If you love vanilla custard or creme brulee, this recipe for Indiana Sugar Cream Pie will be your new favorite dessert. A flaky pie crust filled with sweet decadent vanilla custard is heavenly. This is a classic Mid-West pie tradition that everyone will love.
Why this Old-Fashioned Sugar Cream Pie Recipe is Amazing: No wonder the Hoosier State, Indiana, made it their official state pie. It is a tasty dessert with a thick & creamy vanilla custard filling & a snickerdoodle flavor for one seriously amazing dessert. When I bit into it I wondered, where has this pie been all my life?
All you need is a few simple inexpensive ingredients & this classic pie tastes like you splurged. It's to die for.
This was inspired by my recipe for 3-Ingredient Creme Brulee. Both of these sweet treats are restaurant-quality but so easy. Ok, now we bake!
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History of the Sugar Cream Pie
Sugar cream pie is also known as desperation pie. This is because when it was invented, during the Depression, it consisted of staples that most people had on hand. It didn't require other pie ingredients such as apples, berries, or nuts that not all households were able to grow or afford.
If you are ever visiting Indiana there is a lot of great food there. For other tasty specialties check out What to Eat in the Hoosier State. We made this pie because Landon was doing his state report for school. He is so proud of this pie!
Ingredients for Sugar Cream Pie
Most of the ingredients for this homemade pie recipe are likely already in your pantry or refrigerator. Since this recipe doesn't call for eggs, it is truly a simple recipe with only 5 ingredients needed to make the pie filling. It is creamy with a hint of cinnamon like my recipe for No-Bake Eggnog Pie.
Here are the ingredients needed to make this recipe:
- Store-Bought pie crust - 9" - or make your own from scratch.
- Granulated sugar - this pie is all about the sugar for the filling.
- Cornstarch - this thickens the custard without needing any eggs.
- Half & Half - do not use low-fat or any other milk (substitute if needed: heavy cream & whole milk) this makes it thick, rich, & decadent.
- Salted butter - a touch of salt to offset all the sugar.
- Vanilla extract - key for a delicious vanilla custard pie filling.
- Ground cinnamon - a sprinkle on top for a bit of spice & color.
See the recipe card for quantities & substitutions/variations.
How to Make Sugar Cream Pie
Plan ahead if using a store-bought pie crust, make sure it comes to room temperature. After about 15-20 minutes it should be soft enough to unroll easily. Or make your own - here is a good pie crust recipe that I have used before. (yes it has vodka!)
Also this dessert is served cold. So calculate in the fact this needs hours to chill in the fridge before slicing.
Here are the easy steps for making Hoosier Pie:
- Prepare the Pie Crust
- Make the Custard Filling
- Bake the Sugar Cream Pie
- Chill & Serve
See the step-by-step instructions with photos below plus the recipe card at the end of the post.
1 - Prepare the Pie Crust
Preheat the oven to 425°. Roll out the premade pie crust (many refrigerated brands require a 15-minute thawing on the counter). Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Fold the crust edges under and flute to design.
Do not prick the crust, you do not want this custard to leak through the crust. Line the uncooked crust with foil. Fill with pie weights. If you do not have pie weights you can use dried beans or uncooked rice.
Bake until the edges are light golden brown, 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake so the bottom now is also golden brown, 5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Reduce oven setting to 375°. While the pie crust cools, it is time to make the sugar cream custard filling. This only takes about 10 minutes.
2 - Make the Custard Filling
In a medium-sized saucepan, pour in the granulated white sugar & cornstarch. Whisk in the half & half (or 1 cup heavy cream & 1 cup whole milk) until smooth.
Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil while whisking occasionally to ensure it doesn't burn or clump. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes. It should be at a low simmer.
You will know it is ready when it is thick enough to coat the whisk. Once it looks like this turn off the heat.
Remove from heat. Finally, add in the cubed butter and vanilla. Stir to melt and combine.
3 - Bake the Sugar Cream Pie
Reminder, the oven should be preheated to 375°F for baking.
Gently pour the filling into the prepared crust; sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for 15 minutes. If the crust edges start to darken too fast, add a skinny foil layer around the perimeter to cover the crust. Once the sugar cream custard filling is set with a bit of a giggle, it is ready. Remove from the oven.
Cool on a wire rack until the pie pan has cooled at it is safe to touch. Once it has cooled it needs to chill to set. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator.
4 - Chill & Serve
This is a chilled pie and is not eaten warm. It tastes better the longer the custard sets so be patient (I know it's hard!) It needs at least 4 hours to refrigerate.
Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy a taste of Indiana, the Hoosier State.
