Slice of pie with whipped cream on a white plate beside pine cones on a wooden table

Buttermilk Pie Was Called A Desperation Dessert During The Depression Because It Used Only What Families Already Had, And An 1884 Recipe Needs Just 6 Ingredients And A Crust

November 3, 202622Views

Minutes Read

In the lean years of the Great Depression, cooks could not run to the store for a long list of fancy ingredients. They made do with what was already in the house, and one of the pies that came out of that habit is still on dessert tables today. Buttermilk pie has a nickname that says it all: a “desperation pie.”

Upworthy traced the history of this custard-style dessert and shared two recipes, one more than 140 years old and one for the modern kitchen.

Source: Upworthy.

Cheap Milk And A New Law Put Buttermilk On Every Table

Milk prices dropped sharply during the Great Depression, which made buttermilk widely available. Congress then passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to stabilize dairy and other farm industries.

Culinary historians Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe described milk as a complete food that hit all the bells, which helped explain why a dessert built on buttermilk caught on with families trying to stretch a dollar.

The First Recipe On Record Appeared In A Texas Newspaper In 1867

The pie is older than the Depression, though. The earliest recorded recipe appeared in 1867 in the Dallas Herald in Texas.

In 1877, a cookbook called Buckeye Cookery published a version with a thin layer of sliced apple tucked inside the pie.

And in 1884, a Mrs. F. W. Westgate of Uniondale, Pennsylvania, sent her recipe to a book titled Mrs. Owens’ Cook Book and Useful Household Hints.

The 1884 Version Needs Just 6 Ingredients And A Crust

Mrs. Westgate’s recipe is about as simple as baking gets:

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1½ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
Nutmeg, to flavor
One crust

Mix the ingredients, flavor with nutmeg and bake in one crust. Because the original gives no temperature or time, modern bakers usually follow the settings in a newer recipe.

The Modern Version Comes From A Grandma Named Willie Mae

For today’s kitchen, Upworthy shared a recipe from pastry chef Tyra of Tyra’s Table, who got it from Grandma Willie Mae. Here is what you need:

3 eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
A pinch of salt and a pinch of nutmeg
One 9-inch pie crust

Prep. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature so the batter blends smoothly. Poke a few holes in the crust to prevent air bubbles.
Mix. Whisk the eggs, sugar, flour, melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla, salt and nutmeg until smooth.
Bake. Pour the filling into the crust and set the pie on a sheet tray to catch any drips. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the filling is set and the top is light golden brown.
Cool. Let the pie cool completely. The author prefers it chilled and plain, but whipped cream or fresh berries are welcome.

What Makes A Desperation Pie Different From A Fancy One

The beauty of this pie is how little it asks of the baker. There is no fruit to peel and no fussy meringue to whip. Everything in the filling is something a farm household or a city pantry would have kept on hand: eggs, sugar, flour, butter and buttermilk.

The result is a custard with a gentle tang that balances the sugar, a bit like a lighter cousin of chess pie. Many bakers like to finish it with a pinch of nutmeg and nothing more, and the author of the article prefers to eat it chilled and plain.

That plain, honest style is why a pie from the 1800s still feels right at a modern dinner. It looks humble on the plate, and then everyone asks for the recipe.

Tips For A Smooth, Sweet-And-Tangy Slice

A few easy habits can help your pie turn out right every time:

Do not skip the room-temperature step. Cold eggs and buttermilk can leave streaks in the batter and make the pie bake unevenly.
Use a baking sheet. It catches spills and makes it easier to move the pie in and out of the oven.
Watch the center. The filling should be set at the edges with the faintest wiggle in the middle, and it firms as it cools.
Be patient. A pie sliced while warm can run. Letting it cool completely gives you clean slices.
Chill leftovers. Because it is an egg and dairy custard, store the pie in the refrigerator once it has cooled.

It also pays to keep buttermilk on hand for more than pie. If a recipe needs a small amount, buy a carton and use the rest in pancakes, biscuits or cornbread so none goes to waste.

That thrifty spirit is exactly why the pie survived long after the Depression ended. Cooks still love dishes that turn plain pantry staples into something special, and with the holidays around the corner, a pie that costs very little and impresses a crowd is a good one to have in your back pocket.

Whether you stick with Mrs. Westgate’s tiny recipe or choose Grandma Willie Mae’s richer one, you are baking a piece of history, one that has been feeding hungry families for well over a century.