Not every state has a state pie, but they should. Maine is the obvious blueberry pie. Massachusetts is the Boston Cream Pie, which makes me wonder if this gives the rest of the state an inferiority complex. Florida is committed to the Key Lime Pie, if you have ever had a homemade key lime pie you know why they love it. Georgia doesn’t officially claim a pie, maybe because they can’t decide between a good peach pie or a pecan pie (or is it pe-CAN). I am fortunate to live in one of the few states that has declared a state pie.
Indiana had marked its claim on the Sugar Cream Pie. In true Hoosier standard we kept it simple. We could give you some genuine Hoosier hospitality with only a few ingredients on hand. Give me some sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and I can give you a pie like no other.
I am confidently entering my simple pie in the Wayfair.com Battle of the Pies, #WayfairPieBakeoff. You may not have heard of our state pie and likely haven’t tried it if you don’t live in Indiana, but you should put it on your list.
When you mix sugar and heavy cream and follow that by baking it in a high heat over what you get is caramelized milk. This makes for a very unique and amazing pie. What else is amazing is I had never had this pie until this week and I spent most of my youth in Indiana. It wasn’t until a few years ago I even knew we had a state pie.
The pie has a similar consistency to a chocolate cream pie, but without the expensive ingredients. The story of this pie is that it was created as a desperation pie. When there was nothing else you could always find the ingredients for a Sugar Cream Pie. My guess is back then cream was cheap ’cause you had your own cow. I wouldn’t say this pie is as cheap as it once was but it is still a good value. Since my parents didn’t grow up in Indiana I don’t have a family recipe for Sugar Cream Pie. I tried a few variations the other day to create my own that I will hopefully get to pass down some day.
The final pie we liked the most, after painstakingly tasting them, was the version with Chinese Five Spice. The variety of flavors are subtle, but made a big difference. If you aren’t familiar with the spice it is a combination of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, clove and star anise. It frequently finds its way in to my cooking both savory and sweet.
Don’t miss some of the other great pies from the other #WayfairPieBakeoff
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- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon chinese five spice
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pie crust
- Prepare the pie crust and preheat oven to 400°F
- Combine sugars, flour and spice together and mix well
- Add heavy cream and vanilla to sugar mixture. Stir with a whisk to combine and help dissolve the sugar.
- When combined pour mixture into prepared pie crust and bake for 40-50 minutes.
- Filling will bubble and turn brown. When you take it out of the oven it will not look set. Cool the pie on a wire rack. Within two hours put the pie in the fridge and let it set. The longer the better.
- Dust with powder sugar just before serving