Toasted Maple Pie

Toasted Maple Pie

Written by Emily

It’s March and that means maple syrup season in Ohio! Years ago, we gave my dad 10 taps thinking it would be fun for him to experiment with some trees on his property. Those 10 taps turned into a full-fledged sugar shack and a maple syrup hobby that has given our family and friends a seemingly limitless supply of maple syrup. And if you have ever helped make maple syrup, then you know what a true gift this is. Maple syrup is a labor love.

March is a tricky month for pie. The reappearance of the sun leads one to believe that rhubarb is on the horizon, but the reality is that here in Ohio, the only thing being produced from a plant is basically sap. Maple syrup it is!

This pie is much like my salted honey pie in that they are both derived from the foundation of a southern Chess pie – eggs, butter, cream, cornmeal, etc. I’ve tried a maple pie before by just swapping maple syrup for the honey, and while it was good, it wasn’t GREAT. What made this recipe great was inspiration from Alison Roman’s Caramelized Maple Tart. In her recipe, she caramelizes the maple syrup on the stove first which adds a depth to the flavor that I was missing in previous attempts. It was a game changer and resulted in a pie that people are raving about. So much so that we served it at a party and it was gone before I could try a slice!

The extra special addition to this pie was to top it with a toasted meringue topping. I’m a loyal follower of Zoë François and I follow this recipe for Swiss Meringue topping but I cut it in half. I also add a pinch of salt which is not listed in the recipe but I think it should be. How do you toast meringue? You have a mom like mine that gets you a blowtorch for your birthday. 🙂 If you don’t have a blowtorch, you can place the pie under the broiler for just a second. Do not look away! Stand by that pie and only broil for as long as it takes for the topping to lightly toast.

So, here is your pie to tide you over until the rhubarb is ready!

Print Recipe

Toasted Maple Pie

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare Pie Crust
  1. Ahead of time: prepare your favorite pie crust, roll and plate.
  2. Preheat oven to 400
  3. Partially bake your pie crust and cool completely. There is a detailed tutorial for this on this site under the crust recipes, or follow your own method.
Maple Filling
  1. Preheat oven to 325
  2. Tip: Melt butter and measure out heavy cream before you begin. This will help the butter cool off a bit and let the heavy cream come to room temperature.
  3. Place 1/2 cup maple syrup in a small pot or skillet over medium heat.
  4. Bring the maple syrup to a boil, and allow to caramelize for about 8-10 minutes. Do not stir. You need to use your intuition here, so don't stress out! At first, the syrup will have a lot of small, almost foamy bubbles. As it starts to caramelize, it will slow down and the bubbles will get thick and large. You will know it is just about done when the aroma goes from sweet to a dark, deep maple smell.
  5. When the syrup is ready, reduce heat and SLOWLY add the heavy cream while whisking. Do this painfully slow so that the syrup doesn't start to clump.
  6. Once the heavy cream is incorporated, remove from heat and pour the maple cream into a bowl or glass measuring cup to cool.
  7. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornmeal, cinnamon and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until it is fully incorporated. You will want to stir this for about a minute. The mixture will go from pretty thin to a thick ribbon of paste.
  8. Add the vanilla extract.
  9. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating.
  10. Slowly add the maple cream while gently mixing it in. You want to avoid whisking too many air bubbles into the mixture.
  11. Bake pie on lower rack of the oven at 325 for about 35-40 minutes. This is another tip I learned from Alison Roman - she uses a low and slow method for custard pies and it works really well for me. Remove the pie JUST when the center starts to set but still has some jiggle to it. It will continue cooking once you remove it from the oven.
  12. Cool completely and finish with topping of your choice. The toasted meringue topping really makes a difference here, but you can also use a lightly sweetened whipped topping.
  13. Store pie in refrigerator for up to three days.

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