This old southern favorite pie will brighten any day and fill your tummy happily as well. It’s one of buttermilk’s best uses in my book. The recipe is from my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook and was one of our desserts today at the Mayfield Cafe and it was certainly enjoyed all around.
There is minimal prep once you have rolled out your pie crust. The slightly sweet thickened filling, tempered by the sour milk, provides great contrast to each bite. Don’t over bake; it will be soft in the middle still when ready to remove from the oven.
It’s a one-bowl pie to mix then just pour into your pie crust and sprinkle with nutmeg. Simple AND satisfying! It’s SO simple in fact that I can say nothing more about this special pie than if the folks around your table enjoy it as much as folks I know then it’s time to grab your buttermilk and get going! The only decision you have to make about this pie is whether to serve it room temperature or cold. I find it equally good either way. Enjoy with gusto!
Ingredients
½ cup buttermilk
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 T. flour
Pinch of salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 unbaked 9” pastry shell.
Directions: Preheat oven to 400°. Set pastry shell aside. In large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the nutmeg and the pastry shell and stir well with a wooden spoon to blend then use a wire whisk to incorporate the liquid ingredients more thoroughly. Pour batter in the unbaked pie shell; sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg. Bake 15 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 45 minutes until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Cool well, allowing the filling to set. Serve room temperature or chilled.
On a mission to use the last of the Eckert’s peaches this week, this pie, as remembered from “small kid time” in Marble Hill, came immediately to mind. The recipe, for Peach Custard Pie, was passed to me from friend, Tim Ward. Tim’s grandmother, Mrs. Dell Ward, was a terrific cook whose skills in the kitchen were well-known in our area. The small cafe beside the 4-way stop in “old” Lutesville, MO, was a home away from home for generations of families who enjoyed Mrs. Ward’s dinners, her homemade doughnuts, and a huge array of delectable desserts.
A trip to Mrs. Ward’s cafe was always welcome in our family as a meal also guaranteed visiting with friends and savoring any number of her special desserts. Known for her home-style cooking, Mrs. Ward offered this tasty pie in the summer when peaches were bursting with flavor. An ample slice of Peach Custard Pie was the perfect end to a fried chicken dinner on hot July nights.
Do not use a store-bought crust for this pie! It deserves the most tender flaky crust you can provide so make your own and layer in slices of fresh peaches. You will need to adjust the custard ingredients depending on how many peaches you use; 3 large peaches are just right if using a 9-inch pie plate. This recipe reminds me of the Sugar Pie my Grandma James made with the peaches being a spectacular juicy addition. The simple custard enhances the flavor of the fruit making this an ideal and refreshing summer treat. Sweet memories indeed!
Dell Ward’s Peach Custard Pie
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
Fresh sliced peaches
1/4 cup milk, scant
1 9” unbaked pastry shell
Directions Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the sugar and flour and sprinkle over sliced peaches in unbaked pastry crust. Drizzle with the 1/4 cup milk (or less, depending upon how it looks; you want the custard thick). Bake until filling mixture sets, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool well so custard thickens; the pie can also be chilled in the fridge then served cold. Recipe note: place a sheet of foil on bottom of oven in case pie bubbles over.
Summer has officially arrived and this cake instantly evoked summer memories for me. Root beer floats are amazing on warm summer evenings and everything about this cake says root beer, from the first whiff of it in the cake batter to its appearance again in the frosting. The name of the cake alone, when I read the recipe in our local newspaper, evoked the memory of A&W Drive-Ins on warm summer evenings, and it just sounded like a fun cake to make. I certainly immediately remembered enjoying the tang of root beer soda and vanilla ice cream, eating root beer floats in a convertible with the top down, the stars floating above the treetops, and the sound of persistent peepers croaking everywhere. Yesssiree, we definitely have here a cake for summer time, folks!
The recipe is simple and the cake is like every cake made with a good quality cake mix along with oil and eggs. The batter has a golden sheen to it and it is very thick. No need allowing this batter to “breathe in the bowl for five minutes”; just mix it up and scrape into a 9×13″ pan.; it serves 15 easily. Enjoy your own memories of root beer and summer time and prepare this easy cake tonight! Cool well before frosting. I placed the cake, uncovered, in the fridge for several hours as I’m saving it for 15 people tonight. I would store any leftovers in the fridge also. It’s a keeper!
I did use double the amounts of Dream Whip and root beer for the frosting as I wanted a good deal of that airy concoction topping the cake. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 1/4 cup root beer, oil, and eggs. Beat on low-speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
To make the frosting: In a large mixing bowl, combine the whipped topping mix and 1/2 cup root beer. Beat until soft peaks form. Spread on top of cake. Best kept in the fridge until ready to serve.
