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• The cornmeal is structural. A tablespoon or two of fine cornmeal absorbs water and gives the pie its faintly sandy, distinctive texture. Without it, it is a plain sugar custard. See corn.
• Vinegar or lemon juice cuts the sweetness and keeps the sugar from crystallising. This is not optional; a chess pie without acid is unbearable.
• The crackled top is the sign of a finished pie. Sugar rises to the surface and forms a thin crust that splits. Aim for it.
• Bake at 175 °C and stop while it wobbles. Like every custard pie here.
• Blind bake the shell, or the bottom will be raw.

One 23 cm pie. Serves 10.

• 1 blind-baked shell — all-butter pie crust
• 400 g granulated sugar
• 115 g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 20 g fine cornmeal
• 15 g all-purpose flour
• 4 g fine salt
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar, or juice of 1 lemon
• 120 ml buttermilk or double cream — see buttermilk recipes
• 2 tsp vanilla — see Pure vanilla extract

Blind bake the shell. Set the oven to 175 °C / 350 °F.

Whisk the sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt together — mixing the dry ingredients first prevents lumps in a filling this sweet.

Whisk in the melted butter, then the eggs one at a time, then the vinegar, buttermilk and vanilla. Do not aerate.

Pour into the shell and bake 40–50 minutes, until puffed and cracked at the edges with a slight wobble at the centre.

Cool completely, three hours minimum. It firms as it cools.

• Lemon chess adds the zest of two lemons and doubles the juice; chocolate chess adds 40 g of cocoa. Both are standard and both are older than a century.
• If the top browns before the middle sets, tent it with foil.
• Keeps four days at room temperature — the sugar content makes it effectively self-preserving.

Method and theory: Pie and tart recipes · pies and tarts · sugar in baking

Nearby: buttermilk pie · sugar cream pie · shoofly pie