Christmas

Maple Chess Pie

November 19, 2014
4.7
3 Ratings
Photo by Erin McDowell
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Makes one 9-inch pie
Author Notes

A super easy custard pie, perfect for winter. Serve it with a dollop of sweetened mascarpone and a drizzle of good maple syrup and you'll be oh-so-happy. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Maple Chess Pie
Ingredients
  • 1 prepared pie crust (my go to is: https://food52.com/recipes...)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
  • 4 eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup melted butter (at room temperature)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup superfine sugar
  • Good maple syrup, for serving
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Prepare the pie crust, line the pie plate with your crust, and chill thoroughly. Dock the base of the crust well with a fork (this means just poking a few holes in it to prevent bubbling), place parchment inside, and line with pie weights. Par bake until lightly golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. (For more information on par baking: https://food52.com/blog/10858-everything-you-need-to-know-about-par-baking). Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 375° F.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornmeal, maple syrup, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla to combine.
  3. Pour the custard into the prepared, par baked pie crust. Bake until the custard is set around the edge of the crust, but slightly jiggly in the center , 25-30 min. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing and serving.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk the mascarpone and sugar to combine. Serve each slice with a dollop of mascarpone and a drizzle of maple syrup.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Theresa Lemieux
    Theresa Lemieux
  • sunflourbaking
    sunflourbaking
  • Alexandra Stafford
    Alexandra Stafford
  • jen
    jen
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

5 Reviews

Theresa L. January 5, 2020
Hi ho - I've got a block maple sugar I could grate - can I substitute that for the brown sugar? Also, I think I've got some store-bought flaked maple sugar. Could I try that as well? I"m sure both have a different density and flavour and probably chemical structure that is well outside my comprehension, but just wanting to double down on the maple.
 
jen October 31, 2019
Made this last Christmas. SO yummy. Going to make this Thanksgiving.
 
sunflourbaking November 30, 2014
How long do you bake the pie? No cook time is mentioned. Thanks.
 
beejay45 November 5, 2015
Ditto. At least a ballpark range, please. Thanks!
 
Alexandra S. November 24, 2014
This was so delicious! So excited to treat my family to it in just a few days!