A friend of mine is having a blue-themed holiday party tonight, so I decided I would make a blue-themed dessert. What is more blue-themed than blueberries? So, I came up with this idea to make individual custard pies with blueberry compote on top.

Normally, I would make my own crust, but I had a pre-made Pillsbury crust left over from Thanksgiving. I cut it into 12 more-or-less equal pieces, balled up the pieces, rolled them out, then lined muffin tins with the little crusts. I stuck those in the freezer while I mixed the custard. I used a basic recipe – organic milk, organic eggs, vanilla whipped well. I spooned the liquid into the tins then put them in to bake.

Meanwhile, I made a simple blueberry compote with frozen organic blueberries and a little sugar and water. After the mini-pies (or “cup-pies,” in Pushing Daisies vernacular) were baked, I spooned some compote on each. The problem, really, is how to get the tartlets out of the muffin tins. The crust was a little too thin for such a wet filling. On top of that, they were filled too high, and some of the custard spilled out between the crust and the tin. (I had the same problem when I made butternut squash quiche for thanksgiving, but that was OK since the baking dish was also the serving dish.)

I had to cut the tartlets out of the muffin tin. Next time, I’ll make my own crust, and I’ll make sure it is high enough over the edge to prevent spilling.

The custard recipe was supposed to be for a 9-inch pie pan, but I had quite a bit left over. So, I made a graham cracker crust in a regular pie pan and poured the rest of the custard in there. After spilling it all over the kitchen floor and in the refrigerator (where it was held until the oven was free) I baked that pie for nearly an hour. During baking, all the graham cracker rose to the top, making a sort of upside-down pie.