The actual name of this pie is “Chess Pie.” However, I think “French Toast” more aptly describes its taste . With its eggy base and brown sugar topping, if you eat it warm right out of the oven it tastes just like you’re eating French Toast – without the maple syrup.
ingredients.
- 1 Perfect Homemade Pie Crust
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1 T. chilled unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 c. sugar
- 3 T. cornmeal
- 1 T. plus 1 tsp. cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 10 T. unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
directions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the pie crust.
- To make the topping combine the sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using your fingertips rapidly rub the ingredients together until the butter is evenly blended into the sugar. Set aside.
- To make the filling, in a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar, cornmeal, vinegar, salt, butter and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared pie shell.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until the filling is softly set but the center is quite trembly.
- Carefully remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle with the topping. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly even.
- Return to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes longer, or until the filling is more firmly set and the topping has melted.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
I doubled the brown sugar topping for my pie – this I would not recommend for yours. There was definitely too much sugar on top and I ended up scraping some off. I used white cornmeal (it’s what I have in the house) and probably cooked this pie for about 50 minutes instead of the recommended 40.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 