For creamy custard and crisp crust, bake shell and custard separately ([page 10]).
Loosen the cooled custard, then slide it carefully into baked, cooled pie shell.
Give Your Pie A Pretty Top
A pretty top lends distinction to any pie, be it plain or fancy. A sparkling glaze gives a touch of elegance to a two-crust fruit pie.... To make a glazed top, brush the unbaked pie with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar, then bake.... For an extra-brown crust, brush the top crust before baking with milk or light cream, then sprinkle with sugar.
Lattice and Open Tops
Lattice-top fruit pies with colorful juices bubbling up through golden strips of pastry are always a favorite.... The narrow pastry strips can be cut with a pastry wheel or sharp-pointed knife.... For a trellis top, the strips are twisted as they are laid across the filling (Cherry Trellis Pie, [page 9]).... For a woven lattice top, weave the strips over and under one another.... For a crisscross top, lay a first set of seven strips across the filling, then lay a second set over them, making diamond shapes on the filling.... For a spiral top, arrange strips on filling in a spiral effect by starting at the center and twisting and winding around the top six times (Coronation Peach Pie, [page 11]).... A hit-and-miss top offers pleasing contrasts on a prune or raisin pie. Just cut many little odd-shaped bits of pastry from the trimmings and scatter them over the top of the filling before baking.... Whipped cream makes glamorous toppings on soft pies, especially when accented with drifts of grated fresh coconut and curls of shaved chocolate (Regal Cream-on-Chocolate Pie, [page 1]).... Or make a snowy ruff of whipped cream by dropping teaspoonfuls of cream around the rim of the pie, then garnish as shown in Dreamy Banana Cream Pie, [page 5].