Hint: I suggest cooking this early in the morning or even the day before you wish to serve it for the best results. The colder it is, the better it tastes in my opinion.
For another state pie favorite you will love the sweet, tart, & salty combination in North Carolina Lemon Pie. The curd filling in a Saltine cracker crust all topped with whipped cream is amazing!
Substitutions
You can make alterations to this pie easily for a few special diet considerations. Sugar cream pie is a simple and delicious dessert that
- Pie Crust - use a gluten-free crust to make this gluten-free
- Cinnamon - you can omit this if you are not a fan of cinnamon or do a combination of sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg for Christmas.
Recipe Tips & Behind the Scenes
Here is my recipe for success - including what I learned when testing, funny stories or bloopers, and more.
- #1 Tip - Plan ahead because this pie requires refrigerating and is not serve fresh-baked from the oven.
- This is the best make-ahead dessert for Thanksgiving of Christmas, can be made up to 3 days ahead of time!
- Looking for a dessert for someone allergic to eggs, this is it!
- When my son had the idea to make this pie we both thought it sounded weird since it has so much cornstarch. But after one bite we were hooked! Don't judge a recipe by it's ingredients - less learned.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie (Hoosier Pie)
Equipment
- pie pan
Ingredients
- 1 9" pie crust store-bought or homemade
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 cups half & half substitute- 1 cup each heavy cream & whole milk
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick) cubed
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Pre-Bake the Pie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 425°. Roll out the premade pie crust (many refrigerated brands require a 10-15 minute thawing on the counter). Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Fold the crust edges under and flute to design.
- Do not prick the crust, you do not want this custard to leak through the crust. Line the uncooked crust with foil. Fill with pie weights. If you do not have pie weights you can use dried beans or uncooked rice.
- Bake until the edges are light golden brown, 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake so the bottom now is also golden brown, 5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Reduce oven setting to 375°. While the pie crust cools, make the sugar cream custard filling.
Make Sugar Cream Custard Filling
- In a medium-sized saucepan, add sugar & cornstarch. Whisk in the half & half (or 1 cup heavy cream & 1 cup whole milk) until smooth. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil while whisking occasionally, to ensure it doesn't burn or clump. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
- As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes. It should now have thickened and has a low simmer.
- Remove from heat. Finally, add in the cubed butter and vanilla. Stir to melt and combine. Gently pour the filling into the prepared crust; sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Bake for 15 minutes. If the edges start to darken too fast, add a skinny foil layer around the perimeter to cover the crust. Once the sugar cream custard filling is set with a bit of a giggle, it is ready. Remove from the oven.
- Cool on a wire rack until the pie pan has cooled at it is safe to touch. Once it has cooled it needs to chill to set.
- Transfer the pie to the refrigerator. It needs at least 4 hours to refrigerate.
- Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy a taste of Indiana, the Hoosier State.
- Store leftover pie in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap. See above for how long to store and how to freeze sugar cream pie.
Notes
- This pie will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- If can be frozen after baking as well for up to 30 days. I have tested it but find the custard texture does change & recommend fresh as best.
Nutrition
More Pie Recipes
If you love home-baked pies, check out these other recipes. Or if you want something cool and no-bake, try my Reese's Peanut Butter Pie, it is to die for!
James says
Made it exactly as listed and it turned out perfect. I admit I didn't wait for it to fully chill. It is better the next day when really cold and solid. So do wait for it even if it is hard to do.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
This sounds like such a treat!! Thanks for sharing at last week's what's for dinner party. Sorry I'm late. Hope to see you at this weeks party too - have a fabulous week.
Josie says
Just like my mom used to make. I never knew it was this easy to bake this pie. I doubled the cinnamon since she always coated it thick but otherwise made it exactly as written.
Adam says
Turned out amazingly! I’m a 45yo male & not great in the kitchen, so when I set out to make this pie, my family had reservations… I managed to find my way, and it turned out extremely well. I even received a rave review from my favorite cook; my 75 year old mother, who grew up cooking.
Angela says
That is so lovely. Great job & am glad you and your mother loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Janet says
If using unsalted butter, should you add a pinch of salt?
Angela says
Yuu can but it will not be totally necessary.
Mrs. Confrand says
As a native Hoosier, this recipe falls short of what I remember.
Pretty sweet with not much depth of flavor. Will not make it again.
Angela says
Im sorry to hear that. We make it a few times a year and people often ask for the recipe whenever we have guests. The salt in the butter plus the vanilla and cinnamon is what balances the sweetness and adds warm notes & flavor. Maybe a bit more cinnamon on top if that is what your memory remembers about this pie.