The Best Mediterranean Sesame Tahini Custard Pie Recipe is made with a creamy sesame tahini custard and cookie-like sesame seed pie crust!
What Is A Sesame Seed Tahini Custard Pie?
Dare I say this recipe appeared to me in a dream, through a poof of sesame seeds that escaped from my Genie lamp?
Besides the creamy tahini custard filling, it is baked in a buttery, cookie-like pie crust, a bit of sesame flour, and lots of toasted sesame seeds.
A decadent treat Aladdin himself would approve of.
Tahini For Dessert
If you’ve only had tahini, a creamy toasted sesame paste, in hummus, you’re in for a treat!
Some say it has the texture of peanut butter, but tahini is so much more exotic in flavor.
It’s flavor is light and delicate, and ever so slightly nutty and naturally sweet, yet intensified when toasted.
The Best Sesame Tahini Pie Was First Introduced On Television
Since this pie is a new thing, I know, because I created it and introduced it on television, I know you’ve never had it!
The judges on The Great American Recipe, with PBS, where I introduced it in Season 1 Episode 3, loved it, which won me that round!
So… what are you waiting for!
Let’s Talk About The Sesame Tahini Custard
A fusion of the Middle East, where tahini is used in a variety of recipes, and France, because I wanted this milk pie custard to resemble a creme brûlée.
- egg yolks and sesame paste
- pure sugar and not brown sugar, which would alter the color
- sweet cream and not cream cheese, which can be acidic
- a real sesame crust and not graham cracker crusts
- can be a large pie or individual pies
The Inspiration For Tahini Custard Pie
Having grown up with a Syrian mom, who cooked both Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine in our home, introduced my sisters and me to fabulous flavors and unusual ingredients.
Growing up in the countryside of Maryland, there were no international markets or a section in the grocery stores for unusual ingredients.
Therefore, our family would drive into Washington DC once a month for olives, sheep milk cheese, figs and ‘halvah’!
My inspiration was from my favorite candy growing up, halvah, a fudge like candy made out of sesame paste!
How To Make The Best Mediterranean Sesame Pie Crust
For the very best crust, try to get ahold of sesame flour to add to the all purpose flour.
Like most pie crusts, the flour, butter and sugar are whisked together into a dough, that is rolled into a pie plate.
How To Make The Sesame Tahini Custard
The custard is equally simply, in that the ingredients are whisked together, poured into the pie crust and baked to perfection .
For an added whimsical touch, I pressed a Genie lamp from a cookie cutter, with reserved pie crust, baked separately and added to the top of the pie, once baked.
Remember, I had to make this winning pie on television in under 90-minutes!
Ingredients Needed
- Butter
- Flour
- Sesame flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Eggs
- Milk and Half and half
- Sesame seeds
- Tahini
- Farina
- Cardamom
I only recommend products I use and love!
Equipment Needed
- Food processor
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Rolling pin
- Baking dish or pie plate
- Spatula
- Genie cookie cutter (optional)
- Oven
Best Mediterranean Sesame Tahini Custard Pie
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – 1 stick (8 tablespoons), cold
- Flour – 1 1/2 cups
- Sesame flour – 1/4 cup
- Sugar – 1/4 cup
- Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
- Egg white – 1 egg (save the yolk for the custard)
- Milk – 1/4 cup, cold (reserve 1 tbsp)
- Sesame seeds – 1 tablespoon
- Eggs – 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- Sugar – 3/4 cup
- – 1/4 cup
- Half and half – 1 cup
- Farina – 1/3 cup (also known as cream of wheat)
- Cardamom – 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
- In a food processor, place the dry ingredients (except seeds), with butter and pulse until it crumbles together.
- Mix the milk and egg white together, reserving 1 tablespoon milk. While the machine is running, pour in the wet mixture. It should come together into a ball quickly.
- On a floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll the dough out and place in the pie dish. Crimp the edges and brush with reserved milk, followed by a sprinkle of the sesame seeds around the edges.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Place all the custard ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until light and frothy. Pour into the pie crust, and place in the preheated oven to bake for 10-minutes.
- Lower the temperature of the oven to 325, and bake until the custard is firm and the crust is golden brown, about another 45-minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve.
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I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
Just watched you on PBS and heard your story of your mom making this pie for your family all the time. So sweet
Thank you Dale! I’m so excited that PBS aired the show again at the end of the year. We all had so many family rich stories to tell! Have a spectacular New Year!
Thanks for posting the recipe. Love tahini and recently thought, tastes a lot like unsweetened peanut butter, there must be more things to make with this. And voila la! You appeared! I’m looking forward to trying this. Thanks again.
I am partial to the rich and earthy tahini flavors that make exceptional what is basically a plain custard pie!
When is a pie crust not a pie crust – when Robin creates them! They are exquisite!
I am developing a taste for sesame seeds – thank you Robin