Indiana Sugar Cream Pie

A slice of sugar cream pie with a golden crust sits on a decorative plate, with the rest of the pie visible in the background.

This old-fashioned Indiana Sugar Cream Pie, also known as Hoosier Pie, has a smooth, creamy filling made with half-and-half, milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, and nutmeg. It bakes in a flaky pie crust and firms up as it cools, with no eggs needed.

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine American Dessert

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Cool time 2

Total Time 3 10

Servings slices

Calories 254kcal

Author Jere' Cassidy

Equipment

pie crust shield
9 inch pie plate

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust use this recipe for pie crust
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups half and half
¼ cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping

¼ teaspoon nutmeg use a scant ¼ teaspoon
2 teaspoons butter cold and diced

Instructions

Par-bake the crust

Fit the pie dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Line with parchment paper and fill with sugar, pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 375℉ for 20 minutes. Remove the pie crust and let it cool, then remove the weights and parchment paper. See my How to Prebake a Pie Crust guide for step-by-step instructions and tips.

Cook the filling

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt.
Turn the heat to medium. Add the half-and-half and milk and whisk to combine. Cook for about 12 minutes, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Once it comes to a boil, continue cooking and whisking for 1 minute.
Add the 3 tablespoons of butter and vanilla and stir until the butter is melted. The filling should coat the back of a spoon but will still be fairly loose.
Pour the filling into the par-baked pie crust and smooth the top.

Add the topping and bake

Dot the filling with 2 teaspoons of cold butter, cut into 8 to 10 small pieces. Lightly sprinkle a scant ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg over the pie with your fingers, holding your hand several inches above the filling and moving it as you sprinkle. Avoid shaking it directly from the spice bottle, which can add too much in one spot.
Measuring the topping butter: Two teaspoons is about two-thirds of a tablespoon. It does not need to be exact. Cut off roughly that amount and divide it into 8 to 10 small pieces.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350°F. The pie is done when the edges are set and the center is still slightly jiggly. You may also see a little bubbling in the middle. The filling will continue to firm up as it cools.
Let the pie cool for about 2 hours before slicing. The filling stays very hot for at least an hour and needs time to set.
This pie will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Notes

Note:

How to par-bake the pie crust - here is my complete guide on blind baking pie crusts. For this sugar cream pie, you want the crust par-baked, not fully baked, since it goes back into the oven with the filling.

This is not a tall, deep-dish pie. Older sugar cream pies were often baked in smaller 8-inch aluminum pie tins, which gave the filling a deeper layer. I use a standard 9-inch Pyrex pie plate that is about 1 1/2 inches deep because that is a more common size today. The filling will be a little shallower, and this recipe is not intended for a deep-dish pie plate.

Cut off about two-thirds of a tablespoon of butter and cut it into about 8-10 small pieces. This way you don't have to measure the butter. It doesn't have to be exact.

If the crust starts to brown too much before the filling is done, cover the edges with a pie shield and continue baking until the sides are set and the center is still slightly jiggly.

Nutrition