Egg pies are one of those kinds of dishes that take me back to my childhood. I used to love eating egg pies, especially when they were cool, straight out of the fridge. I never could figure out why I grew out of them, but for some reason, I haven’t really hankered after them over the last few years. That changed last night when I suddenly had a craving for a slice of cool, soft, creamy egg pie.  That the craving would come in the evening when all bakeries are closed is just typical of my cravings which always seem intent to achieve maximum inconvenience for me. There was nothing for it but to head to the kitchen and whip up a batch. It was delicious though and I think I will stock up on some ready-made pastry shells or short crust pastry for next time. The recipe is pretty simple but making the pastry from scratch can take some time.

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

DOUGH

2 cups plain flour

2/3 cup shortening

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vinegar

1 egg yolk

About 1/3 cup ice water
FILLING

1x  375ml can evaporated milk

3 large eggs

1 stick softened butter.

1 cup sugar

Vanilla essence

Lemon zest

 

Instructions

Dough:

1. Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter.
2. Combine the vinegar, water and egg yolk. Gradually add it to the flour mixture and knead the dough well.
3. Leave the dough to rest about 30 mins.
4. Roll out the dough to fit into a 16 inch pie plate with about 2 inches extra for the sides.
5. Press the dough into the pie plate and allow the sides to hang over the pie plate. Press out the crust around the sides and cut off any excess dough.
6. Set aside.

Filling:

1. Whip the eggs then mix in the remaining ingredients.
2. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
3. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 180 degrees celsius. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until cooked (you can test it by inserting a toothpick in the custard- if it comes out clean, the pie is ready).