Cranberry Custard Pie is a unique dessert recipe to add to your holiday menu. A flaky pie crust is filled with sweet silky custard laced with orange zest and tart cranberries for a special Cranberry Pie you will love!
Cranberry Pie
Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a the perfect addition to your holiday spread. It is a unique pie that is sure to be a hit with the combination of creamy egg custard paired with tart cranberries and the best pie crust recipe.
There really isn’t any fruit that doesn’t taste amazing with custard. I’ve pretty much tried them all. From Apple Custard Bars to Blueberry Lemon Custard Bars, you really can’t go wrong with custard!
Pie with Orange
A little citrus adds amazing flavor to this Cranberry Custard Pie. Orange is the perfect flavor to pair with cranberries, just like in these Cranberry Orange Cheesecake Bars.
Cranberries have a familiar tartness that is wonderful with rich custard, but the addition of some orange zest adds a beautiful brightness that puts it over the top.
Whether your family enjoys traditional holiday desserts like pumpkin pie and Old Fashion Sour Cream Cutout Cookies or they are always up for trying something new, you need to add this Cranberry Orange Pie to your holiday menu!
Custard Pie
I was longing after one of my favorite desserts, Rhubarb Custard Pie. The sweet silky custard balances out the rhubarb in a perfectly flaky pie crust for the most amazing dessert.
Sadly, rhubarb is out of season in the Midwest, so I started brainstorming. I realized cranberries would be the perfect substitute for rhubarb! Cranberry Pie sounded delicious in these cooler months.
How to Make Cranberry Pie
Pies are generally an easy dessert to make apart from the pie crust. That can be bypassed with a frozen or refrigerated crust if you aren’t a fan of rolling out dough. I do suggest making the effort though, because a homemade flakey pie crust is a beautiful thing. In my case, I recruit my mother who has mastered a good crust.
Once you have your pie crust prepared in a pie tin, layer some fresh cranberries in the shell. Top it with the custard made from whisked eggs, cream, granulated sugar, flour, orange zest and vanilla.
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Fresh or frozen cranberries work great in this custard pie. If you decide to use frozen, just let them thaw first and pat them dry. This helps avoid too much moisture being added to the custard.
As far as freezing this pie before or after baking it, that isn’t the best idea. With the eggs and cream custard, the texture isn’t going to hold up to freezing well.
How do I know when the custard is set?
No one wants to end up with a custard that is runny in the center. It’s important to bake the custard through, but at the same time you don’t want to overbake the pie.
After the pie has baked for 50 minutes I start to check the custard by shaking the pie slightly. If there is a small 2-3 inch portion in the center that is still slightly giggly, it is done. That portion will set up as the pie cools. If any more of the pie is jiggly, it isn’t done yet.
Unique Pie Recipe
It all came together absolutely beautifully, both visually and in flavor. It was fall dessert perfection! I used the scraps of pie crust to make some leaves and berries to add to the pie after baking it for a little something extra special.
My family happily dug right in and quickly came back for seconds. This Cranberry Orange Custard Pie is a definite winner and something unique you should really give a try to change things up for your holiday dessert spread this year!
More holiday dessert recipes!
Holidays are all about food, with dessert being the grand finale. From cheesecakes and tarts to pies and bars, there are so many amazing dessert recipes you need to try!
- Glazed Apple Pie Bars
- Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
- Salted Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Tart
- Sour Cream Raisin Meringue Bars
Cranberry Orange Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 10 ” unbaked pie shell
- 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries if frozen, thaw and pat dry
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 c. flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°,
- Place cranberries in the unbaked pie shell.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together and pour over the cranberries.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 400°.
- Reduce the heat to 350° and cover crust with pie crust shield or tin foil. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes until the custard is set.
- Let cool completely before serving. Store refrigerated.
Sarah says
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving, and it was absolutely delicious! It was easy to make, and it had a great balance of tart and sweet. It was nice to try something different than the traditional pumpkin or pecan pies!
Perry says
This is my favorite pie and I make it every year at this time! I’m making my own pie crust this year and everything I know about custard require a blind bake, but your blurb about the crust makes me think it isn’t necessary for this one. Is that true? Or should I blind bake it for a while?
Danielle Green says
I have never blind baked crust for my cranberry or rhubarb custard pies and they always turn out great.
Lora says
Hi-
Would you make this without the crust and with half and half instead of heavy cream?
