Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a unique dessert recipe to add to your holiday menu. A flaky pie crust is filled with sweet custard laced with orange zest and tart cranberries for a special Cranberry Pie you will love!
Cranberry Pie
Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a the perfect addition to your holiday spread. It is a unique pie that is sure to be a hit with the combination of creamy egg custard paired with tart cranberries and the best pie crust recipe.
There really isn’t any fruit that doesn’t taste amazing with custard. I’ve pretty much tried them all. From Apple Custard Bars to Blueberry Lemon Custard Bars, you really can’t go wrong with custard!
Favorite Holiday Desserts
Let’s talk about holiday desserts for a moment. Is your family all about the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and assortment of cookies for Christmas? Our family sure is!
While pumpkin pie isn’t at the top of my favorite holiday desserts, cookies are my jam! My personal favorites have always been these Old Fashion Sour Cream Cutout Cookies with Walnut Thumbprints coming in a close second.
From as early as I can remember, my mother has always made the same cookies for Christmas. She consistently makes my two favorites along with Peanut Butter Blossoms and Coconut Straw Hat Cookies.
Each child has their favorite and therefore we can never abandon one of them. That doesn’t mean we can’t add new favorite desserts like this Cranberry Orange Custard Pie though!
Custard Pie
I was longing after one of my favorite desserts recently, Rhubarb Custard Pie. The sweet silky custard balances out the rhubarb in a perfectly flaky pie crust for the most amazing dessert.
It got me thinking how it is ashamed that rhubarb has such a short season. Sadly we are only able to enjoy that wonderful dessert for about a month out of each year while the rhubarb patch is in season.
I realized cranberries would be the perfect substitute for rhubarb! Cranberry Pie sounded delicious. They are both very tart with a similar hard and dry texture.
How to Make Cranberry Pie
This Cranberry Pie recipe was born from my favorite Rhubarb Custard Pie. It really is one of the easiest pies to make and oh so delicious.
Pies are generally an easy dessert to make apart from the pie crust. That can be bypassed with a frozen or refrigerated crust if you aren’t a fan of rolling out dough. I do suggest making the effort though, because a homemade flakey pie crust is a beautiful thing. In my case, I recruit my mother who has mastered a good crust.
Once you have your pie crust prepared in a pie tin, layer some fresh cranberries in the shell. Top it with the custard made from whisked eggs, cream, sugar, flour, orange zest and vanilla.
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Fresh or frozen cranberries work great in this custard pie. If you decide to use frozen, just let them thaw first and pat them dry. This helps avoid too much moisture being added to the custard.
As far as freezing this pie before or after baking it, that isn’t the best idea. With the eggs and cream custard, the texture isn’t going to hold up to freezing well.
How do I know when the custard is set?
No one wants to end up with a custard that is runny in the center. It’s important to bake the custard through, but at the same time you don’t want to overbake the pie.
After the pie has baked for 50 minutes I start to check the custard by shaking the pie slightly. If there is a small 2-3 inch portion in the center that is still slightly giggly, it is done. That portion will set up as the pie cools. If any more of the pie is jiggly, it isn’t done yet.
Unique Pie Recipe
It all came together absolutely beautifully, both visually and in flavor. It was fall dessert perfection! I used the scraps of pie crust to make some leaves and berries to add to the pie after baking it for a little something extra special.
My family happily dug right in and quickly came back for seconds. This Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a definite winner and something unique you should really give a try to change things up for your holiday dessert spread this year!
More holiday dessert recipes!
Holidays are all about food, with dessert being the grand finale. From cheesecakes and tarts to pies and bars, there are so many amazing dessert recipes you need to try!
- Glazed Apple Pie Bars
- Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
- Salted Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Tart
- French Silk Pie
- Sour Cream Raisin Meringue Bars
Cranberry Orange Custard Pie
Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a festive and unique pie to enjoy during the holiday season. A flaky pie crust is filled with silky sweet custard laced with orange zest and tart cranberries for a special dessert.
Ingredients
- 10 " unbaked pie shell
- 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries, if frozen, thaw and pat dry
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 c. flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°,
- Place cranberries in the unbaked pie shell.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together and pour over the cranberries.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 400°.
- Reduce the heat to 350° and cover crust with pie crust shield or tin foil. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes until the custard is set.
- Let cool completely before serving. Store refrigerated.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 8 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 701Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 496mgCarbohydrates: 104gFiber: 4gSugar: 65gProtein: 8g
Provided nutrition data is only an estimate. If you are tracking these nutrients for medical purposes, please consult an outside, trusted source.
Brenda says
My daughter found the recipe before Christmas, 2019. Our extended family requests she make it every year for either Thanksgiving or Christmas becuase so many of us love it. We are big custard fans, plus the tartness of the orange gives it that sweet-sour flavor, too. I make it myself to take away and always get compliments. Ingenious combination!!
