Brown Butter Custard Pie with Cranberry Glaze

My obsession with Christina Tosi and her crazy ingredients continues. This pie crust is made with bread crusts combined with the butter and cinnamon taste which tastes just like cinnamon toast. I could easily grub on the crust alone. The brown butter custard is also unique in the sense that the brown butter is encapsulated in a gelatin floating in the filling. With every bite you get this intense little bursts of brown buttery goodness.

I made this in a glass pie pan and found that the crust needs to warm up a bit before it will easily pop out. When this crust is totally refrigerated it puts a death grip on the pan. I warmed it slightly over a low flame on the stove.

This particular recipe was in the recent November issue of Food + Wine. The printable version for the filling is here. The Cinnamon Toast Pie Crust, which I will definitely will be using for other pies, is located here.



Brown Butter Custard Pie with Cranberry Glaze
by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups diced crusts and end pieces from 1 loaf of packaged white bread (10 ounces crusts)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the butter is golden brown, about 8 minutes; strain into a glass measuring cup. Reserve the browned butter solids for the Brown Butter Custard Pie.
2. Pour half of the melted butter into a bowl. Add the sugar, salt, cinnamon and bread, and toss. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden. Let cool.
3. Rewarm the remaining butter; pour into a food processor. Add the croutons and pulse to fine crumbs; spoon the crumbs into a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the pie plate; refrigerate the crust until chilled, 15 minutes.

Filling

• 2 teaspoons plain powdered gelatin
• Reserved browned butter solids from Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust
• 3 1/2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup cranberry sauce, pureed and strained

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water and let stand until softened, 3 minutes. Microwave at high power for 10 seconds, until melted. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, microwave the reserved brown butter solids with the milk, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt until warm. Whisk in the gelatin and refrigerate until set.
2. In a bowl, whisk 3/4 cup of the heavy cream and sour cream to soft peaks. Whisk the custard to loosen it, then fold into the whipped cream. Pour the custard into the Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate and butter. Add the mashed sweet potatoes, the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt; whisk until smooth. Transfer the sweet potato ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and refrigerate until chilled slightly, 15 minutes. Pipe 1-inch mounds around the edge of the pie. Refrigerate until the ganache is set, 10 minutes.
4. Pour the cranberry puree over the pie and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes. Cut the pie into wedges and serve.

The pie can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.