Chess pie
Photo: Kimberly Vardeman · CC BY 2.0

History

Chess pie travelled into Kentucky with English settlers' custard pies and stuck because it asked nothing of the pantry: butter, sugar, eggs and cornmeal for structure. Nobody agrees on the name, whether from 'chest pie' or 'just pie' said sideways. In Lexington, Missy's Pie Shop, born out of Ramsey's Diner's pie counter in 1989, keeps chess and lemon chess in its rotation of Kentucky pies.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Eggs, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes one 23cm pieHands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 blind-baked 23cm pie shell
  • 225g sugar
  • 115g butter, melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp fine cornmeal
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. Whisk the sugar, melted butter, eggs, cornmeal, vinegar, vanilla and salt into a smooth custard.
  2. Pour into the blind-baked shell and bake at 165C for 45 to 50 minutes until the top caramelises and the centre barely jiggles.
  3. Cool completely, at least 2 hours; chess pie sets as it cools and slices cleanly only at room temperature.

Tip from the editors. The vinegar is not optional; it cuts the sweetness and gives the caramelised top its faint tang.

Where to eat chess pie

Chess pie in Lexington

Missy's Pie Shop ★ 4.4

$ BakeryKentucky piesEast EndWalk-in only

Missy's Pie Shop, born from Ramsey's Diner's pie counter in 1989, bakes chess pies and seasonal fruit pies on East High Street for Lexington's holidays.

Worth the queueChess pie

TipOpen daily 08:00-17:00, but order whole pies days ahead for Thanksgiving and Derby week.

Directions

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