Pies are the most popular desserts you may serve at family gatherings all year long, aside from a classic layer cake. Pies made with blueberries and strawberries are best enjoyed in the summer. Pies made with creamy pumpkin, apples, and pecans are served in the fall.
The universe of pies is enormous and includes every imaginable flavor profile. Continue reading to find out about the various forms of pie to discover more about the sweet treat.
Custard Pie
A custard pie always has a filling comprised of the ingredients that make up a conventional custard: milk, cream, sugar, and eggs (or egg yolks). The only essential components of an old-fashioned custard pie are its white or beige color and its extremely creamy texture.
Today, ingredients like citrus juice (as in key lime pie) or pumpkin purée or other fruit purées (think: pumpkin or sweet potato pie) are also frequently incorporated. Pie dough or a crust formed of crumbs is typically used to make custard pies, which are frequently baked. The majority of the time, custard pies are eaten at room temperature, however some individuals prefer them warm.
Cream Pie
A custard pie and a traditional cream pie are very similar. Both of them have smooth textures, but a cream pie can have a thick, creamy texture by adding eggs, pudding mix, or another ingredient, but a custard pie must always have eggs. However, the fundamental distinction between a cream pie and a custard pie is that the pastry cream filling used in cream pies is sometimes heated on the stove rather than baked. Additionally, certain cream pies, like French silk, have a filling that isn’t even cooked, further complicating issues.
Crumb Pie
Although they are delicious all year round, a crumb pie is one of the numerous types of pies that might feature on your Thanksgiving table. Typically, a crumb pie is made up of a regular pie crust enclosing a fruit filling, such as chopped apples or peaches. However, the pie’s name is derived from the crumbly topping that is placed on top of the contents. When the pie is baked, the topping, which is made of butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and flour, becomes rich and crispy. Usually, crumbs pies are consumed warm or at room temperature.
Single crust Pie
The vast majority of pie contents are cooked in what is referred to as a single-crust pie. The majority of pie crusts are manufactured with normal pie dough, while others are constructed from crumbled cookies or Graham Crackers. The basic ingredients for pie dough are flour, sugar, cold water, and butter. Many single-crust pies need to be blind baked in order to partially cook the crust and prepare it to withstand the filling later.
Two-Crust Pie
A pie with two layers of pie crust—one on the bottom and another on top—and a warm fruit filling (such as apples or cherries) in the middle is known as a double-crust pie. A double-crust pie’s top layer can either be a lattice pie crust or another round of flattened pie dough with slits cut into it; the bottom layer is a very simple ring of pie dough. Furthermore, lots of pie lovers, like Erin McDowell, are quite inventive and create their own top-layer designs.
Chess Pie A simple pie dough and a filling comprised of some of the same components you’d find in most pies—sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla—are used to make a typical Southern chess pie. Chess pies include an acidic component, such as vinegar or citrus juice, as well as a thickening agent, such as cornmeal, cornstarch, or flour. The pie has more structure than a custard pie because to the addition of cornmeal or flour.
The extremely basic ingredients of a conventional chess pie are its most distinguishing feature. However, you can now find chess pies that have chocolate and other ingredients. You can eat chess pies warm or at room temperature.
Pie with a Slab A pie with a slab has all the same components as a standard pie with a single or double crust, but with a big distinction. A slab pie is prepared in a sizable (quarter or half) rimmed baking sheet, as opposed to a standard pie, which is prepared in a round pie dish. This enables you to prepare a greater amount of pie for a crowd and results in square or rectangular slices rather than wedges. Slab pies frequently have a single layer of pie crust lining the bottom of the baking sheet and a topping crust, like a lattice or different forms cut from pie dough, on top. Typically, slab pies are consumed warm or at room temperature.
