Blueberry Caramel Custard Pie

Military families don’t really get to spend a ton of time with their families, but I must admit, we do it up right when we are together.  My brother flies in today to meet up with his wife (my beautiful sister-in-law) and nephew who have been here on vacation for a few weeks visiting all of the various family members.  

This past weekend my sissy-in-law, myself and my childhood best friend got together and we spent an entire day shopping and giggling.  It was food for the soul.  The moments I share with people from my past cannot be replaced.  I realized with a jolt how funny it is that all three of us are military wives.  That’s crazy!  We not only have the bond of time but also the military to hold us together like glue.  I’m so thankful for having such great friends that I can also consider family.

Knowing I would be spending the day in the city, we planned an easy dinner (read: The Husband grilled) and I made dessert before we left in the morning.  The whole thing took 20 minutes, start to dishes dried and put away.

I wanted a graham cracker crust, but unfortunately graham flour is on the no-no list so I improvised and swapped the graham for almond meal, making this a delicious gluten-free pie.

Blueberry Caramel Custard Pie
Original Recipe

Crust:
1 1/2 cups toasted whole almonds
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

Caramel(ish) Custard:
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 c cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish:
1/2 c heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Process toasted almonds in a blender or food processor until it forms a small meal.  Mix the almond meal with the melted butter, 1/4 c brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.  Bake for 15 minutes, set aside.

In a medium sized, heavy saucepan, bring the cream and brown sugar to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch and milk.  Once the cream mixture is hot, ladle a small amount (about 1/2 cup) into the bowl with the egg yolks and temper the eggs.  Add another 1/2 cup to the mixture, then pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan with the hot cream.  Whisk constantly until the cream mixture is thick.  Pour immediately into the pie crust, cover with plastic wrap, pushing down on the custard so the plastic wrap touches the custard.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours (go shopping!) until cool.

When ready to serve, mix the remaining heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla beans with an electric mixer or whisk until thick.  Top the pie with fresh blueberries and fresh whipped cream.