dish!!