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.
Julie says
Made this pie for Christmas Eve. Smells great. Can’t wait to try it. Had to use frozen cranberries and did thaw and pat dry. My local supermarkets decided cranberry season was over here! It did take a few minutes longer for the custard to set. I have a feeling this will be a new family favorite recipe!
Shelley says
I love this pie. The only change I make is I use Gran Marnier instead of vanilla.
Danielle Green says
That sounds like a wonderful addition!
Shelley says
I love this recipe and it gets rave reviews at church. The only change I make is I use Gran Marnier instead of vanilla. I also have a little that doesn’t fit in the Marie Callender’s deep pie crust so I bake it in a ramekin…It is delicious even without a crust.
Leslie says
This looks like a great recipe! Has anyone tried making it with leftover homemade cranberry orange relish?
Cindy says
Delicious! It did take noticeably longer than the suggested bake time set the custard – somewhere in the 10 – 20 minutes (extra) range. This is a pretty high volume recipe, so I put in just enough cranberries to make a good single layer of them (about 2/3 of the bag?), and then added the custard, which brought everything up to about 2 mm below the top of the crust. (Note: I substituted a graham cracker crust, so my crust could not go higher than the edge of my pie plate; with a traditional crust, I could have put the edge of it much higher and had enough space for the rest of the cranberries.)
Lisa Crabill says
Just made custard base and realized bought half and half instead of heavy whipping cream. Crossing my fingers, but wondering if should adjust baking time/temp, or prepare for disaster?
Danielle Green says
I’ve never made it with half and half, but please let us know how it turned out!
Lisa Crabill says
At 30 minutes in, when turned pie, filling NOT set and almost looked curdled. At 50 minutes, looked done. Actually turned out GREAT. Custard filling was smooth and silky, but perhaps slightly denser than ideal. Basing this on memories of my Grandma’s custard pie, which was outstanding. Probably will increase orange zest slightly in future. Will be making this again for Christmas! Thanks.
Lynns says
I’m very excited to make this! Two questions:
1. I typically blind bake my pie crust before adding filling. Have you experimented with that in this recipe? I’m nervous I’ll get a soggy bottom.
2. Do you add your cranberries raw to the pie before making or do you cook them down a bit to soften them?
Thank you!
Danielle Green says
We never blind bake and it turns out great. I worry it will dry out the edges of the crust by adding more baking time to the crust.
Add raw cranberries, no need need to cook.
Jaimee says
I can’t wait to make this!
Does the orange zest add much orange flavor? Could I add some orange juice to the custard?
Danielle Green says
Orange zest adds much more concentrated flavor to the pie than orange juice does. I wouldn’t mess with the custard by adding juice.
Jaimee says
Thank you! For some reason I thought the zest just went on top 🤦🏼♀️ That’s my bad.
Sharon A says
how many days ahead can this be made ?
Danielle Green says
I don’t like to make custard pies more than one day in advance. The custard does start to make the bottom crust soggy.
Clayton says
I’m following your directions, and after 50 minutes in the oven the entire pie is still jiggly. every time I’ve made this pie it’s usually had to sit in the oven and extra 30-45+ minutes.