Pie Recipes

By Susan M. Thigpen © 1996

Issue: Spring, 1996

What is better than fresh, homemade pie or cake, straight from the oven or a for midnight snack? The following pie recipes are old favorites that are just as delicious today as they were fifty or a hundred years ago. These recipes (specially the Buttermilk Pie and the Vinegar Pie) are old Southern favorites updated for modern kitchens.

There is one recipe in the middle of the list. Its origins are uncertain, but we added it for the chocolate lover in your family. (There's always at least one person in a family with a deep-seated love of chocolate!)

Vinegar Pie

1/2 (8 ounce) package seedless raisins
1/4 pound butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon allspice, ground
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
4 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons apple cider yellow vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Thoroughly cream sugar with butter. Add spices and cream again. Add egg yolks, beaten until smooth, and vinegar. Beat mixture until smooth. Stir in cut raisins. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt to egg whites, beat until stiff. Slide whites into sugar and raisin mixture, cut and fold in thoroughly. Turn into pastry lined pan and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then reduce to 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Top should be brown and center of filling jelly-like when done. Let cool 2 to 3 hours before cutting. Serve at room temperature.

Buttermilk Pie

2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon baking powder
unbaked pie shell

Mix sugar and flour, add soft butter, beaten egg yolks and lemon juice. Beat until creamy. Add buttermilk gradually, beating after each addition. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Beat egg whites until foamy and add baking powder. Beat until stiff, gradually adding sugar. Flavor with a few drops of lemon juice. Spread on cool pie, bake in low oven until brown.

Carrot Pie

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
3 medium size carrots
1 cup canned milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cook carrots until well done. Drain, rinse in cold water. Grate or mash carrots. Blend in milk, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add eggs and beat 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into unbaked pie shell and dot top with butter. Bake in 250 degree oven until light brown and center is firm. Serve with whipped cream.

This carrots in this recipe can be substituted with squash, pumpkin or sweet potatoes. All four vegetables will have a taste similar to sweet potato pie.

Elderberry Pie

1 plain pastry
2 1/2 cups stemmed elderberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Line a pie pan with pastry. Fill with elderberries. Mix sugar, salt and flour; sprinkle over berries. Add lemon juice. Cover with top crust. Bake in very hot over (450°) 10 minutes, reduce temperature to moderate (350°) and bake 30 minutes longer. Makes one 9 inch pie.

Chocolate Upside Down Pudding

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts optional

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Melt butter and chocolate together; mix with milk and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture. Add nuts at this point if desired. Pour into greased round cake pan and top as follows:

Topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Mix sugars and cocoa. Spread over cake batter. Pour boiling water over all. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) one hour. Makes a chocolate cake-like dessert with chocolate sauce underneath. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.

Husbands Cake
This cake recipe was found in a 1951 publication.

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 can condensed tomato soup
3/4 cup water
3 cups sifted bread flour
1 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup nut meats

Cream shortening and sugar, combine tomato soup with water and soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with dry ingredients. Add nuts and raisins; bake in moderate oven for one hour. This is a large cake, will make 3 layers or fill a 12 x 15 loaf pan. Frost with a cream cheese frosting.

Sweet Potato Cake

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup of shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup hot mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Sift flour and baking powder together. Add shortening and beaten eggs to potatoes while still hot; add sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat thoroughly. Add flour and milk alternately in small amounts beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake in slow oven (325°) 60 to 65 minutes. Makes one 8x4 inch cake.