Spice Pie

[Sy1983]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a little help recreating one of my Grandmas old pies. I remeber her making a Spice Pie that was filled wth just a mix of 5 spice, sugar and butter. I remember making it several years ago but Im not sure of the ratios of each or how long to bake it for. Ive tried searching for it online but I can't find anything like it.

Heres what I remember:

1. Make a shortcrust pastry, roll and coat a Pie dish but do not blind bake the pastry.
2. Mix sweet all spice and sugar (i thibj the ratio was 5 spoons of sugar to each spoon of all spice)
3. Fill the pie with the spice and top with nibs of butter before adding a lid to the pie.

Has anyone made anything similar or have any suggestions about how long I would bake it for and on what temperature?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a little help recreating one of my Grandmas old pies. I remeber her making a Spice Pie that was filled wth just a mix of 5 spice, sugar and butter. I remember making it several years ago but Im not sure of the ratios of each or how long to bake it for. Ive tried searching for it online but I can't find anything like it.

Heres what I remember:

1. Make a shortcrust pastry, roll and coat a Pie dish but do not blind bake the pastry.
2. Mix sweet all spice and sugar (i thibj the ratio was 5 spoons of sugar to each spoon of all spice)
3. Fill the pie with the spice and top with nibs of butter before adding a lid to the pie.

Has anyone made anything similar or have any suggestions about how long I would bake it for and on what temperature?

Was your grandmother from the Pennsylvania area? That sounds like a Dutch shoofly pie. Every baker had her own recipe. But basically it’s a piecrust filled with sugar, molasses, and water, butter. Some add cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Some use granulated sugar, but most use brown sugar.

It usually has a crumb topping. If spices are used it’s usually added to the crumb topping.


Google Amish shoofly pie or shoofly molasses pie to learn more. But here’s a couple of links that include recipes. You can see how different they are; no two bakers made the pie the same way.

http://americanheritagecooking.com/2016/11/shoofly-pie/

http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/shooflypie.htm

 

[Becky]

This sounds intriguing! Here in the UK we have something kinda similar called treacle tart, but it has breadcrumbs mixed into the sugar to give it some structure. I've never had shoofly pie before, it sounds great

 

[Sy1983]

Thanks guys.

My Grandma was Welsh (I'm English). Its a great suggestion but hers didn't have Molasses (I belive thats Treacle here in the UK) in it, and definatley had a pastry lid. I've got a feeling it may just be a family recipe as I can never find anyone whos heard of it never mind made it. I may just have to experiment until I get it right.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Perhaps it was a pie uniquely her own.

There’s only four pies that I am aware of that have a sugar filling:

Canadian Butter Tart

Dutch American Shoofly Pie

American Brown Sugar Pie

British Treacle Tart


But they all have some form of liquid sugar and/or a small amount of dairy or egg.

Other than shoofly pie, the others are a single crust.

Please keep us posted if you solve this pie mystery. I’m always interested in historic and regional baked goods.

 

[Becky]

Intriguing! I can't think of any traditional Welsh dishes that fit that description, can you tell us a bit more about it? What consistency did the filling have? Is it similar to anything else you've had before?