Milk Bar. If you haven’t heard of this New York–based bakery, let me introduce you to one of its masterful creations, crack pie. This dessert eatery started by Christina Tosi has been revolutionary in the way we eat sweet treats. I haven’t had the opportunity to try any of their goodies – yet – but I became a fan after seeing Christina profiled on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
I absolutely loved making this recipe. Of course, I had to add a few of my own twists, but overall I followed Milk Bar’s extraordinary recipe. You’ll never understand why it’s called crack pie until you put that first piece into your mouth. The flavour is like nothing I’ve eaten before, made solely from pantry ingredients.
Ingredients:
Oat cookie:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- good pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 cup oats
- ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch of bicarbonate of soda
Filling:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- good pinch of salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- ¼ cup milk powder
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp double cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
To assemble the pie:
- 1 oat cookie recipe (see above), crumbled
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1½ tbsp light brown sugar
- good pinch of salt
- 1 filling recipe (see above)
- 16 pecans
- icing sugar, for dusting
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- To make the oat cookie, cream the butter, sugars and salt together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat again until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients until combined and spread onto the tray.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until golden brown, puffed up and dry to the touch. Leave to cool for a few minutes before crumbling into a food processor, along with the remaining butter, light brown sugar and salt. Blitz together until it resembles damp sand.
- Tip into a pie dish and evenly spread the mixture until it forms a layer around the tin. Set aside.
- To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar until combined, then add the salt with the egg yolks and whole eggs and beat further. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until combined. Do not overbeat – we do not want to incorporate any air into the mixture.
- Pour into the pie dish and stud with the pecans.
- Bake at 170°C for 35–40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. You might need to use the grill in order to get the desired colour.
- This pie tastes best when it’s cold, so try to make it a day in advance. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
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