Basic Cream Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar with melted butter. Using the bottom of a glass, press cracker mixture onto bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Bake until set, 12-15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack., Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 5 minutes. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Slowly beat in cream and vanilla. Microwave gelatin on high until melted, about 10 seconds; beat into cream cheese mixture. Transfer filling to crust. Refrigerate, covered, until set, about 3 hours., If desired, top with mixed fresh berries.

Steps:

• Cream together cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth.
• Add lemon juice and blend well.
• Pour into graham cracker crust.
• Top with fruit pie filling.
• Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Steps:

• In a sauce pan, combine milk and butter. Bring to a boil. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture. Gradually whisk egg mixture back to remaining milk mixture. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool.

Steps:

• Place an egg separator over a small bowl. Crack open 1 egg over the egg separator to seperate the yolk from the white; then separate the other egg. (Save the whites for another recipe.) In a small bowl, place the yolks. Beat the egg yolks with a fork or wire whisk until mixed. Stir in 1 1/2 cups milk; set aside.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, stir 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the cornstarch and 1/8 teaspoon salt until mixed. Gradually stir egg mixture into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Press plastic wrap on surface of filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set but no longer than 24 hours. While filling is chilling, continue with recipe.
• Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray just the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour.
• In a large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape bowl. Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.
• Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a cooling rack 20 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to finish cooling completely, about 1 hour.
• In a 1-quart saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and the chocolate over low heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in 1-cup glass measuring cup, microwave the water uncovered on High 15 to 30 seconds or until hot. Remove chocolate mixture from heat. Stir in the powdered sugar and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 3 tablespoons hot water. Stir in additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is smooth and thin enough to spread.
• To split cake horizontally in half, mark middle points around side of cake with toothpicks. Using toothpicks as a guide, cut through the cake with a long, sharp knife, using a back-and-forth motion. On a serving plate, place bottom layer with the cut side up. Spread filling over bottom layer. Top with top of cake, cut side down.
• Spread glaze over top of cake, using a metal spatula or back of a spoon, letting some glaze drizzle down side of cake. Refrigerate uncovered until serving. Store any remaining cake covered in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Spray pan with cooking spray.
• In a bowl, combine fine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into pan. Put in oven for 5 to 10 minutes on 375°F. That will be your pie crust. Set aside.
• Now, in a medium bowl, mash berries. Combine with whipped cream and powdered sugar.
• Fill pie crust with mixture and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Steps:

• Whisk all of your ingredients together in a pan.
• Cook on high until it is almost to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium and take off when it has started to boil again.
• Cool thoroughly with plastic wrap placed directly on top of filling.
• Spoon into 2 pre-baked and cooled pie shells.
• Note: Use the flavor of jello pudding to correspond to the pie you are making, banana for banana cream, chocolate for chocolate cream etc. Sliced bananas, coconut, grated chocolate etc. can be added to the filling or the bottom of the shells before adding cream filling.
• Bonus note: Mix 1 cup Coolwhip with 1 pint of whipping cream after whipping to stabilize the cream. It will taste like fresh cream and will not get watery. You can cover your cream pies in this whipping cream and it will stay nice for as long as the pie lasts.

Steps:

• For the crumb crust: Butter a 9-inch pyrex pie pan. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
• Place nuts in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse 10 or 12 times at 1-second intervals to finely grind without reducing to a paste. Remove cover and scrape inside of work bowl with a spatula.
• Add remaining ingredients except butter and pulse once or twice to combine.
• Add butter and pulse 3 or 4 times, until mixture is evenly moistened and looks crumbly. Remove blade and turn mixture out into prepared pan.
• Using your fingertips, distribute the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom and sides of the pan, gently pressing into place. Make sure that the crumb coating is even because thin spots will burn during baking.
• Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the crust and to make the rim of the crust straight and even.
• Bake the crust for about 20 minutes, or until the surface of the crust is a deep golden brown. Watch carefully, because the high sugar content makes them burn easily. Cool on rack.
• To make the filling: Combine 2 cups milk, sugar and salt in a nonreactive saucepan; whisk once to mix and bring to a boil over low heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup milk in a mixing bowl and whisk in cornstarch, then eggs. Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat then whisk about a third of it into the egg mixture. Return milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk in the egg mixture, whisking constantly until the filling thickens and comes to a boil. Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and vanilla; pour into a nonreactive bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until it is approximately 75 degrees. Spread the cooled filling evenly in the cooled crust.
• To finish the pie, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it holds a firm peak. Use a hand mixer on medium speed or a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk. Spread the cream over the filling, making sure it touches the edges of the crust all around.

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, mix together sugar, flour, and salt.
• In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks and milk. Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients in the saucepan. Continue whisking over low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon and is smooth and thick.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Cook's Note: Add any variations at this point.
• Allow the mixture to cool and pour into the baked pie shell. Chill the pie completely and top with fresh whipped cream or other desired topping.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and the salt; cut or work the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry blender until you have large pea sized chunks scattered throughout. Alternatively, pulse the dough in a food processor, or mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.
• Add the ice water slowly while stirring with a fork, or in the food processor or mixer, until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide the dough into two disks, flatten and refrigerate each for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll out one chilled pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Reserve the second pie dough disc for another use. Transfer dough to pie plate, pressing the dough lightly into the plate; trim the edges. Dock the dough with the prongs of a fork evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Line the docked dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust until the edges are brown and golden, about 15 minutes Remove from the oven and remove the weights. Return crust to the oven to finish baking for another 5 minutes.