Danielle Green says
I wouldn’t personally.
Joyce says
Just made this for Thanksgiving tomorrow. 75 minutes total baking time. I kept checking after adding 5 minutes. Looks delicious!
Skyler says
So I just made this pie and it poofed up like a cake? Nothing like the picture. There’s so many good responses that I’m sure it was my mistake, but does anyone know what I might have done wrong here?
Danielle Green says
How many eggs did you add? Sounds like maybe there were too many?
Kristin says
This is our absolute favorite pie. Because my babe was born in the middle of cranberry season, when I got around to making it, there were no fresh ones in the stores. So, I subbed blackberries. Yummy but suuuper sweet. I think I will stick with it being a fall dish!
Danielle Green says
Ya, blackberries are far sweeter, so if you do that again, just reduce the sugar quite a bit. The cranberries need far more sugar to balance their tartness.
Krystal says
In summer I made it with raspberries and it was delicious
Katerina says
Question for you! This is my first time making pie. I found *frozen* pie shells. Should I thaw them completely before pouring everything in and baking or is it okay to do it when the crust is frozen? Thank you!!
Danielle Green says
Yes, thaw it but be sure to keep it cool. You don’t want pastry to get warm. Refrigerated is best.
Yulia Grigoryants says
Hello, could you please clarify what does it mean “custard is set”.
Danielle Green says
It means that it is solidified into a gelatin like state.
Ann says
Oh. My. Gosh! Now I know that perfection exists. This is such a unique fall dessert recipe. It looks incredible! I love the decorative crust so much. I’m so excited at the idea of giving the pie a try. I’m seriously salivating as I’m writing the comment.
Thank you so much for sharing this treasure and such detailed instructions. The info you provide is remarkable. I’m so happy to have discovered your blog. You put so much love into what you’re doing. I will definitely be back for more of the recipes. Keep it up!
p.s. I love the photos you take!
Best wishes,
Ann
Malinda says
I love the flavor combo of orange and cranberries!! This pie was fantastic!!
Raychel says
This looks amazing!
Do you think using a tart pan would be ok instead of a pie dish?
Danielle Green says
Unless you have an exceptionally deep tart pan, it probably won’t hold a lot of the custard
Christina says
I had the same problem with the filling being runny even after baking it 30 minutes longer than instructed. I am at 5280 feet so I decided to bump up the temperature to 375, then 400 and finallty after 15-20 minutees the custard set! It looks delicious and cant wait to taste it later today.
Suzanne K says
Loved this pie – super easy and was tart and sweet. Big hit!
Julie says
We love anything cranberry in our house so this was definitely a win! Thanks for the recipe!
Megan says
This was the most delicious flavor combination! It was a huge hit!
Phyllis says
Can I use a 9 or 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie dish?
Danielle Green says
Yes!
Grace says
Thank you for the recipe! I made it for Thanksgiving and it compliment the other two desserts in the trio perfectly – apple pie and a chocolate hazelnut cream tart. I am a fan of tart desserts and cranberries. I made the following adjustments and everyone loved it.
8” pie plate, TJ’s pie crust, reduced cranberries to a little more than a layer, 1 1/4C sugar, blind baked the crust. Started 10 minutes at 350F and then lowered to 275F for 30 min. Probably could have been shorter bake.
Kacey says
I made it both with dairy cream and coconut cream–delicious both ways!
Christina says
I made this pie. The flavor is great and it’s beautiful. I blind baked the crust for 15 minutes to make sure the crust was not soggy. My crust stuck to the pie dish. The instructions didn’t say to grease the pie dish, I don’t know if this was a result of the pre-baking.
Christina says
I made this pie. The flavor is great and it’s beautiful. I blind baked the crust for 15 minutes to make sure the crust was not soggy. My crust stuck to the pie dish. The instructions didn’t say to grease the pie dish, I don’t know if this was a result of the pre-baking.
Tina says
Just made this for a holiday dinner and it was DELICIOUS–everyone raved and wanted more. And it’s as pretty as it is tasty–a new favorite. I plan to make it year-round, subbing blueberries and lemon zest, etc.
Danielle Green says
Yum, blueberries sound like a great option as well. Happy to hear you enjoyed it Tina!
Courtney says
Have you tried it with blueberries and lemon zest? Planned on trying it this week and was curious how it turned out!
Danielle Green says
I have not gotten around to that yet!