Chess Pie

A southern, old-fashioned classic, this Chess Pie has an egg custard filling thickened slightly with cornmeal and bakes up in a buttery and sweet flaky pie crust.

Classic Chess Pie Recipe

There is plenty of folklore and stories about how Chess Pie got its name. Just like any story that has been around for as long as Chess Pie has, there really doesn't seem to be just one narrative. In my opinion, that's part of the fun with this pie. It has quite a long history! Some accounts tell of Chess Pie starting from the adaptation of a pudding from England, then working its way down south via the northeastern states as America formed its independence. These legends helped morph Chess Pie into what we know it to be today, based on overall available ingredients and circumstances.

In fact, Chess Pie isn't just one pie; instead, it is a category of pies within itself. Chess pie is similar to a custard pie, as it's a dairy and egg-baked pie. However, it has one distinct difference: it usually has an additional thickener added to it like cornmeal, or sometimes, flour. Additionally, it usually has melted butter whisked into the filling, which when chilled also contributes to the thickening process.

Because of that additional thickener, a Chess Pie can be described as a thicker custard pie, with a denser texture. It's also extremely sweet, with some recipes calling for upwards of 2 cups of sugar!

Some folklore out there says that this pie was traditionally made using economical ingredients (cornmeal because flour wasn't available and white vinegar because lemons weren't easy to get) and a high sugar content to keep the pie shelf-stable without refrigeration.

This brings me to my interpretation of a Chess Pie. In the spirit of sticking to the idea of its origins to incorporate cornmeal, white vinegar, and a simple egg and milk base, where I truly wanted to deviate was in the quantity of sugar used. We live in modern times, and no longer need to add an intense amount of sugar to preserve pies. With that in mind, I wanted to decrease the common quantity of sugar used substantially.

What results is a more modern take on a classic Chess Pie. A beautifully textured egg custard that feels more appropriately balanced that bakes up with natural layers of the sugary top, the thick custard middle, and a bottom layer of cornmeal. And the crust? It's a little bit sweet, crunchy, flaky, and perfect with the creamy filling.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The text below offers tons of tips and helpful notes, or you can scroll to the bottom to grab the recipe and get started!

Chess Pie Ingredients

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail.

• milk
• cream
• sugar
• cornmeal
• butter
• vanilla extract (use the best quality you can here)
• eggs
• white vinegar (this is a traditional ingredient in this pie, and helps balance the sweetness with a bit of tang...it can also be replaced with lemon juice if preferred but I really love the tang from the white vinegar and highly recommend it)
• flour

Tools to Use

Here is a list of some of the primary tools I use in this recipe. You won't necessarily choose to use them all, but they are exactly what I used. Any links may contain affiliate links.

• food processor (to make the pie dough)
• pie plate
• dried rice and beans/pie weights (for blind baking)
• rolling pin
• kitchen essentials: baking scale, bowls, measuring cups, and measuring spoons

Making the Pie Crust

This Chess Pie pairs perfectly with a Pâte Sucrée also known as a buttery flaky pie crust. The touch of sugar to the dough almost caramelizes when this pie is baked and adds a nice textural component to the pie. Plus... butter, flour, and sugar...what can be wrong with that? The dough is largely made in the food processor with a quick fraisage to bring it all together.

Wondering what a fraisage is? It's the french technique and a fancy way of saying that the dough is quickly hand-kneaded to bring it together. This Pate Sucree recipe goes into more detail, but the basics of what you need to make it are all included in the recipe below.

The pie does need to be blind-baked. This recipe calls for the custard filling to bake at 350ºF and there is no way for the crust to bake at that temperature, so the pastry will need to be blind-baked beforehand. New to blind baking? Check out this Blind Baking tutorial, though the recipe below gives you all the details you need to know.

Please note, the recipe does not call for you to dock the pie crust. This custard pie filling is too liquidy, and if the crust has holes in it, it surely runs the risk of the filling leaking through. Similarly, make sure your pie crust is rolled out to an even thickness with no cracks in it.

Making Chess Pie

Included below is an overview of the steps for the recipe, followed by a few tips for you so you can succeed with this recipe.

Overview of Steps:

1. Make, roll out, and blind bake your pie crust
2. Whisk together the filling
3. Pour the filling into the fully baked pie crust and bake
4. Let the baked pie chill to fully set up

Tips for Making Custard Pie

• Bake the pie pastry well: It’s crucial that you bake the pastry fully before pouring in the filling. Custards start off with a very wet filling, and if you pour the custard into an unbaked crust, you run the risk of breaking the dough and having it surface in the pie filling. In addition, custards are baked at a low temperature so it would be impossible for the crust to fully bake with the filling inside.
• Don't excessively melt the butter: Just heat it until it's just barely melted, and whisk it off the heat source to melt any remaining firm bits. This allows the butter to stay "homogenized" so they combine better with the rest of the ingredients, rather than heating to the point where the milk solids separate from the fat solids. It also helps to ensure the butter doesn't get too hot and solidifies once it gets combined with the rest of the ingredients (more on that...)
• Room temperature ingredients work best! As mentioned above, we have melted butter and when melted butter hits cold eggs and milk it can cause issues. So, try to remember to bring your ingredients out about an hour before you plan to bake--like before you blind bake your pie is best!
• Don’t over-whisk anything: I found that when you whisked the eggs too much it caused a lot of aeration and air bubbles. These air bubbles then appeared and burst during baking. While this won’t do anything in terms of the taste of the pie, it’s rather unpleasant to look at. So, gently whisk the filling ingredients together to prevent this.
• Don’t overcook it: Be sure to read the section on cooking a custard properly
• Let it cool before slicing: This Chess Pie will finish setting and firming while it cools. Go hands-off and let the refrigerator work for you. Also, pies taste sweeter when they're warm, and this one will taste too sweet if eaten when warm.

How to Properly Cook Chess Pie

If you are a long-time reader here at EP, you know I'm fervent when it comes to properly baking custard-style pies. This Chess Pie is a type of custard, but it's also unique, so the same rules don't apply when it comes to baking it.

Because of the higher sugar content of this pie, and a few of the other added ingredients to the custard (ie. melted butter and cornmeal), the baked pie has a natural layer effect: a crispy sugar top, a thick textured custard in the middle and then a denser cornmeal thickened bottom layer. Because of that sugary top part of the pie, the pie needs to be baked until it's just set up, with no wobbly middle. Unlike a typical custard pie, that wobbly middle will not fully set up when it's cool due to the high sugar content. So bake the pie until it just sets up, and there is no jiggle left in the pie.

However, a word of caution is needed. Do not overbake it to the point that it's cracked. If you overbake it, it takes on a very strong eggy flavor and can actually be watery due to the overcooked eggs. So watch the pie carefully towards the end of baking and pull it from the oven when it just sets.

How to Serve It

Serve this pie at room temperature or cold, as is. Traditionally, it isn't served with any adornment, except maybe a dusting of powdered sugar. If you do want to serve it with whipped cream, unsweetened whipped cream is all it needs.

More Custard Pie Recipes:

• Cranberry Custard Pie
• Lemon Custard Pie
• Coffee Custard Pie
• Maple Buttermilk Pie

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Chess Pie, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

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