Flapper Pie the Easiest Pie You will ever Make
Flapper Pie – A Simple Recipe with No Special Ingredients
Flapper pie is one of those recipes with ingredients most kitchens have on hand. It has three layers using only, graham wafers, eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk.
Flapper Pie is one of those recipes that is both easy and inexpensive I have no idea who made the first one, but I always imagine this western Canadian recipe was developed out of necessity by a Mom with a hungry family, surrounded by mountains of snow, who managed to create this little bit of heaven out of what she already had in her kitchen.
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Here are only some of the vintage cookbooks in my much-loved collection including a recipe for Flapper pie. I am going to share my own version of this popular Canadian recipe.
Preheat oven to 350.
First Layer – Flapper Pie Graham Wafer Crust
1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 melted butter (not margarine)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
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Mix the crumbs, cinnamon, and sugar together. Add the melted butter and mix really well until the crumbs are all coated with the butter. Set two tablespoons of the crumbs aside. Press the remainder into the pie pan.
Second Layer – Cooked Vanilla Custard
3 egg yolks (separated keep the whites)
2 cups milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Place everything but the vanilla into the top of a double boiler, whisk everything together well. Cook stirring constantly until thick (consistency like stirred yogurt). Add the vanilla, stir and pour into the pie shell.t
Third Layer – Meringue for Flapper Pie
In the bowl of your mixer place.
3 egg whites beat until soft peaks form.
Then add 3 tbsp sugar, beat on high another minute.
Scoop the meringue out in large spoonfuls all over the top of the pie. Smooth gently so the whole pie is covered. The meringue should be thick and stiff as shown.
Sprinkle with the remaining graham crumbs.
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Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.
Note: Stay nearby when baking meringue. It can go from lightly golden to ruined all too fast.
Let cool on the counter, and then chill for several hours before serving.s
If you leave the pie to chill for several hours it will come out in firm slices. If your family doesn’t care if it’s pretty and solid, you can chill it for a couple of hours and serve it more like a pudding.
Do you love vintage recipes that make you remember previous generations as I do?
Traditional All Natural Lemon Meringue Pie
Like the Flapper Pie recipe, this Lemon Pie is a traditional recipe my Mom made often. It’s a little extra work, but so much nicer than the chemically filled alternatives.
Bumbleberry and Lemon Custard Pie
This pie has two layers, the top is a not too sweet lemon custard with a delicious bumbleberry filling hiding underneath it. This is a special occasion pie you can dress up any way you like. I happened to make this as a valentines dessert with little lemon crust hearts, but the hearts are optional. If fresh berries aren’t in season go ahead and use frozen ones.
How to Make a Bumbleberry and Lemon Custard Pie
Traditional Canadian Flapper Pie Recipe
Ingredients
First Layer – Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham wafer crumbs
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Second Layer – Cooked Vanilla Filling
- 3 egg yolks Separated, save the egg whites
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Top Layer – Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 3 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Make Graham Cracker Crust
- Mix the crumbs, cinnamon and sugar together. Add the melted butter and mix really well until the crumbs are all coated with the butter. Set two tablespoons of the crumbs aside. Press the remainder into the pie pan.
Vanilla Filling
- Place everything but the vanilla into the top of a double boiler, whisk everything together well. Cook stirring constantly until thick (consistency like stirred yogurt). Add the vanilla, stir and pour into the pie shell
Meringue
- Scoop on top of your filling in large spoonfuls so the top of the pie is covered.
- Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Note: Stay nearby when baking meringue. It can go from lightly golden to ruined all too fast. Let cool on the counter, and then chill for several hours before serving.
I as well hail from a small prairie town and was fortunate enough to be familiar with this pie!I will have to say I have a recipe from a cook that made this pie for a restaurant in Edmonton for over 30 years. Your recipe is quite noticeable smaller than the one that I have made following this cooks recipe and I am wondering how it would fill a 12 inch pie plate?I would recommend increasing ingredients so you have a lovely full pie. Also, adding a tbsp of butter to the filling along with the vanilla at the end makes for such a smooth creamy filling,
The meringue cooks best at a high temp-450 for a shorter oven bake. It is done in about 5 minutes.
I hope this is not looked on as criticism. I know a lot of times we do not make some things too often so it takes just a bit of tweaking to get the perfection. I am so happy that I had the recipe from the local paper saved for a good many years!
Hi Leanna, I enjoyed reading the Flapper Pie recipe, the comments of your followers plus about the different eras of your life & all the things you have incredibly achieved. Kudos to you for working so hard everyday & making it all work for so many people including your sons & now grandchildren!
I do have a minor question though about the pie & think I know what you will say cuz it isn’t a rocket science type thing but how big is the pie plate in the photo? It looks small & the recipe said that it feeds 6. From that, I’m assuming that it is possibly a single depth 8″ dish. I don’t have a large immediate family so don’t need large quantities of anything but I love to cook food more than desserts. The common joke about me is that I’m not comfortable unless I’m cooking for 200! Would like to expand into desserts that are truly the authentic kind & if I want to tweek it up a notch or two so it’s more like “Out of This World” well then…so be it! Thanks for all!
Its a large 12″ pie plate, about two inches deep. I always bake for a large crowd as well.
I learned to make it from my Mother, too. My Mom was such a good baker and everything she made was delicious, but this pie was my all time favorite yesterday and today. Just love it.! I made it all the time when I lived at home with my parents and later, as a married woman. Then. I stopped making them for about 10 years and now and i am back at it, The first issue I had when I started making them again was; having trouble with my meringue mixture weeping after it came out of the oven and left it it to cool on the counter, but I solved this problem. But my graham crust down the sides and on the bottom of the pie dish is all wet! Looks like I mixed tThe moisture is not coming from the meringue, so where? I was embarrassed when I cut it last time. My meringue and pudding was perfect, but my crumbs were runny and wet. Mom and I never put flapper pie in the fridge to keep until company comes.. Any suggestions would be helpful.
I suggest lowering your oven temperature and baking the crust longer. This recipe is really old and much loved, I have made it so many times. Try it again being really careful with the measurements. Also each oven is different so maybe try lowering the oven temperature and baking your bottom crust a bit longer.
Helo neighbour! I live in St. Albert and grew up with Flapper Pie! My mom made it at least once a month. Thank you for bringing this recipe back!
Right on Janet, I am glad it brings back memories. I am sure you will enjoy this recipe, its well loved at our house.