Shoofly pie facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Shoo-fly pie, molasses crumb pie, soda rivvel cake |
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| Type | Pie |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Pennsylvania |
| Main ingredients | Pie shell, molasses |
Shoofly pie is a special kind of American pie. It comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch people. This pie might have started in the 1880s.
It was first a molasses crumb cake. People used to eat it for breakfast with coffee. Today, it's a crumb cake baked in a pie crust. This idea became popular after the American Civil War. It is also called molasses crumb pie. The name "Shoofly pie" comes from a popular molasses brand.
Contents
What is Shoofly Pie?
Shoofly pie is like a crumb cake baked inside a pie crust. The main ingredients are molasses, flour, brown sugar, and water. Baking it in a crust made it easy to eat without forks. This was helpful in the 1800s.
Types of Shoofly Pie
There are two main types of shoofly pie:
- Wet-bottom: The top part is like cake. But the very bottom is soft and sticky. It feels like a gooey custard.
- Dry-bottom: This version is baked until it is fully firm. The whole pie has a cake-like texture.
History of Shoofly Pie
Shoofly pie started as a cake without a crust. It was called Centennial cake in 1876. This cake celebrated 100 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. That happened in Philadelphia.
There is no proof it was made before the American Civil War. In the 1880s, bakers added a crust. This made it easier to eat with coffee in the morning. People could eat it without plates or forks.
Older Versions
An older version of this pie was called Jenny Lind pie. That was a type of gingerbread cake from the mid-1800s. Shoofly pie usually has molasses but no eggs. This suggests it was made in winter. Chickens laid fewer eggs then. Molasses also kept well in cold weather. The use of baking powder shows it was invented after the Civil War. This happened in the 1870s. That is when Pennsylvania Dutch bakers began using baking powder.
Other Pies Like It
Montgomery Pie
A Montgomery pie is similar to shoofly pie. But it usually has lemon juice in the bottom layer. It also has buttermilk in its topping.
Treacle Tart
Treacle tart is another pie. Its filling is made from light treacle.
How Shoofly Pie Got Its Name
The name "Shoofly pie" comes from a molasses brand. This brand was called Shoofly Molasses. It was popular in Philadelphia. The name "shoofly pie" was used in the 1880s. But it first appeared in print after World War I.
The Boxing Mule
The Shoofly molasses brand was named after a circus animal. This animal was a popular boxing mule. It toured in Pennsylvania in the 1800s. The mule might have been named after a song. The song "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" became popular earlier. The pie is also mentioned in a song. It's called "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy." Dinah Shore made this song famous in the 1940s.
Other Names
In the Pennsylvania Dutch language, shoofly pie has other names. It is called Melassich Riwwelboi or Melassichriwwelkuche. Both mean "molasses crumb cake." Before its modern name, it was called molasses crumb pie. It was also known as soda rivvel cake. Rivel means lumps of food.
See also
In Spanish: Shoofly pie para niños
