Name: Crème Brûlée Pie
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT1H25M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT12H30M0.000S
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: Nonstick cooking spray, for the pie plate; 1 3/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting hands if needed (see Cook’s Note); 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 1 large egg white, whisked; 2 1/2 cups heavy cream; 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste; 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar; 7 large egg yolks

Directions

Special equipment:

a kitchen torch; a 9 1/2-inch deep pie plate

For the crust: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9 1/2-inch deep pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Beat the cake flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low speed until evenly combined. Beat in the cold butter on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Drizzle in the heavy cream and mix on medium-low speed until a dough starts to form.
Scatter the dough over the prepared pie plate using floured hands, if needed, and press evenly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake until the edges are light golden brown, 28 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the bottom and sides with the egg white, filling any cracks. Return to the oven and bake until shiny and dry to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
For the custard filling: Meanwhile, heat the heavy cream, salt, vanilla pods and seeds and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble around the edges, 4 to 6 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl until just smooth; avoid whisking in too much air. While slowly whisking the yolks constantly (see Cook’s Note), add about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture to temper the eggs, then increase to a steady stream until the cream is fully incorporated. (Don’t pour too much hot cream at once or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.) Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl; discard the vanilla pods. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the custard so it’s touching the surface and set aside at room temperature until needed.
When the crust is completely cooled, remove the plastic wrap from the custard and use a kitchen torch to lightly torch the surface, holding it about 2 inches away, until the large bubbles pop. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and pour the custard into the crust. Bake, covering the crust with an aluminum foil ring if it’s getting too brown before the custard is ready, until the custard is set around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center, 53 to 55 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack, discarding the aluminum foil ring if added, to cool completely, about 2 hours. There may be some small bubbles on top of the baked pie, which is okay.
Wrap the pie with plastic wrap, making sure to touch the surface of the custard. Refrigerate until very cold, at least overnight and up to 1 day.
When ready to serve, unwrap and discard the plastic wrap. Spread 3 tablespoons granulated sugar over the top of the custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above the surface. Starting in the center of the pie, move the flame in a circular motion, pointing the fire away from the crust, and work your way out to the edges to caramelize the sugar until browned. Let cool slightly to harden the browned sugar, about 2 minutes.
Spread the remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar over the browned sugar. Torch again using the same process until deep golden brown. Refrigerate until the sugar hardens and the custard is cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Crack the brûléed sugar with a sharp knife and cut into slices.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) Whisking slowly prevents bubbles from forming, which can change the look of the baked custard but will not alter the texture of the pie.