Kentucky Pie

A jam-and-custard pie of the older Southern type: a blind-baked shell, a layer of stewed fruit, and a sweet egg mixture poured over and browned. The written ingredient list is thin, so read it as a framework rather than a formula.

• TeacupsA teacup in American recipes of this era is usually reckoned at somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a modern cup; taken at 3/4 cup, 1 1/2 teacups of sugar works out to roughly 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons. It is not a modern measuring cup.
• What the filling lacksSugar and eggs alone give a very sweet, slightly rubbery set. Related pies of this type often include a little melted butter and a splash of milk or cream, and sometimes a spoonful of flour or cornmeal to steady it.
• Beaten separatelyThe whites are whipped and folded in last. That is what makes the top puff and brown; if you beat everything together you get a flat custard instead.
• "Baked pie paste"The shell is fully baked before filling. The recipe gives no temperature; around 400F is a workable modern equivalent, baking until the shell is dry and lightly coloured, then cooling it so the fruit does not soak in.
• Oven and timingThe recipe gives neither temperature nor time. A moderate oven, roughly 350F for 25 to 35 minutes, should bring it to the point where the centre no longer wobbles and the surface is well coloured. "Quite brown" means browned, not scorched.
• The fruit layerAny thick stewed fruit or preserve works, but it must be thick. Watery fruit will bleed up into the egg mixture and leave a soggy line under the top.
• Outdoor cookingIn a Dutch oven or reflector oven, keep the heat mostly above the pie so the top browns before the filling overcooks; bottom heat should be gentle since the crust is already baked.
• Yield and servingEnough filling for one pie, six to eight small servings; the recipe states no size. The instruction to eat it cold is sound: the filling firms as it cools and cuts cleanly.