Orange Custard Pie

Enjoy the combination of rich creme brulee and zesty orange flavors in this delicious Orange Custard Pie recipe with fresh orange juice and zest in the homemade custard filling with a crushed biscoff biscuit base.

The tangy citrus perfectly blends with the silky smooth custard, creating an memorable dessert for special occasions, or simply because you want to create something different with fresh oranges you have lying around.

Ingredients and substitutions for Orange Custard Pie

• Biscoff biscuits: These lightly spiced biscuits make the perfect base for these bars. If you are unable to obtain them, a great substitute in equal measure would be digestive biscuits and add in ½ teaspoon ground ginger spice when making the base.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is used here, salted also works as a fine substitute; just leave out any salt suggested in the recipe.
• Cream: Heavy cream was used here as it naturally makes the custard thick, but you could subsitute with pouring cream that will thicken thanks to baking.
• Egg yolks: Adding structure and making our custard what it is, the creme brulee would not be the same without these.
• Sugar: The best sugar in the base is superfine or caster though you could half and half the sugar with light brown sugar and caster sugar. The topping is best with superfine or caster sugar for a nice sweet crunch without additional flavor in that caramel.
• Salt: The flavor powerhouse, just a little adds a depth to the pie that creates a well rounded flavor.
• Orange: Fresh orange juice and zest will give you the strongest infusion of flavor for a truly beautiful depth to your pie.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Orange Custard Pie:

Step 1: Crush those cookies: Crush or blend the cookies as finely as possible before adding in the melted butter.

Step 2: Press into the pie dish: Press the combined crushed cookie and melted butter into your pie dish and bake.

Step 3: Heat the cream: Alongside the orange zest.

Step 4: Make your custard: Whip the egg yolks with orange zest until thickened and then whisk in the warm cream.

Step 5: Pour in the orange juice: Finish the custard with your orange juice and combine. Pour into the crushed cookie base.

Step 6: Place in the oven in a larger tray: Add boiled water half way up the sides of your pie dish.

Step 7: Bake: Bake until lightly golden, then allow to chill completely.

Step 8: Finishing the top: Just prior to serving, sprinkle over the sugar and caramelize with a blow torch or grill until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 9: Serve: Tap to crack the top, slice and serve.

Variations

You can definitely change up the dish by changing the following:

Pumpkin - you could substitute the orange juice with pumpkin butter for a Fall take on this recipe, though I have not tried this and cannot recommend an amount to infuse into the pie.

Chocolate - Add cocoa powder mixed with water in place of the orange juice and zest here.

Tea infused - You could infuse the cream with your favorite tea like this creme brulee here.

FAQ's for the best Orange Custard Pie

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Orange Pie

This Orange Pie includes a crushed biscoff base, smooth orange infused custard finished with a caramelized sugar topping for a truly memorable dessert.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Chill time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 8

Calories 346 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Base

• 250 grams / 8.8 ounces biscoff biscuits crushed
• 90 grams / 3.2 ounces butter melted

Orange filling

• 227 grams / 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
• 6 grams / 1 tablespoons orange zest roughly chopped
• 55 grams / 3 large egg yolks room temperature
• 100 grams / ½ cup superfine/caster sugar
• 90 grams / ⅓ cup orange juice

Instructions

 

Base

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
• Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl and stir the melted butter through until the mixture resemble wet breadcrumbs.
• Spoon into a 21.5 cm or 8.5 inch tart dish and press evenly into the base and edges of your dish.
• Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until lightly matte in appearance.

Orange filling

• Meanwhile, place the heavy cream, salt and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest into saucepan on medium heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the egg yolks, sugar and remaining orange zest in a separate bowl and whisk until the eggs are pale, thick and fluffy, approximately 1 minute.
• Slowly pour ¼ of the warm cream into the eggs, whisking to incorporate and heat the eggs slowly, continue with the remaining cream in stages until completely combined.
• Add the orange juice to the custard mixture and whisk to combine.
• Pour the orange custard into your tart shell, straining, if you prefer. Place the dish into a large baking tray.
• Boil water and pour the water ⅓ up the sides of the tart dish into the large baking tray.
• Slide carefully into the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until it is lightly golden on top and only slightly jiggly in the center.
• Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Place in the fridge for minimum 1 hour to chill.
• Remove when ready to serve and sprinkle a further 30 grams / 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over the top.
• Carefully caramelize the top either with a blowtorch or under the grill or broiler until bubbling and charred.
• Tap, slice and serve.
• Enjoy

Video

Notes

• Orange: Fresh orange juice and zest will give you the strongest infusion of flavor for a truly beautiful depth to your pie.
• Biscoff cookie base: Biscoff cookies aren’t readily found everywhere, so if the best description I have for their flavor is a deep subtle gingerbread tone. If you want to make this and can’t access biscoff cookies in your area, I recommend using half ginger and half graham crackers or digestive cookies in the base.
• Tart dish: A fluted tart dish makes for the traditional tart and is easy to work with. A medium sized tart dish was used here.
• Great make ahead dessert: The pie needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours or overnight to set and enhance the flavors. Just remember to caramelize the sugar crust and serve within 2 hours to maintain its crispness.
• Serve with: Usually I'd recommend serving with a dollop of whipped cream or thick yogurt, but this holds it's own without anything on the side.

Recipe by Roamingtaste

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcal

Keyword citrus, custard, pie, winter baking

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