Earl Grey Pie, Gluten-Free!
Originally Posted March 14, 2017. Updated 1/22/2021
Gluten-Free Earl Grey Pie - A fantastic variation on a custard pie. Feel free to use a commercial pie crust - GF or not - if so desired.
It's March 14 - 3/14 - and first thing this morning, my husband rolled over and wished me a Happy Pi Day. You know, his favourite "holiday".
Well, first thing that came to mind was a long string of expletives - for the first time since we've met (and I'm including the year following the tornado that destroyed - among other things - our kitchen!), I've completely forgotten about Pi Day!
IN my defense, I've been swamped with development for More Than Poutine.
This month has been ALL about developing recipes for Canadian junk food; most recently, that's meant snack cakes. There is sugar everywhere, I can't picture having added a pie in on top of everything.
... but I didn't even post anything about Pi Day, leading up to today, on any of my social media.
Not even so much as a share of my big "Pi Day is Coming, Are you Ready?" master list of Pi Day stuff. Kinda feeling like the worst wife AND worst nerdy blogger ever - I really dropped the 4/3πr^3 on that one!
Thankfully, his workplace is taking care of his pi day needs that I so woefully neglected, but I still feel bad. So, as my mea culpa to the universe, I will share my Earl Grey Pie recipe now!
Earl Grey Pie
This is an elegant pie that isn’t cloyingly sweet - the Earl Grey flavour comes through well, and is really well suited for use in a pie!
We served it for some friends, and one of them - Derek - was almost in tears as he declared that "Everything is perfect with the world" after the first bite.
When another friend joined us later, Derek told her that when she tries the pie, "The gates of heaven will open, and you will see everything".
So. That happened.
If you don't need this to be gluten-free, feel free to substitute a store bought pie crust, or one from of your favourite recipes.
My go-to non-gluten-free pie crust recipe is is my Great-Uncle Tom's Pie Crust Recipe.
I hope you enjoy this pie as much as Derek did! (And everyone else, really... his reaction was just amazing though! )
Also, if you're interested in gluten-free cooking and baking, you should definitely check out my gluten-free cookbooks: Beyond Flour: A Fresh Approach to Gluten Free Cooking & Baking, and the sequel... Beyond Flour 2. You can order them right here on my website, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
Looking for More Pie Recipes?
Pies, tarts... good stuff put into a flaky crust. I've got you!
Note: All recipes designated as gluten-free can alternately be made "regular" - just swap in your favourite pie crust recipe or store bought crust!
Creamy Blueberry Amaretto Pie
French Onion Soup Tart [Gluten-Free]
Gluten-Free Chicken & Mushroom Tourtiere
Gluten-Free Tourtiere
Maple Butter Tarts
Maple Pumpkin Pie with Maple Cream [Gluten-Free]
Partridgeberry Pie
Savoury Alligator Pie
Square Root Tart [Gluten-Free]
Southern Comfort Peach Pie
Strawberry Grand Marnier Chiffon Pie
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, and subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.
Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Gluten-Free Earl Grey Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ Cup Light Buckwheat Flour
- ¼ Cup Sorghum Flour
- ¼ Cup Sweet Rice Flour
- ¼ Cup Corn Starch
- 1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 4 oz Cream Cheese
- ¼ Cup Cold Butter
- 1 Lemon, Zest of
- 1 Large Egg
- ¼ Cup Cold Water
Filling
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Corn Starch
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 3 Earl Grey Tea Bags
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- Whipped Cream For Serving
Instructions
For Crust
- Measure flours, corn starch, sugar, and xanthan gum into the bowl of your food processor, blitz to combine. Add cream cheese, butter, lemon zest and egg, blitz a few times until mixture resembles gravel.
- Stream in cold water as you run the food processor, just long enough to start to bring it together as a dough – you may need to use a little more or less water. Do NOT over-process it!
- Remove dough from processor, knead lightly to bring it together as a ball. Wrap in plastic film, chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C), lightly dust your work surface with extra corn starch. Roll your crust out to about ¼″ thick.
- Line a pie pan with the crust, trim the edges of the crust to only slightly longer than the edge of the pie plate. Use your fingers to crimp/ruffle the edge of the pie.
- Use a fork to prick some holes on the bottom of the crust. Chill in fridge for 15 minutes. Once chilled, bake pie crust for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool to room temperature while you prepare the filling.
Filling
- Whisk eggs together with sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. Add cornstarch and salt, whisk until incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, bring milk and cream just to the start of a boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing out excess liquid back into the pot. Bring cream up JUST to a boil once again.
- Measure about ¼ cup of the hot cream mixture, and stream slowly into egg mixture while whisking. Continue streaming liquid and whisking until it is completely incorporated, and mixture is smooth. Repeat with another ¼ cup of hot cream.
- Remove saucepan from heat, pour remaining egg mixture into cream mixture, whisking constantly. Once fully incorporated and smooth, return to heat. Turn heat to medium-low. Continue whisking mixture constantly, cooking until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat, stir in butter until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.
- Spoon filling into prepared crust, cover with plastic wrap. Chill until set, about 3 hours. To serve, top with whipped cream.
Nutrition
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