Derby Pie was created in 1950 by George Kern and his parents Walter and Leaudra Kern who owned the Melrose Inn, in Prospect, Kentucky. Traditionally, the pie is made with a chocolate and walnut filling that is laced with either bourbon or whiskey, but others use pecans or any other combination of nuts which are equally delicious. It is baked in a flaky dough crust, similar to an apple pie. I bake this also in a regular cake pan without the crust, but I make sure to use parchment paper in the pan so that the batter won’t stick. Once completely cool, I refrigerate it and cut it into small squares that are perfect for mini pastry platters for the Holidays…just truly versatile!
The family couldn’t decide what to name the popular pie, so they all put names in a hat and pulled out the name “Derby pie”. The name “Derby Pie” is a registered trademark of Kern’s Kitchen, which registered the name in 1968. Kern’s Kitchen diligently guards the trademark and their secret recipe, which is known only to a small group of Kern family members and employees. The company has filed over 25 lawsuits over the years to protect its commercial rights to the name and the recipe from other similar items. You will find other similar pies called “Pegasus Pie”, or a May Day Pie which are all basically the same. So, whatever you do…enjoy your chocolate nut pie!
***Filling is an original recipe from www.goodfoodgourmet.com
Chocolate Nut Pie (makes 14-3” tartlettes or 1-10” pie)
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
½ cup flour
1 and 3/4cups ground walnuts
1 and 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons bourbon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter and let cool. Measure out the chocolate chips and the nuts. Chop nuts and set aside. Combine eggs, both sugars and bourbon in a separate bowl and mix well. Add the cooled melted butter, then fold in the flour and mix well. Lastly add the nuts and the chocolate chips. Pour into prepared cake pan or pie shells and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and set on top. The tartlettes will take less time to bake than a large pie.
Flaky Dough (recipe from Bo Friberg, The Professional Pastry Chef)
1# 9 oz bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 # cold butter
5 oz cold lard
2/3 cup ice water
Combine flour and salt in a bowl and then add the cold butter and lard…combine the fat into the dough quickly with your fingers. Once you have knobs of dough add in the ice water and combine until just mixed. It should still be lumpy, but that is ok. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten and cover with plastic wrap then chill for at least 1-2 hours. Whether you are making tartlettes or a large pie, make sure to let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator after you have rolled it out into the forms. This will prevent shrinkage in the oven.
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