Black Bottom Pie was a favorite dessert on Delta flights with meals catered by Dobbs Houses, Inc. In 1957, Dobbs House adapted this recipe from amounts that could serve 70 passengers in a Douglas DC-7, to just one 9-inch pie that Delta employees could make at home.
Black Bottom Pie
CRUST
- 14 Crisp Gingersnaps, rolled out fine
- 5 Tbs. Melted Butter
Add to crumbs and pat evenly into 9-inch pie tin. Bake 10 minutes at 300 degrees F. Allow to cool.
FILLING
Scald in double boiler.
Add slowly to scalded milk and blend well.
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 3 2/3 Tbs. Cornstarch
Mix sugar and cornstarch and then add to egg mixture and cook 15 minutes - stir occasionally. When cooked, custard will generously coat a spoon.
- 1 ounce Baker's Bitter Chocolate
Add to 1/3 of the above custard and mix slowly until cool.
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 Tbs. Rum (Ron Rico Gold)
Mix the balance of the custard slowly until cool to avoid lumping. When cool add rum and blend.
TOPPING
Whip without sugar until it peaks.
- 1/2 ounce Bitter Chocolate
Cut chocolate in small chips - do not pulverize.
Try this tested version of the Dobbs House recipe for two 9-inch pies courtesy of The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper's Southern Recipe Restoration Project and reader Elizabeth Wilson, who "says she got this recipe from her mother, who said that she got it 50 years ago from a Dobbs House Restaurant." Atlanta cooking teacher Virginia Willis tested the recipe. Shared via Comfort Food from Louisiana Blog.
Enjoy and let us know how your pie turns out!
Marie Force
Archives Director