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The Cream Pies Center
"Learn how to make perfect cream pies from crusts to fillings to toppings."
Smooth and cool, cream pies are wonderful in the summer.
Once you understand the principles, they are easy. Then you can take the basic vanilla pie recipe and be creative, making other pies that your family will love. And since the filling is made on the stovetop, there is no long baking time.
How to Make a Pie Crust
There are tricks to making perfect pie crusts. The first is maintaining the correct balance of ingredients and the second is temperature.
Crust Recipes
- American Walnut Pie Crust Recipe: Adding nuts to a crust can make all the difference. This one combines walnuts, lots of cinnamon, and butter. This crust works wonderfully well with creamy smooth pies from vanilla cream to pumpkin. It also works well with fruit pies with precooked fillings. A canned fruit filling can be used with this crust and then garnished with whipped cream for a quick, elegant dessert. Since it is a crumbly crust, it even works well as a crust for a cheesecake.
- Vanilla Nut Pie Crust: This one is made with vanilla wafer crumbs and fewer walnuts. The vanilla and walnuts make a splendid combination. This crust works best with a cream pie or a cheesecake.
- Gingersnap Crust Recipe: The crust is simply made with crushed gingersnaps and butter.
How to Make Cream Pies
In this article, we will go through the steps for making cream pies. Baking is both an art and a science. We’ll try to tell you not just what to do but why it works. Since cream pies are made with and without meringue toppings, we will include directions for meringue toppings.
Cream Pie Recipes
- Strawberry
Cream Pie:
This is a cousin to a banana cream pie and it’s just as easy if you buy strawberry glaze from the grocery store. Use a deep dish pan. Pour half the vanilla filling into the pie shell and then cover with strawberry slices. Cover the strawberry slices with the rest of the filling. Arrange strawberry slices on top of pie and cover with strawberry glaze. - Banana Cream Pie in a Vanilla Wafer Crust: We especially love this pie in the summer time; we don’t have to bake it. It goes together quickly and easily and is so scrumptious—ripe bananas, a smooth vanilla custard, and vanilla wafer crumb crust.
- Double Chocolate Cream Pie: This recipe presents an absolutely scrumptious chocolate filling that is rich but not too chocolaty. The crust is buttery and flaky. The whipped cream topping has some marshmallow filling for flavor and to stabilize the whipped cream.
- Easy Strawberry Cream Pie: What a cool treat! Everyone loves ice cream pies. This is not an ice cream pie—but close. It uses whipped cream instead of ice cream. It also has cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk which makes this a little more decadent than ice cream alone with the richness of cream cheese. We made this with frozen berries but fresh berries might be even better.
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A Good Whisk
is essential for cooking creamy fillings
without burning. - Pastry blender to cut the butter or shortening into the flour for your flaky pie crust.
- Pie Pans that are heavy and conduct heat evenly. Dark pans absorb instead of reflect heat to avoid soggy crusts.
- Decorating set to garnish your pie with whipped cream or meringue. Use a star tip for most work.
Bonus Feature: Pudding or Pie Filling?
Is it pudding or pie filling? It may be a compromise. A cream pie filling is basically a pudding or pastry cream with added cornstarch or flour. The cornstarch gives the filling structure so that it holds its shape when cut. It also reduces weeping. Pudding, without the starch, is usually softer and smoother.
Crust Recipes
- Banana Cream Pie with Vanilla Crust
- American Walnut Pie Crust Recipe
- Vanilla Nut Pie Crust (made with Vanilla Wafers)
- Gingersnap Crust
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