The current issue of Southern Living Magazine has a feature on ice box pies this month that I knew I would be giving a good whirl. I adore Ice Box Pies and can foresee making every one of these pies and so I’ve laid in the ingredients I need and in the spotlight today is the Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Box Pie I made yesterday. I felt it wasn’t quite ready for serving having set in the freezer for only four hours so I left it overnight and finished it up today by mixing together the Sweetened Whipped Cream before serving it from mama’s room at Woodland Hills. Yum-Yum GOOD!
I love these pies for their ease of preparation; if there is one thing a busy cook needs it is a good and fast basic recipe that is tweaked by changing just one or two ingredients for a new and different flavor every time. Ice box pies have been popular for years because they are simple to put together and so refreshing served up icy cold on hot summer evenings. Today I am also posting the basic crumb crust recipe (which is easily adjusted four different ways depending on what kind of crackers, wafer, or cookies you choose) and the recipe for Sweetened Whipped Cream. Not every pie needs the sweetened cream but it also wouldn’t harm a one of them on any given occasion. I will post the crumb crust and the sweetened whipped cream recipe today and you can easily refer back to it here.
This Lemon-Buttermilk Pie is creamy with the tart taste of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest with an added tart bonus of buttermilk. I would recommend using a 9″ pie plate only as you want the filling to come all the way to the top of the crust. I think the plate I used when I made this one was a 10″ plate which was one reason I wanted to top it with the sweetened cream to cover that little blooper. Once I tasted the finished product, I was very glad I made the sweetened cream topping as the powdered sugar in that added a rich bit of texture to the pie. Once the pie bakes and cools, pop it in the freezer for 4-6 hours (or overnight as I did) then prepare the sweetened cream. A real spot of sunshine will then be ready and waiting to grace your summer table!
Ice Box Pies
Southern Living Magazine – June 2015
Ingredients – Crumb Crust
1-1/2 cups crushed cookies or crackers such as
* vanilla wafers
* graham crackers
* gingersnaps
* saltine crackers
* buttery Ritz crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1 t. sea salt (omit when using saltines or ritz crackers)
6 T. butter, melted
Vegetable cooking spray
Process crushed cookies or crackers, sugar, and (if using) salt in a food processor until finely crushed and well combined. Add melted butter and process until thoroughly combined. Press on bottom, up the sides, and onto the lip of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch regular pie plate or 9” deep-dish pie plate. Freeze 30 minutes to 1 hour while preparing filling unless otherwise directed.
NOTE: For baked crusts, pre-heat oven to 325. Bake crust 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Box Pie
Ingredients
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 T. loosely packed lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
3 large egg yolks (discard whites of eggs)
1/4 cup buttermilk
Graham Cracker Crust baked recipe (above)
Vegetable cooking spray
Directions Preheat oven to 325. Whisk together first three ingredients in a bowl. Beat egg yolks with a handheld mixer in a medium bowl at high-speed 4-5 minutes or until yolks become pale and ribbons form on surface of mixture when beater is lifted. Gradually whisk in the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the buttermilk. Pour mixture into the prepared crust. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until set around the edges (the pie will be slightly jiggly still in center). Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Cover pie with lightly greased plastic wrap (sprayed with cooked spray) and freeze for 4-6 hours. Serve with sweetened whipped cream (recipe below).
Sweetened Whipped Cream
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions: Beat the cream and vanilla at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread on pie just before serving.
Perhaps it was watching our beloved St. Louis Cardinals slugging it out in the mud last night at Busch Stadium (only to lose the game) but I woke this morning with a Mississippi Mud Cake on my mind. Whether the State of Mississippi or the mighty Mississippi River as it flows beside the city of St. Louis, I will leave to my readers!
This well-known Southern favorite is rich with melted butter, cocoa, sugar, and eggs. Make it in a jelly roll pan and cut in squares. The chocolate cake layer is the perfect complement to a sweet-crunchy topping made of mini-marshmallows and chopped pecans. Allow the marshmallows to soften for five minutes after returning to the oven. When they begin to brown on top, take the cake out and drizzle the chocolate frosting over the top. Yum Yum GOOD! The chocolate frosting recipe makes 2 cups; I saved half of it for another purpose.
A great cake for sharing as it serves 15-18 easily, and a great ball game today: Cards win it 3-1!
Mississippi Mud Cake
Ingredients
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
Chocolate Frosting
Directions Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. Drizzle Chocolate Frosting over warm cake. Cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk $
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
Beat all at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Store leftover frosting in fridge to be used for frosting cookies.