Colton says
Hello! This sounds delicious but I was wondering why you did not parbake the crust at all prior to adding the ingredients. Do you think the crust would be crisper if you did? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Danielle Green says
I grew up with my grandmother and mother who never parbaked the crust for custard pies and they always turned out great, so that’s just my preference.
Keiko says
I really prefer a very crunchy pie crust. Nice goldn brown with a golden bottom. My intuition is telling me to parbake the crust… to get that flakey solid ness. Or should I just follow the recipe.
Danielle Green says
If you like a crispy crust, then by all means par bake!
Ally Gillotte says
Just made this for Thanksgiving, and it’s wonderful! It set up beautifully and the flavor combination is so good; pretty photogenic too, although I think I’ll shield the whole pie instead of just the crust next time. My mom is a master baker and she said it was an every-year keeper after her first bite.
It did take significantly longer to bake for me, too, like almost half an hour more, and I don’t think it was ever firm around the edges and just wiggly in the center 2-3 inches. For folks struggling with what “done” looks like, Chef John on YouTube has a strawberry rhubarb custard pie video and it’s a great reference for how a fruit+custard pie like this one moves when it’s finished cooking.
Rebecca says
Size matters! If you don’t want to waste any of this deliciousness, make sure you are using a large enough pan!
Wow! This pie is AMAZING!!!! Although mine didn’t look as beautiful as yours, the flavors were perfect! I grabbed one of my regular pie plates (8 inch) and I couldn’t fit all of the custard filling. (Should have paid more attention to the recipe!) My second time around I tripled the recipe and made four 8.5 inch pies for my son’s school bazaar.
Danielle Green says
You are incredibly generous and ambitious to make so many pies for a bake sale! So glad you loved the recipe!
Michelle says
I made this on a whim because I had an extra pie crust. This pie is amazing! It ended up being everyone’s favorite over the pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate pies I served. This is going on the official thanksgiving menu at our house!
Danielle Green says
Wow, that is impressive that it beat out the classics! So glad it was well received.
Carrie says
Hi Danielle- I want to make this as tartlets to give to my colleagues at work for Christmas. Any idea how many tartlets I could get out of this recipe? Thanks!!
Danielle Green says
If you make mini pies like these, it should make around 8. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053SFQ5I/?tag=krafkoch-20
Sarah says
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving, and it was absolutely delicious! It was easy to make, and it had a great balance of tart and sweet. It was nice to try something different than the traditional pumpkin or pecan pies!
Perry says
This is my favorite pie and I make it every year at this time! I’m making my own pie crust this year and everything I know about custard require a blind bake, but your blurb about the crust makes me think it isn’t necessary for this one. Is that true? Or should I blind bake it for a while?
Danielle Green says
I have never blind baked crust for my cranberry or rhubarb custard pies and they always turn out great.
Lora says
Hi-
Would you make this without the crust and with half and half instead of heavy cream?
Danielle Green says
I wouldn’t personally.
Skyler says
So I just made this pie and it poofed up like a cake? Nothing like the picture. There’s so many good responses that I’m sure it was my mistake, but does anyone know what I might have done wrong here?
Danielle Green says
How many eggs did you add? Sounds like maybe there were too many?
Kristin says
This is our absolute favorite pie. Because my babe was born in the middle of cranberry season, when I got around to making it, there were no fresh ones in the stores. So, I subbed blackberries. Yummy but suuuper sweet. I think I will stick with it being a fall dish!
Danielle Green says
Ya, blackberries are far sweeter, so if you do that again, just reduce the sugar quite a bit. The cranberries need far more sugar to balance their tartness.
Katerina says
Question for you! This is my first time making pie. I found *frozen* pie shells. Should I thaw them completely before pouring everything in and baking or is it okay to do it when the crust is frozen? Thank you!!
Danielle Green says
Yes, thaw it but be sure to keep it cool. You don’t want pastry to get warm. Refrigerated is best.
Yulia Grigoryants says
Hello, could you please clarify what does it mean “custard is set”.
Danielle Green says
It means that it is solidified into a gelatin like state.
Ann says
Oh. My. Gosh! Now I know that perfection exists. This is such a unique fall dessert recipe. It looks incredible! I love the decorative crust so much. I’m so excited at the idea of giving the pie a try. I’m seriously salivating as I’m writing the comment.
Thank you so much for sharing this treasure and such detailed instructions. The info you provide is remarkable. I’m so happy to have discovered your blog. You put so much love into what you’re doing. I will definitely be back for more of the recipes. Keep it up!
p.s. I love the photos you take!
Best wishes,
Ann
Raychel says
This looks amazing!
Do you think using a tart pan would be ok instead of a pie dish?
Danielle Green says
Unless you have an exceptionally deep tart pan, it probably won’t hold a lot of the custard