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Amish Funeral Pie With Raisin Custard

This Amish Funeral Pie With Raisin Custard is a comforting, old-fashioned dessert featuring a smooth raisin custard in a blind-baked pie crust, topped with sweet meringue.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Traditional
Calories: 300
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the crust
  • 1 9-inch pie crust, store-bought or homemade, to be blind-baked
For the custard filling
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch This helps to thicken the custard.
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk Can be substituted with 2% milk.
  • 1 1/2 cups seedless raisins Choose fresh-looking raisins.
  • 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Fresh lemon juice is preferred for best flavor.
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons butter
For the meringue
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Method
 

Blind-Bake the Pie Crust
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, prick the bottom with a fork, and line with parchment. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake 8-10 minutes more until golden. Cool completely.
Prepare the Custard Filling
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  2. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk and raisins over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until steaming. Then reduce heat to low.
  3. Stir in the sugar mixture and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Temper the egg yolks with a few spoonfuls of the hot mixture, then add back to the saucepan and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice, zest, and butter. Let cool and refrigerate for about 3 hours.
Make the Meringue and Bake
  1. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
  2. Spread the meringue over the cooled custard filling all the way to the crust edge. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool before slicing.

Notes

For best results, allow pie to chill completely before slicing. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For freezing, it’s best to freeze without meringue.