This is a Flapper Pie… my Pops loves them – after breakfast he asks if I remember the recipe (as he made them all the time when we were little)… he forgets I have google!
We decide to time it… as I said this would be a good idea for the blog…
So here’s your ingredients!
Of course I make nothing without my own twist and added maple extract and vanilla for a little more pizazz… and I don’t measure a lot so had to upgrade to the traditional Pyrex class Pie plate not the small tin one in this pic!
So to begin… I started with the filling –
3 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1tsp vanilla and 1 tsp maple extract
And a pinch of salt!
I have an old old whisk! Works the best – so whisk all your ingredients and put over medium heat (although if you know me I did high heat)
While it’s coming to a boil… (keep your eye on it) in the food processor (thank you to my brother Carlos for getting me one) Crush 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1 1/2 bags of graham crackers. While you melt a little less than 1/2 cup of good Irish butter in the microwave
Put your crumbs and butter in the pie plate… I use my fingers and mix it up then squish it down against the plate and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees (keep checking your filling it should be thickening by now)
Take your 3 egg whites 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and 1/2 cup white sugar and beat until soft peaks form… right about in the middle when you think the whites are let thickening… check you filling as it will be bubbling and thick! Turn it off and leave it!
It will look like vanilla pudding! And your crust will be done! Finish whipping your merengue… and put it all together !
Bake in your oven for 10-15 minutes until your merengue is a golden brown… and trust me you’ll smell it!
Now that’s the recipe! What I gained was 45 minutes of my Pops telling me stories of his mum making flapper pie and my nana on my mom’s side could make merengue like no one else! (and borscht!)… he took me back in time to Canmore where I was raised and talked about how he and mom would get too busy but you could buy a flapper pie whole for $3 at the Texaco restaurant on the strip! And that when we would go to Calgary he loved going to 17th street to My Marvin’s where a big tattooed bugger (as my dad described) made some of the best borscht around! (Yes my Pops jumps all over the place in a conversation just like me…. lol)
So I’m not sure what was better him telling me the stories and telling me to flip the merengue over to see if I got it right… (he took the pic… a little shakey!)
Perhaps it was him tasting the spoon like a little kid..
Maybe it was the fact I learned more about life and that I got share time with a man I truly admire…
I do my best to stay out of mediocrity and reach for the moon… to land amongst the stars in the cup of the Big Dipper!
And I think it’s most important to believe we can live the life we deserve…
How do you stay out of mediocrity? Maybe build a flapper pie and have a cup of tea and plan your journey! ?