Indulge in Nostalgic Southern Sweetness: Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah (Make-Ahead Magic!)

 

 If there's one dessert that transports me straight back to the cozy charm of riverside Illinois diners, it's this Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah. I was thrilled to unearth this gem from the offshoot restaurant of the legendary Elsah's Landing—that iconic eatery famed for its fluffy homemade breads, sky-high pies, and pies so irresistible they could've lured Lewis and Clark off the Mississippi. Something Elsah took that magic and bottled it into approachable recipes like this one, and let me tell you: it was the star of my recent luncheon, and that saying something because all of the food was absolutely delicious.

When it came time to serving dessert, forks flew faster than I could snap pictures — everyone was raving about the buttery praline crunch giving way to silky vanilla custard, all crowned with fluffy custard-infused whipped cream.

This pie screams Southern comfort with zero fuss. The praline layer toasts up in just 5 minutes, the custard thickens like a dream on the stovetop, and that whipped cream fold? Effortless elegance. Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah

⅓ c. packed light brown sugar

½ c. chopped pecans

⅓ c. plus 1 T. butter, divided

1 (9-inch) baked pie shell

1 c. sugar

3 T. cornstarch

⅛ t. salt

3 egg yolks

2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla 

1½ c. whipped cream, plus more for optional garnish

 Lightly toasted pecans pieces, for option garnish

Preheat oven to 450°F.

In a small pan, heat brown sugar, pecans, and 1/3 cup butter; cook and stir until butter is melted. Spread in baked pie shell; place in oven and bake 5 minutes. Let cool.

Combine granulated sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Beat in salt, egg yolks and milk. Cook over medium heat until very thick, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; cook and stir just until butter is melted. Measure out 1 cup custard; set aside. Pour remaining custard into prepared pie shell.

When the 1 cup of custard cools, fold in whipped cream. Spread on top of pie; chill. Garnish with toasted pecans, dollops or whipped cream, or both.

*Recipe sourced from St. Louis Post-Dispatch Special Requests Cookbook.

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Pineapple-Coconut Pie

It was one of those weekends where a lot of things went wrong.  I was hosting a Mother’s Day luncheon, I’d run out of time, and nearly everything that I reached for to prepare the meal, I didn’t seem to have.  When my mother announced that she had a hankering for pie (Her words were, “such a taste for...” but me?  I hanker.), I knew I had to make one.  But short on cream, low on fruit, devoid of bananas, lacking pecans, the cupboard was largely bare, with the exception of a couple of oddball items.  Fortunately while paging through the Post-Dispatch Cookbook of specially requested recipes from area restaurants my eyes fell upon this one.  Quick and easy to make, the ingredients on hand, I knew I had a winner.

As it turned out, I did; everyone loved it.  The name, I think, is a bit of a misnomer.  It does contain pineapple, but none of the diners could taste its presence in the pie, all simply agreed that it was very good.

Pineapple-Coconut Pie

Elsah Landing Restaurant, Grafton, IL

Yield: 8 servings

For crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

2 to 3-1/3 tablespoons ice water

For Filling:

3 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

To prepare crust: To measure flour, spoon lightly into a 1-cup dry measure.  Level off.  Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two table knives until mixture forms particles slightly larger than grains of rice.  Sprinkle with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Toss gently with a fork until all particles are uniformly moistened and will barely stick together.

Shape mixture into a ball.  Roll out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to form a circle.  Ease into a 9-inch pie plate; flute the edges. (NOTE: Who has the time?  I used a Redi-Crust.)

To prepare filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, melted butter, pineapple, and coconut.  Mix well.  Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 300 degrees; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until center seems set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinklings of toasted coconut, if desired.  Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday at Simple Living

Sweets for a Saturday

Sunday's Best Party

For more delicious pie recipes, this is one of my favorite resources:

Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah

Years ago, there was a very quaint, very charming little restaurant in Grafton, IL called Elsah's Landing. Known for their cinnamon rolls (the town, I'm told, always smelled very cinnamon-y early in the morning) and pies, the establishment became so successful that an offshoot called Something Elsah opened up in Plaza Frontenac shopping center in an affluent suburb of St. Louis. Unfortunately both are now closed, but thanks to the wonderful Special Request Cookbooks published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, we can still enjoy some of their delicious desserts.

I am not a pie person, but this pie is not only relatively easy to make, but knock-your-socks off delicious.

Praline Custard Pie from Something Elsah Restaurant

(Printable Recipe)

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup plus 1 T/ butter, divided

1 (9-inch) baked pie shell

1 cup granulated sugar

3 T. cornstarch

1/8 t. salt

3 egg yolks

2 cups milk

1 t. vanilla

1-1/2 cups whipped cream, plus more for optional garnish

Lightly toasted pecans pieces, for option garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a small pan, heat brown sugar, pecans, and 1/3 cup butter; cook and stir until butter is melted. Spread in baked pie shell; place in oven and bake 5 minutes. Let cool.

Combine granulated sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Beat in salt, egg yolks and milk. Cook over medium heat until very thick, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; cook and stir just until butter is melted. Measure out 1 cup custard; set aside. Pour remaining custard into prepared pie shell.

When the 1 cup of custard cools, fold in whipped cream. Spread on top of pie; chill. Garnish with toasted pecans, dollops or whipped cream, or both.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: Special Requests Cookbook, published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

This is linked to Foodie Friday.