Here's Why Your Custard Pie Always Has A Soggy Crust

Many pies are integral pieces of the American identity. From apple pie, a true icon of Americana despite its unamerican origins, to Florida's contested claim of being the birthplace of key lime pie and, of course, the full suite of pies no Thanksgiving would be complete without. Custard pie flies a little under the radar compared to these treasures, so you may not make it enough to know how to avoid a soggy, unenjoyable crust after baking.

We never want to experience that disappointment again, so Daily Meal spoke to Saura Kline, pastry chef at Local Jones inside the Halcyon Hotel in Denver, Colorado, who gave us exclusive guidance on how to avoid a soggy custard pie crust. She started by warning us that, "putting a custard into a raw pie crust is a sure way to get a soggy crust." To avoid this, she says "blind baking is your best friend."

Blind baking a pie crust isn't anything special or difficult. All it means is that you partially or completely bake your crust first, before any filling gets added. Typically, to blind bake a pie crust, you just need to line your raw crust with parchment paper and fill it with a bunch of beans or rice, or you can invest in pie weights if you plan on blind baking often. The beans, rice, or weights keep the crust from bubbling up while it bakes in your oven.

Of course, Saura Kline offers "one extra step you can take" for even better results. She says after you blind bake, "remove [the] weights and brush some egg white over the half-cooked crust, then return to the oven for 2 minutes. This will ensure that you have a crisp crust when you then pour your filling in and finish the bake."

But you can't use just any crust for a custard pie and have it turn out perfectly crisp. Per Saura, "the worst types to use would be any crust that has a loose structure like Ritz cracker." This is likely because of all the nooks and crannies your custard could find in said crust types, making it soggy. Instead, she says, "The best crusts for cream and custard pies are a standard butter crust or a graham cracker crust." What kind of custard pie you make with such advice is up to you.