Egg Pie

Make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, and salt together and combine well using a wire whisk. Scatter the butter over the top and, with a handheld mixer on low speed, combine until lumps of butter are visible throughout the mixture and mixture is not bright white anymore. This should take around 30 seconds.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolk and milk together. Add this to the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 20 seconds. The dough should look a little shaggy.

Place the dough on a lightly-floured work surface and gather it into a mound. Using the palm of your hand, knead the dough out downwards, turning once or twice on each side of the dough, making sure the butter gets smeared into the dough.

Once the crust dough comes together, gather it into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Press down on it to form a 1-inch thick disk and let it refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.  The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Roll out the dough on a flat and lightly-floured surface into 1/4-inch thickness and arrange it on a 9-inch pie dish. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut off any excess dough or crimp the edges. Return the pie crust into the refrigerator while making the custard filling.

Make the egg custard filling: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium-sized saucepan, scald the milk over medium heat. The milk is ready when it is just starting to slightly steam and small bubbles form at the sides of the pan. Make sure the milk is not boiling.

While the milk is heating, combine the sugar and cornstarch together and whisk well to combine. Make sure that there are no lumps of cornstarch. Add the vanilla, 3 eggs, and 1 egg yolk to the sugar mixture and mix well to combine. 

Remove milk from the heat and in a steady stream, slowly add it to the egg-flour mixture, whisking constantly.

Whisk the egg white into a soft peak and add it to the custard, folding it gently into the mixture. The white mixture should stay afloat on the top of the custard, even after pouring it into the pie dish.

Pour the custard into the prepared pie crust and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top of the custard is set and is golden brown. Let the pie cool at room temperature and refrigerate before cutting and serving.