Classic Southern Chess Pie

Before you start

Chess pie is one of the plainest pies in Southern baking: melted butter, sugar and eggs, stirred together with a spoonful of cornmeal and a splash of vinegar, poured into a crust and baked. The cornmeal helps the filling set and forms a thin, crackly crust on top; the vinegar cuts the sweetness and keeps the filling smooth. The origin of the name is uncertain, and the stories about it are best taken as folklore.

Because the filling is so simple, technique matters more than ingredients. Mix gently so you do not whip in air, which rises and makes a foamy layer. Partly bake the crust so the bottom does not turn gummy, and pull the pie while the center still shimmies a little; it firms to a soft, almost fudgy custard as it cools.

Ingredients

• Crust165 g (1⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 60–75 ml (4–5 tbsp) ice water
• Filling115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — melted and slightly cooled
• 300 g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp (18 g) fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 4 large eggs — room temperature
• 60 ml (¼ cup) whole milk
• 1 tbsp white or cider vinegar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Cut the butter into the flour and salt until coarse, add ice water a spoonful at a time until the dough holds, flatten it into a disk and chill for 1 hour.
2. Roll the dough to 30 cm (12 in), fit it into the plate, and crimp the edge. Freeze for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
3. Line the crust with parchment and fill with weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the weights, and bake 5 minutes more, until the bottom looks dry but still pale. Lower the oven to 165°C (325°F).
4. Whisk the sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture looks like wet sand.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking gently just until each disappears. Stir in the milk, vinegar and vanilla. Avoid beating, which creates foam.
6. Set the warm crust on the baking sheet and pour in the filling.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is golden and crackly and the center wobbles slightly when the pan is jostled. The center should read about 80°C (175°F). Cover the crust edge with foil if it browns too fast.
8. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. The center sinks slightly and sets as it cools. Serve at room temperature, then refrigerate leftovers.

Tips for success

• Use fine cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal stays gritty in such a smooth filling.
• A slightly underbaked center turns into a soft, rich custard; an overbaked one becomes dry and grainy.
• Serve thin slices with lightly sweetened whipped cream or tart berries to balance the sugar.

Substitutions

Vinegar

Use 1 tbsp lemon juice plus ½ tsp zest for a lemon chess pie that is brighter and more citrusy.

Whole milk

Use buttermilk or half-and-half. Buttermilk adds tang; half-and-half makes a richer, softer custard.

Granulated sugar

Replace a third of the sugar with light brown sugar for a butterscotch-toned filling, sometimes called brown sugar chess.

Variations

Chocolate chess

Whisk 25 g unsweetened cocoa powder into the sugar mixture and add 1 extra tbsp milk.

Lemon chess

Replace the vinegar and milk with 60 ml lemon juice and 1 tbsp zest.

Troubleshooting

Foamy, white layer on top

Air was whisked into the filling. Stir the eggs in gently and let the filling rest a few minutes before pouring.

Filling is runny in the middle

It came out too early. Bake until only the very center wobbles and it reads about 80°C.

Grainy, weeping filling

It overbaked. Lower the oven temperature slightly and check 10 minutes sooner.

Storage

Once cooled, refrigerate the pie covered for up to 4 days; do not leave it at room temperature more than 2 hours after cooling. Let slices sit out 20 minutes before serving. It freezes, well wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

An egg custard pie: bake until the center is set and refrigerate after cooling. Contains wheat, egg and milk.