Cranberry Custard Pie combines the flavors of cranberry and orange in an easy, elegant smooth and creamy custard in a graham cracker crust.
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One of my favorite pies of all time is a key lime pie. The coolness of that custard, the smooth and silky tart, but sweet aspect. The graham cracker crust. All of those combine to make one delicious piece of pie. So I got to thinking, what if I could make a seasonal cranberry pie using the same ingredients and same method? Would it work. Only one way to find out--make it and see.
Every single thing I make, unless it's something he doesn't like, I ask my husband to sample and give me an honest opinion of. Even if I've already tried it myself, I want his opinion, being a member of the gluten-eating community. If I get the okay, then I'll proceed with sharing it. If he's not that fond of it, I either go back to the drawing board or scrap the whole thing altogether.
The ingredients needed for this pie
- Gluten free graham cracker pie crust - they actually DO have a gluten free graham cracker pie crust these days. I think it's Mi-Del, but not sure how good it is. It's soooooo easy to make it from scratch, so that's what I always do. Plus the taste and texture is way better than any store-bought variety.
- Oranges - we'll use both the zest and juice from two oranges, so zest them first before cutting into them to juice them.
- Egg yolks - this is what sets the custard. It's just like making a key lime pie, but using cranberries instead of key lime juice.
- Sweetened condensed milk - again, because this pie is made basically the same way as a key lime pie, nearly all of them use sweetened condensed milk (mine does at least).
How to make a cranberry custard pie
- Step 1: Add cranberries and orange juice to a small saucepan and turn on the burner to low.
- Step 2: Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have popped and the mixture is jam like.
- Step 3: Press mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove all the liquid and smooth solids; let cool briefly.
- Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, orange zest, and heavy cream. Add the cranberry puree. Mixture will be a dusty rose pink color.
- Step 5: Pour into parbaked graham cracker pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are set but the very center is still slightly jiggly. Chill for at least six hours.
- Step 6: To serve, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract into stiff peaks. Dollop or pipe on top of the chilled pie, garnish with whole fresh cranberries, slice, and serve.
Cranberry custard pie FAQs
Yes! This pie is essentially the same thing, but instead of using key lime juice we use cranberry custard.
Yes, you can substitute the graham cracker pie crust with a regular pie crust.
It can be made up to 4 days in advance. It keeps well covered in the refrigerator.
More gluten free custard pies
- Easy gluten free chocolate chess pie
- Gluten free lemon pie
- Gluten free lemon meringue pie
- The BEST gluten free sweet potato pie
- Triple layer gluten free coconut cream pie
- Best ever gluten free pecan pie
- Gluten free cream cheese pumpkin pie
- The best gluten free key lime pie
- Gluten free chocolate pecan pie
- Gluten free pumpkin pie recipe
For the perfect seasonal change of pace, try this Gluten Free Cranberry Custard Pie. It combines the fresh flavor of cranberries and orange in an easy to make, familiarly smooth slice.
Gluten Free Cranberry Custard Pie
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 cups (240g) gluten free graham cracker crumbs (homemade or store bought)
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (17g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 tbsp (85g) butter, melted (dairy-free butter may be substituted)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Cranberry Filling
- 1 12-oz bag fresh whole cranberries (frozen cranberries may be substituted)
- 2 large oranges, zested and juiced
- 2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk (dairy-free sweetened condensed coconut milk may be substituted)
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup (120g) heavy cream (dairy-free heavy cream or coconut cream may be substituted)
Topping
- 1 cup (240g) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (31g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a ziploc bag using a rolling pin (or in the bowl of a food processor), crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Place in a medium bowl and add melted butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden brown around the dges. Remove and cool on a wire rack while making the filling.
Make the filling
- In a small saucepan, add the orange juice, zest, and cranberries and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Cranberries will begin to start popping, so be careful and stir frequently. Cranberries are done when most, if not all, of them have popped and reduced down to a thick jam.
- Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, making sure to scoop the puree from the underside of the sieve; let cool briefly.
- In a large bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, and egg yolks and whish until smooth. Add in the still warm cranberry puree and whisk to combine.
- Pour into the parbaked graham cracker crust and bake for 30 minutes, or until set.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for one hour. Chill for at least six hours.
Make the topping
- In a medium bowl, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Dollop or pipe on top of cooled pie, garnish with whole cranberries (if desired), slice and serve.
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