Aperol Spritz Pie
Apparently this is the summer of booze over here on Flour de Liz. It’s not intentional but most all of my upcoming recipes are boozy. And honestly, I think you deserve a drink. Or a pie. Or a drink in a pie. If you’re not familiar with an Aperol Spritz, it’s essentially equal parts prosecco and Aperol (a bitter orange-ish liqueur) with a splash of sparkling water or soda water. And this Aperol Spritz Pie is almost as easy to make as the drink itself!
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know that I’m all about buying pre-made foods when homemade isn’t better. And that’s how I feel about pie crusts. Pie crusts are not particularly difficult to make, but I can buy a frozen pie crust that is just as good so that’s what I did. But if you want to make your crust from scratch, I admire your dedication, and go for it! Either way, you’ll want to bake the pie crust a little bit first because this pie will only bake for 12-15 minutes.
It’s always best to prep your ingredients before you start baking, but this is not usually one of my strong suits. However, for this recipe it’s important to have all your ingredients ready to go. You’ll want your egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl (save your whites for one of these fabulous recipes!), your sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan, and your prosecco, Aperol, sparkling water, and butter in a measuring cup (or a bowl – I just like to measure all the liquid straight into the measuring cup and then drop the butter in so it’s all ready to go).
The first step is heating the sugar and cornstarch mixture until it becomes thick and glossy. It will start boiling, and they will be big thick bubbles that will pop in the pan. Let it boil, while stirring, for one minute, then pour a bit of the mixture into the eggs, and place the pot back on the stove. Stir the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then stir the egg yolk mixture back into the pot that’s on the stove. This step is important because if the eggs get too hot too fast, they’ll cook and you don’t want scrambled eggs in your pie! Adding the hot mixture to the eggs before adding the eggs to the pot will heat them slowly by first heating them a bit with the hot mixture before fully heating them in the pot, and this will prevent them from cooking.
Once you add the eggs back in, continue stirring the mixture while it boils for 2 more minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and pour in the prosecco, Aperol, sparkling water, and butter. Continue stirring until fully mixed and the butter is melted. Pour this mixture into your cooled pie crust, and bake for about 12-15 minutes. I highly recommend putting the pie on a baking sheet to bake, as mine boiled over a bit and you don’t want it to overflow into your oven! After the pie bakes, it does need to cook completely and should be chilled before it’s served. I know it’s easy to be impatient with the waiting part, but this is well worth the wait! Cheers!
Aperol Spritz Pie
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup prosecco
- 1/4 cup Aperol
- 2 tablespoons sparkling water
Instructions
- Pre-bake pie crust slightly. For a frozen crust, I baked about 12 minutes at 350 F.
- Turn oven to 400 F.
- Place egg yolks in a small bowl.
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
- Add water and heat over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture boils. Mixture will start to look clear and glossy, and will feel a bit thicker.
- Continue stirring while the mixture boils for one minute.
- Pour approximately half the sugar/cornstarch mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks and stir till combined.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with remaining sugar/cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly over medium heat for an additional two minutes. Mixture will still be boiling.
- Remove from heat and mix in the butter, prosecco, Aperol, and sparkling water, stirring until butter is melted and liquids are mixed in.
- Pour mixture into cooled pie crust.
- Bake for 12-15 min.
- Cool completely, refrigerate, serve chilled. Cheers!
