As a resident of Pennsylvania, I can personally attest that our people take their shoofly pie very seriously. Those who live in the Keystone State rarely have to travel more than a few miles to get their hands on one. The sweet treat, which tastes of brown sugar and molasses, is particularly plentiful at Pennsylvania farmers markets, especially those in Lancaster County.
When it comes to shoofly pie, you could describe those who enjoy it as self-proclaimed connoisseurs who are sometimes prone to arguments as to whether wet bottom or dry bottom is superior.
I remember, as a child, seeing my stepdad crestfallen when Mom would buy one and it would end up being the cakey, dry-bottom type. Eventually, my mom quit taking a gamble on purchasing them and instead made her own to ensure that Dad would get the kind with the sticky bottom. I always wondered why the Amish markets in our area didn’t simply affix labels to them to differentiate between the two at the time.
Auspicious Beginnings
The history of shoofly pie can differ, depending on whom you ask. According to William Woys Weaver, international food historian and author of 18 books, shoofly pie started out as what was called “centennial cake” in 1876. It was introduced to the public to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. In his book “Dutch Treats: Heirloom Recipes from Farmhouse Kitchens,” Weaver lists a recipe for centennial cake that he obtained from Carolina Levan Reber, whom he describes as “one of the best-known country cooks in the Reading [Pennsylvania] area.”
A Naming Controversy
If you consult Pennsylvania Dutch cooking blogs on the internet, you’ll read accounts attributing the moniker to flies that would be drawn to the sticky molasses in the confection. Weaver, on the other hand, will have no truck with such an explanation. He instead attributes the name to a popular boxing mule, of all things.According to Weaver, Shoofly the Boxing Mule was part of a traveling circus in Pennsylvania.
“Shoofly and a horse would be equipped with boxing gloves and have at it with each other, much like a cockfight,” said Weaver, adding that people loved Shoofly so much that they named products in his honor, including a brand of molasses.
The good news is that the brutal sport was outlawed in the 1920s, but not before Lancaster trading cards were printed depicting the popular fights.
“The name also created a pun in Pennsylvania Dutch since Schufli also means ‘little crumb,’ a main ingredient in the cake and the pie,” Weaver said.
Wet Bottom Versus Dry Bottom
RuthAnn Zimmerman, who can be found on YouTube at “Homesteading With the Zimmermans,” grew up in Pennsylvania and was raised Old Order Mennonite, so she has made and eaten a few shoofly pies in her day. She addresses the wet bottom versus dry bottom controversy by saying that it’s up to the individual’s taste, but that the components are the same.“It’s just the method that’s different,” she said, adding that both have a pie crust on the bottom. “The wet mixture is molasses, egg, and water. The dry mixture is butter, flour, and sugar, which makes the crumbs. For the wet-bottom shoofly pie, you pour the wet mixture right on top of the unbaked crust and add the crumbs on top. For the dry bottom, you line the pie shell with a crumb layer first. This prevents the gooey mixture from being entirely on the bottom.”
Those who like the dry-bottomed shoofly pie tend to prefer the pie cakier, she said, while those who enjoy a wet-bottom pie like it gooier.
Aunt Emmy’s Shoofly Pie
To make your own traditional Amish shoofly pie, you can follow this recipe, which appeared in a 1972 edition of the Pennsylvania State Grange cookbook and was submitted by Mrs. R.E. Lehman of Eureka, Pennsylvania. As you can see, this is the dry-bottomed pie since the crumbs go down first. Most of the ingredients to assemble it can likely be found in your pantry at any given time.- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of cinnamon, ginger, cloves
- 1 unbaked pie shell
Centennial Cake
Here’s the recipe for Centennial Cake that Weaver obtained from Carolina Levan Reber and published in his book “Dutch Treats: Heirloom Recipes From Farmhouse Kitchens.”- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup coarse organic sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of light-brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 egg separated
- 1 cup barrel molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup hot, black coffee
- 1 piece bitter chocolate
In a large bowl, prepare the cake batter by sifting together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Work in the butter to form loose crumbs.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolk until lemon-colored and frothy, then whisk in the molasses. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot coffee, then combine this with the molasses. Add this to the crumb mixture and stir gently to create a thick batter. Beat the egg white until it forms peaks, then fold it into the batter.
Grease your cake pan and add the batter, spreading it evenly over the bottom. Scatter the reserved crumb topping over the batter and bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until fully risen and set in the center. Cool on a rack and let set at room temperature.
