Description

A thick and luxurious homemade butterscotch custard nestled in a flaky, buttery pie crust and topped with fresh whipped cream flavored with a touch of Bailey's Irish Cream.

Ingredients

Scale

For the crust:
Half recipe of Julia's Pate Brisee, following the instructions for partially-baked shell, cooled
For the pie filling:
6 TBS cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
6 TBS all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
5 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
For whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 TBS powdered sugar or fine grain sugar
2 TBS Bailey's Irish Cream or similar.

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Instructions

For the pie filling:
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together brown sugar and butter until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Continue cooking for an additional minute and remove the saucepan from the heat.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks.
In another bowl, whisk the flour with 1.5 cups of the milk until fully incorporated (no lumps), then add the egg yolks and salt and mix together well. Add the remaining 1.5 cups of milk and mix well.
Add the flour mixture to the saucepan with the melted butter and sugar and return to the stove. Cook on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens and resembles pudding. Stir frequently and be patient - this process can take 30-45 minutes.
Midway through the cooking process, preheat your oven to 350F.
Once the custard has thickened, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow to cool for 5 minutes while continuing to stir frequently to prevent lumps. If lumps do form, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove them.
Pour pie filling into prepared pie crust and bake for 8-10 minutes or until filling is set. It will still jiggle when shaken but will be tacky to the touch. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
For whipped cream:
With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat heavy whipping cream on medium speed until it starts to become light and frothy.
Slowly add powdered sugar and Irish cream. Continue beating on high until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spoon onto chilled pie and serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

You can substitute any homemade or pre-made crust that you like, though be aware that cookie crumb crusts will add more sweetness. Because the custard only needs to bake for a short time, you will need to partially bake the crust and allow it to cool before adding the cooked custard.

The whipped cream recipe will make quite a bit more than is shown in the photos - I just wanted to pipe a simple border and keep the rest off to the side to pile on top as desired. Go ahead and pile on that loveliness!

Save the unused egg whites for other usage OR if you prefer meringue over whipped cream, you can use it to make your own and top the pie with that instead.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: Up to 1 hour 15 minutes