Montgomery pie
Here’s my recipe for Montgomery pie, another popular pastry created by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Last year, I shared my recipe for shoofly pie, a combination pie-cake that has a similar (but heavier) flavor and consistency. The Montgomery version also features molasses but is combined with lemon and an airier cake for an overall lighter pie. It’s named for its origin—Montgomery County, PA.
If you didn’t know, ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ (or PA German) refers to both the people who settled in this area as well as the dialect they spoke. They referred to themselves as ‘Deitsch,’ from the German ‘Deutsch,’ which evolved into ‘Dutch.’ They were Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic as well as Anabaptist (e.g. Amish and Mennonite).
Ingredients:
Pie crust (13”)
First layer
½ cup molasses
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup water
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Top layer
4 tablespoons butter (softened)
⅔ cup white sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ cup milk
Preheat oven to 375°.
Place your favorite pie crust (13”) into a deep pie pan. Crimp or flute the edges.
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the first layer until smooth. Pour into your pie shell and bake for 13 minutes. (Be careful when removing—it will still be liquid!)
Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for 4-5 minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Alternate adding the flour and milk to the butter mixture, stirring between each.
Slowly and evenly, pour the top layer over the bottom layer once it comes out of the oven. Even though the bottom is still liquid, your cake batter should remain/float on the top. Some swirling may occur.
Tent loosely with foil and bake for about 45 minutes (remove foil for the final 10), until the top is golden brown and no longer jiggles. Allow to cool before cutting.
My kids still aren’t big on molasses but I really like this (and shoofly) as a less sickly-sweet option as I start to scale back on sugar.
(In folk magic, you can use molasses for long-term and robust sweetening work.)