The higher the meringue, the closer to God.
We are now half way through the 20’s and it feels like an appropriate time to bake a dessert from the roaring 20’s called Flapper Pie. After my weekend trip to Sunnybrook Mill Market (6 Sunnybrook Road) I am fully stocked with fresh local eggs and milk – perfect for a custard pie. I also indulged in their organic date squares and they are worth the trip by themselves.
Pie Crust
- 130 grams Graham Crumb
- 50 grams Granulated Sugar
- 114 grams Butter – soft but not melted
Mix all crust ingredients until the texture resembles wet sand. Reserve a couple tablespoons of mix to sprinkle on top of the meringue. Press remaining mix into a 10” pie tin and bake for 8 minutes in a 325° oven.
Pie Filling
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 550 ml Milk
- 300 grams Granulated Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Cornstarch
- Meringue
- 3 Egg Whites
- 50 grams Granulated Sugar
To make your custard pie filling, heat up your milk in a pot large enough to hold all filling ingredients. Combine the cornstarch and sugar in a separate bowl then whisk in your egg yolks. Once milk is steaming, not boiling, pour half over cornstarch/sugar/egg mix and stir well to bring the eggs up to temperature. This step is to avoid scrambling the eggs when pouring back into the milk pot. Put back on the heat and stir the entire mix vigorously until bubbling and thick. Pour into the baked graham crust and set aside to cool while making your meringue.
Whisk egg whites and slowly add the sugar until soft peaks form. Spread on top of the custard base and shape as your heart desires! Some folks do spikes to show off those fancy soft peaks, others go for a full old school looking dome of meringue – let your inner Julia Child go wild.
Sprinkle the reserved graham crumb mix on top of meringue and bake at 325° for 8-10 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and chill completely in the fridge before serving. Now it’s time to enjoy your old school masterpiece and I am proud of you, meringue can be tricky, but you did a lovely job.
