Last weekend, I made a flapper pie to serve to our Saturday dinner guests. It was new to them, but they had not grown up on the Canadian prairies. The pie might be enjoying a resurgence on menus although some consider it forgotten according to Gabby Peyton writing in the March edition of Canadian Food Focus newsletter. https://canadianfoodfocus.org/recipes/classic-canadian-dish-flapper-pie/
This is the third flapper pie I have made this winter because it is easy to make and uses mainly eggs, milk, and some butter that were always available in rural Canadian family homes. As long as one had graham wafers on hand, the pie could be made up quickly and easily.
For many years I never made flapper pie but for those of a certain age it brings back childhood memories and flavours from the past. At an annual family gathering I am at each year, flapper pie disappears more quickly than the array of fruit pies on offer.
According to online sources the recipe originated in the 1920s and was named “flapper” as a tribute to the short skirted, bobbed hair young women that typified the era. My hunch is that the name may have come later in the 1950s and 60s as part of the graham wafer marketing strategy of Nabisco. Carol Ferguson and Margaret Fraser (1992) claim that the pie was known as Graham Wafer Cream Pie in eastern Canada whereas those in western Canada knew it as flapper pie. Interestingly, when I consulted my old BC cookbook collection I found the recipe first in 1953 (Proctor P.T.A.) as Graham Wafer Cream Pie.
When I checked my mother’s cookbook compiled in 1940-60s it was titled Graham Wafer Pie.
When my sister and I started to cook in the 1960s, we came to know the recipe as “flapper pie” and used the recipe that appeared on the outside of the Honey Graham Wafer box. That may have been when the flapper pie title first appeared.
In the 1960s graham wafers were a home pantry staple. Cheesecakes with a graham wafer crust were popular along with a range of “chiffon” desserts made from whipped gelatin and heavy cream or a substitute that used a graham wafer crumb base and topping. Graham wafers were also used in a variety of slices such as Nanaimo Bars and a variety of sweet treats.
Today I turn to a flapper pie recipe because it uses a few readily available ingredients, is easy to make and delivers great taste. It is low in gluten and calories, yet tasty. My current go-to recipe is made for a large pie pan and the crust is: 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup melted butter and ¼ cup sugar. This is mixed, patted into the pie pan, baked at 375 degrees for 8 minutes, and cooled. 2 tablespoons of this mixture is set aside, mixed with a pinch of cinnamon, and later spread on top of the meringue. The filling is: 1/3 cup sugar, ¼ cup corn starch, 2.5 cups milk, 3 egg yolks lightly beaten, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Blend the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, whisk in the milk. Cook carefully (stirring constantly) over medium heat until it bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat. Stir a spoonful of hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, whisk quickly and pour back into the saucepan. Boil for two minutes, stirring until quite thick. Stir in vanilla. For the meringue topping you need: 3 egg whites at room temperature, 2 tablespoons sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar and whip to stiff peak stage. Pour filling into graham cracker crust. Top with meringue. Sprinkle the reserved cracker crumbs and cinnamon over the top. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes until the meringue is slightly browned. Cool the pie and refrigerate a few hours before eating. De-lish!!!
References
Ferguson, Carol and Fraser, Margaret (1992). A Century of Canadian Home Cooking. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Canada.
Procter P.T.A. (1953). Coronation Cook Book. Procter, BC: Author.
