Is there any aroma that better encapsulates the spirit of Christmas Eve than the blend of warm cinnamon and sweet vanilla? We truly don’t think so. Picture the gentle twinkle of festive lights, a sense of quiet excitement filling your home, and the wonderful scent of a freshly baked pie drifting from the oven. This is the very essence of the festive season that we’ve captured in our recipe for the definitive Christmas Eve Cinnamon Vanilla Custard Pie. It’s so much more than a simple dessert; it is a slice of pure holiday comfort, crafted to be the perfect, sweet conclusion to your celebrations.

This recipe will walk you through creating a buttery, flaky pastry shell, filled with what we believe is the most fragrant and silky-smooth custard you’ll ever have the pleasure of tasting. We have carefully balanced the creamy richness of vanilla with the gentle warmth of cinnamon to forge a truly unforgettable Holiday Pie. It is the kind of dessert that encourages everyone to gather around the table for one final, special treat before the big day itself. So, let’s tie on our aprons and create a new tradition together.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Truly Festive Flavour: The marriage of warming cinnamon and decadent vanilla offers a taste of Christmas in every mouthful. It is comforting, aromatic, and deeply satisfying.
• An Elegant Centrepiece: With its beautifully golden crust and sumptuously smooth filling, this pie is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. It is guaranteed to delight your family and friends.
• Surprisingly Simple to Prepare: While this pie looks remarkably elegant, the method is quite straightforward. We will guide you through each stage, from making the perfect pastry to a lump-free custard, making the recipe accessible even to beginner bakers.
• Perfect for Making in Advance: We know Christmas Eve can be a whirlwind of activity. You can prepare the pastry or even the entire pie a day ahead, which frees up valuable time to enjoy with your loved ones.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 125g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 1-2 tbsp cold water
• 500ml double cream
• 250ml whole milk
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise, or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 5 large free-range egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• Freshly grated nutmeg, for dusting (optional)

Crafting Your Christmas Eve Cinnamon Vanilla Custard Pie: A Step-by-Step Guide

Bringing this beautiful pie to life is a labour of love, but we have broken the process down into simple, manageable stages. Follow our guide, and you will have a perfect dessert ready for your festive feast.

Step 1: Preparing the Buttery Shortcrust Pastry

The foundation of any exceptional Custard Pie is undoubtedly its crust. We are going to create a classic, sweet shortcrust pastry that is wonderfully crisp, buttery, and simply melts in the mouth.

1. Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a spacious mixing bowl, place the plain flour and caster sugar. Give them a swift whisk to mix them together.
2. Rub in the Butter: Tip the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture. Using just your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. It’s best to work quickly to prevent the butter from becoming too warm.
3. Bind the Dough: Make a well in the centre of your mixture and pour in the beaten egg. Use a palette knife or your hands to gently bring the dough together. If it seems a little dry, add cold water one tablespoon at a time until a soft, non-sticky dough forms.
4. Chill the Dough: Lightly knead the dough on a floured surface for a moment until it’s smooth. Shape it into a flat disc, wrap it securely in cling film, and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. This step is vital as it lets the gluten relax, which helps prevent the pastry from shrinking as it bakes. For more guidance on achieving flawless pastry, this guide from BBC Good Food is an outstanding resource.

Step 2: Blind Baking the Pastry Case

To guarantee our pastry case is perfectly crisp and capable of holding the luscious custard filling without becoming soggy, we must blind bake it first. This is a straightforward yet crucial technique.

1. Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C Fan / Gas Mark 5). Lightly grease a 23cm (9-inch) loose-bottomed tart tin.
2. Roll Out the Pastry: On a surface dusted with flour, roll out your chilled dough until it is approximately the thickness of a £1 coin. It needs to be large enough to line your tart tin with a slight overhang.
3. Line the Tin: Carefully lift the pastry into the prepared tin, gently pressing it into the base and up the sides. Do not worry about trimming the edges neatly at this stage. Prick the base all over with a fork.
4. Bake Blind: Line the pastry case with a sheet of baking parchment and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Afterwards, carefully lift out the parchment and beans, then return the case to the oven for another 5-7 minutes, or until the base is a pale golden colour.
5. Trim and Set Aside: Take the pastry case out of the oven. While it is still warm, use a sharp, fine-bladed knife to trim the excess pastry from the rim to create a neat finish. Set it aside to cool down as you prepare the filling.

The Perfect Cinnamon Vanilla Pie Filling

Now we move to the very heart of our Cinnamon Vanilla Pie: the custard. This recipe guarantees a velvety-smooth texture and a wonderfully balanced flavour that is the epitome of festive indulgence.

