Champagne Custard Pie

The perfect pairing for a celebration.

Ingredients:

For the Pie:
1 Rollable Pie Crust
1 cup Sugar
2 tbs Agar Agar
1 1/2 cup Champagne
1 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 tsp Aroma Fior Arancio Concentrato
4 beaten Egg Yolks
2 Pats Butter

For the Whipped Cream:
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tbs Champagne
2 heaping tbs Powdered Sugar

For the Blackberry Drizzle:
1 Small Handful Blackberries
2 tbs Brown Sugar
1 Squeeze of Lemon Juice
See my Blackberry Jam Recipe for step-by-step instructions & strain after making to remove seeds

Begin by placing your pie crust in a 9” pie plate, brush with 1 melted pat of Butter, use a fork to make air holes on the base of the crust, and bake according to instructions until golden brown.

While this is happening I like to place a metal mixing bowl in the freezer to chill in order to make the whipped cream process faster.

Once the pie crust is cooked, let cool to room temperature.

For the Pie Filling:

In a large metal sauce pan, combine Sugar, Agar Agar, Champagne, Heavy Whipping Cream & Aroma Fior Arancio Concentrato. Turn the heat up to a medium to medium-high and whisk gently and constantly until smooth & all the Sugar & Agar Agar has dissolved.

Switch your whisk out for a rubber spatula and continue to stir constantly until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. You’ll know you’re at a good place to move on when you lift your rubber spatula out of the mixture and it doesn’t run off instantly.

Once your mixture has thickened reduce the heat and let simmer for an additional 4 minutes while continuing to stir and scrape the edges of the pan - you want to make sure nothing burns as you cook. After 4 minutes, remove from heat.

Next, you need to incorporate the eggs BUT you do not want to scramble them, and eggs yolks are very sensitive. In order to temper them (aka prepare them by bringing them by slowly warming them before completely combining with your mixture), add heaping spoonful at a time slowly to your Egg Yolks and mix - I slowly added about 4 heaping spoonfuls just to be safe. After that add the tempered Egg Yolks to the entire mixture.

Bring the pan back to the heat and bring to a gentle boil for 4 minutes. Again, stir constantly. Remove from the heat, add 1 pat of Butter, continue to stir until fully melted, incorporated & the mixture is totally smooth. Let cool to a warm room temperature - I like to place in a room-temp mixing bowl during this time to help the process.

While the mixture is starting it’s initial cool down…..

Make the Whipped Cream

In your frozen metal bowl, add your Heavy Whipping Cream, Champagne & Powdered Sugar. Whisk with a hand mixer on high until peaks are formed & set aside in a cool place, or the fridge if you keep your house warm.

Once the pie mixture is at a warm-room temp, add it to your room temperature for it’s final set. Allow the pie to settle in a cool place to firm. You can refrigerate it to help the process along, but I found on a cool day in my kitchen it started to set by the window in about 1 hour.

To serve, top with Champagne Whipped Cream, Blackberry Drizzle & Fresh Blackberries. Pair with Champagne.