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Ask anyone from Indiana about sugar cream pie and watch them sit up. Ask almost anyone else and you will get a blank look. It is the state pie of Indiana, sometimes called Hoosier pie, and it belongs to the old family of desperation pies: the ones farm cooks made in late winter, when the apples in the cellar were gone, the hens were not laying, and there was still cream, sugar and flour in the house.
That is why there are no eggs in it. The filling is thickened only by a little flour and by the cream itself. The top bakes into a thin golden skin dusted with nutmeg, and underneath is a filling that is silky and pale, somewhere between a custard and a soft caramel. It is one of the plainest pies there is, and one of the best.
The old method is as odd as the ingredient list. The dry ingredients go straight into the unbaked crust, the cream is poured over, and the whole thing is stirred gently with one clean finger, because a spoon can tear the raw dough and a torn crust leaks. It takes ten minutes to put together, and then the oven and the refrigerator do the work.
Why this sugar cream pie works
- Heavy cream only. The fat in heavy cream is what sets this pie. Half and half, light cream or milk will not thicken without eggs.
- Mixed in the crust. No extra bowl, and the flour and sugar are spread evenly across the bottom, where they thicken the cream.
- Hot first, then moderate. Ten minutes at 425°F sets the crust. The long bake at 350°F thickens the cream slowly without scorching the top.
- It sets as it cools. The pie comes out of the oven still wobbling. The real setting happens on the counter and then in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 slices. US cups with grams in brackets. Allow about 6 hours of cooling and chilling before you cut it.
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought, fitted into a pie plate and chilled
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (42g)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 cups heavy cream (480ml), cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28g), cut into small dots
- Ground nutmeg for the top, freshly grated if possible
Use a regular 9-inch pie plate, not a shallow foil one, and crimp the edge of the crust high. Press closed any crack or hole in the dough, because this filling is as thin as cream when it goes into the oven.
How to make sugar cream pie
- Set a rack in the lower third of the oven, put a rimmed baking sheet on it and heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Keep the crust in the refrigerator until the oven is hot. Do not prick the bottom with a fork.
- Put the sugar, flour and salt right into the unbaked crust. Mix them together with your fingertips until the flour is evenly blended into the sugar and there are no lumps.
- Pour the cream and the vanilla over the dry ingredients. Stir gently with one clean finger, or with the back of a small spoon that barely touches the dough, until the mixture is smooth and you can feel no dry sugar left on the bottom.
- Scatter the dots of butter over the surface and dust the top generously with nutmeg.
- Carry the pie carefully to the oven and set it on the hot baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Without opening the door, lower the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more. The pie is done when the edges are bubbling, the top has a thin golden skin, and the whole center still wobbles like a soft custard when you nudge the pan. It is supposed to.
- Cool the pie on a rack all the way to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, until the filling is cold and set.
- Cut with a thin sharp knife, wiping the blade between slices, and serve the pie cold.
Tips that make the difference
- Do not use half and half to save calories. It will not set. This pie is heavy cream or it is soup.
- Fill the crust next to the oven. A full sugar cream pie is hard to carry across a kitchen without spilling.
- If the rim of the crust browns too fast, lay a ring of foil over the edge for the last 20 minutes. Leave the center uncovered so the skin can form.
- Trust the wobble. A pie baked until the center is firm will be grainy and greasy once it cools.
Variations
- Cinnamon top. Many Indiana families dust the pie with cinnamon instead of nutmeg, or with half of each.
- Brown sugar. Replace half of the granulated sugar with packed light brown sugar for a deeper caramel flavor.
- Broiled skin. For a more caramelized top, slide the baked pie under the broiler for 30 to 60 seconds, watching it the whole time.
- Stovetop style. Some diners cook the filling in a saucepan with cornstarch and pour it into a baked shell. It is a firmer pie, and a newer one.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Tent it loosely with foil so nothing touches the skin on top.
Sugar cream pie does not freeze well. The filling weeps and turns grainy when it thaws, and the crust goes soft.
It is a very good pie to make the day before. The filling is at its silkiest after a full night in the refrigerator, and the slices cut cleanly.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my sugar cream pie not set?
There are three usual causes. A lighter cream: only heavy cream, with about 36 percent fat, will set without eggs. Cutting too early: the filling finishes setting in the refrigerator and needs at least 4 hours there. Or an oven that runs cool, so the filling never reached a steady bubble at the edges.
Do I have to stir it with my finger?
No, but there is a reason for the habit. The edge of a metal spoon can cut through raw pie dough, and the thin filling finds any hole. A clean finger feels the undissolved sugar on the bottom. A small silicone spatula, used lightly, does the same job.
Should I bake the crust first?
Not for this method. The crust goes in raw, and the 10 minutes at 425°F on a preheated baking sheet set the bottom before the filling can soak in.
What does sugar cream pie taste like?
Sweet cream, vanilla and warm nutmeg, with a texture between baked custard and soft caramel and a thin golden skin on top. It is rich, so cut small slices.
If you are from Indiana, this is the pie from the glass case at the diner and from every family reunion table. If you are not, make it once and see what the rest of the country has been missing.
Sugar Cream Pie (Old-Fashioned Indiana Recipe, No Eggs)
Indiana sugar cream pie made the old way: sugar, flour, heavy cream, vanilla, butter and nutmeg stirred right in the unbaked crust, with no eggs at all.
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought, fitted into a pie plate and chilled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 cups heavy cream (480ml), cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28g), cut into small dots
- Ground nutmeg for the top, freshly grated if possible
Instructions
- Set a rack in the lower third of the oven, put a rimmed baking sheet on it and heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Keep the crust in the refrigerator until the oven is hot. Do not prick the bottom with a fork.
- Put the sugar, flour and salt right into the unbaked crust. Mix them together with your fingertips until the flour is evenly blended into the sugar and there are no lumps.
- Pour the cream and the vanilla over the dry ingredients. Stir gently with one clean finger, or with the back of a small spoon that barely touches the dough, until the mixture is smooth and you can feel no dry sugar left on the bottom.
- Scatter the dots of butter over the surface and dust the top generously with nutmeg.
- Carry the pie carefully to the oven and set it on the hot baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Without opening the door, lower the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more. The pie is done when the edges are bubbling, the top has a thin golden skin, and the whole center still wobbles like a soft custard when you nudge the pan. It is supposed to.
- Cool the pie on a rack all the way to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, until the filling is cold and set.
- Cut with a thin sharp knife, wiping the blade between slices, and serve the pie cold.