Step 3: Infusing the Cream and Milk

This is the stage where we build those beautiful, aromatic layers of flavour that make the pie so special. This step creates the fragrant foundation for our custard.

1. Heat the Liquids: In a medium-sized saucepan, pour in the double cream and whole milk.
2. Add the Aromatics: Place the cinnamon stick into the pan. Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod and add both the seeds and the pod to the milk and cream mixture (or add your vanilla bean paste).
3. Gently Infuse: Warm the mixture over a medium-low heat until it is just simmering. Be careful not to let it boil. As soon as you see tiny bubbles forming around the edge, remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid, and allow it to infuse for at least 20 minutes. This gives the cinnamon and vanilla flavours ample time to fully permeate the cream.

Step 4: Creating the Silky Custard Base

This is the final stage before we bake our perfect Christmas Eve Pie. The crucial technique here is to temper the eggs with care to avoid a scrambled texture.

1. Whisk the Eggs and Sugar: In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar, and cornflour until the mixture becomes pale, thick, and creamy in consistency.
2. Temper the Eggs: Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod from your infused cream. While continuously whisking the egg mixture, very slowly pour the warm cream into the bowl. This gradual process, known as tempering, gently brings the eggs up to temperature without cooking them, which is the secret to a smooth custard.
3. Return to the Pan: Pour the entire mixture back into your saucepan.
4. Thicken the Custard: Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard has thickened sufficiently to coat the back of the spoon. This will likely take around 5-8 minutes. It is vital not to let it boil, as this can cause it to curdle.
5. Pour and Bake: Carefully pour the warm custard into your pre-baked pastry case. If you wish, gently grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top for an extra touch of warmth.
6. Final Bake: Lower the oven temperature to 160°C (140°C Fan / Gas Mark 3). Bake the pie for 30–35 minutes, or until the custard is just set but still has a slight wobble in the very middle. It will continue to firm up as it cools.

Serving and Storing Your Masterpiece

Once baked, allow your Christmas Eve Cinnamon Vanilla Custard Pie to cool completely in its tin before you move it to a serving plate. It is utterly delicious served at room temperature, perhaps with a light dusting of icing sugar or accompanied by a dollop of freshly whipped cream. For a different but equally delightful meal idea before dessert, consider a flavourful main like this Baked Honey Dijon Chicken Recipe.

You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days. We find that the flavours tend to deepen overnight, making it just as wonderful to enjoy on Christmas Day!

FAQ

A New Christmas Eve Tradition

We firmly believe that the very best traditions are created from shared experiences and wonderful food. This Christmas Eve Cinnamon Vanilla Custard Pie is more than just a set of instructions; it is an invitation to create a new, treasured memory with your loved ones. The comforting scent, the creamy texture, and the truly festive flavours all come together to form the perfect ending to a magical evening.

We do hope you enjoy making and sharing this pie as much as we have. Please give this recipe a go this holiday season, and feel free to let us know how it turns out. We would be delighted to see your beautiful bakes! Happy baking, and we wish a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

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Prep: 45 mins (includes 30 min chill)
Cook: 65 mins
Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 125g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 50g caster sugar (for pastry)
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 1-2 tbsp cold water
• 500ml double cream
• 250ml whole milk
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise, or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 5 large free-range egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar (for custard)
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• Freshly grated nutmeg, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the Pastry: In a large bowl, rub 125g cold butter into 250g plain flour and 50g caster sugar until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Bind with the beaten egg and 1-2 tbsp cold water to form a soft dough. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Blind Bake the Crust: Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C Fan). Roll out the chilled pastry and use it to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base, line with baking parchment, fill with baking beans, and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Finish the Crust: Remove the parchment and beans, then return the pastry case to the oven for 5-7 minutes until pale golden. Trim the excess pastry from the rim while still warm and set aside to cool.
4. Infuse the Cream: In a saucepan, gently heat the double cream, whole milk, cinnamon stick, and vanilla (pod and seeds) until just simmering. Remove from the heat, cover, and let infuse for at least 20 minutes.
5. Prepare Custard Base: In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 100g caster sugar, and cornflour until pale and creamy.
6. Temper the Eggs: Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod from the cream. While whisking continuously, slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture to temper it.
7. Thicken and Fill: Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, for 5-8 minutes until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour the warm custard into the pre-baked pastry case.
8. Final Bake: Lower the oven temperature to 160°C (140°C Fan). Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes until the custard is just set but still has a slight wobble in the center. Let it cool completely before serving.

Nutrition (per serving): Nutrition information is not available for this recipe.