Sarah Wheeler’s Butterscotch Pie

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The story of the butterscotch pie traces its roots back to an Indiana kitchen sometime between 1901 and 1904. The restaurant was the Wheeler Creamerie Exchange, and the woman at the heart of the accident-turned-miraculous discovery was Sarah Wheeler, who ran the bakery with her sons. One day, the story goes, she was working on a cream pie — another Indiana dessert with a long history — when a customer distracted her and the pie burned. She left it out for her sons to eat, and they informed her that it was delicious and, strangely, tasted exactly like butterscotch candy.

Thus, a legend was born. Wheeler published the recipe in a cookbook soon after, and by 1920, it was a nationwide phenomenon. Her two sons opened Wheelers Lunch that year and quickly expanded to eight locations of 24-hour diners, serving many classic diner foods, which, of course, included their mother’s pie. The Wheeler brand was so popular they were even tapped to man the concessions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500.

Ingredients
Crust
1 Fully-Baked Pie Shell (use pie weights or rice per box instructions)


Butterscotch Cream (Adapted to metfic with added cornstarch and additional eggs)
400 mL Whole Milk (1⅔ cups)
200 mL Heavy Whipping Cream, divided (¾ cup + 1½ tbsp)
1 cup Brown Sugar (100g)
4 Egg Yolks (Reserve 3 egg whites at room temp)
1¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Salt
3 tbsp Cornstarch (24g)
1 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
5 tbsp Unsalted Butter, cubed
Cream of Tartar 1/4 tsp
Vanilla Extract 1tsp
1/2 cup White Sugar

Butterscotch Directions

  1. In a small pot on medium low heat, melt brown sugar and butter. Whisk gently
  2. In a microwave or on your stovetop, warm half of the heavy whipping cream (100mL) until it’s hot to the touch or just before it starts boiling.
  3. When the butter and brown sugar mixture is bubbling, slowly pour the heavy cream into the mixture, whisking continuously.
  4. Continue cooking for about 1 minute, stirring continuously.
  5. Remove the butterscotch from the heat and set aside.

Butterscotch Filling Directions (Adapted for eggs and cornstarch)

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, flour, salt, and remaining 100mL of heavy cream.
  2. In a separate pot, heat the milk until it’s just under a boil.
  3. Pour the milk into the butterscotch from earlier and whisk to combine.
  4. Temper the egg yolks by very slowly pouring the milk and butterscotch mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking continuously.
  5. Pour the entire mixture back into a pot and place back over low heat.
  6. Stir continuously with a whisk, wooden spoon, or rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the pot until the mixture begins to thicken.
  7. When the first few bubbles break the surface of the custard as it begins to boil, whisk vigorously for 60 seconds to ensure that the cornstarch cooks fully.
  8. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve directly into your prepared pie shell.

Merengue and Baking

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the room temp egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed in a clean bowl until soft peaks form.
  • Gradually beat in the sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and the sugar is dissolved.
  • Spread the meringue evenly over the hot filling, sealing the meringue to the edge of the crust (piping it on looks very nice as well)
  • Bake until meringue is golden brown, 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 3 hours before serving.
Bryan

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