When we picture a classic Thanksgiving table, a few staple desserts almost always come to mind: a warm and cozy apple lattice pie, a silky spiced pumpkin pie, or perhaps a sweet and sticky pecan pie. These pies have become icons of American Thanksgiving baking. Once upon a time, there was another pie that belonged to that esteemed group: a spiced apple custard pie known as Marlborough pie. Nearly entirely forgotten today, Marlborough pie was once considered a traditional New England Thanksgiving dessert.
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What is Marlborough Pie?
Marlborough pie is an apple custard pie that was once apparently a staple on New England Thanksgiving tables. At first glance, the pie somewhat resembles a pumpkin pie with a spiced custard baked inside a flaky pie crust. Instead of pumpkin puree, the base is made from homemade applesauce (or, for modern convenience, store-bought unsweetened applesauce).
The pie is flavored with nutmeg, a luxurious imported spice at the time, and sherry, a fortified wine from Spain. The nutmeg adds warm, aromatic notes that smell of the holiday season, while the sherry adds a light sweetness and complexity to the flavor. Combined with applesauce, cream, and eggs, the result is a pie with the creamy texture of pumpkin pie but a flavor profile much closer to an apple pie.
The History of Marlborough Pie:
Marlborough Pudding:
Marlborough Pie began as a variation of a traditional English dish known as Marlborough Pudding, which dates back to the 1600s and is a similar apple-based custard. The pudding offered a practical and delicious solution for using up apples late in the season, when they were starting to soften and needed to be cooked into something hearty and comforting.
When English colonists came to the Americas, they carried this recipe with them. In New England, where apples were plentiful, Marlborough Pudding naturally evolved into a pie. Colonists baked the custard filling inside a flaky pastry crust. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Marlborough pie was often found on Thanksgiving tables in New England, served alongside apple pie and pumpkin pie.
The Rise and Fall of Marlborough Pie:
Supposedly, Marlborough pie was a common Thanksgiving dessert in New England in the 1800s. A recipe for Marlborough pudding even appeared in the first American cookbook, American Cookery by Amelia Simmons (1796). Throughout the 19th century, the pie seems to have been widely known, with at least 100 cookbooks printing recipes for Marlborough pie or Marlborough pudding.
However, in 1921, the number of cookbooks publishing recipes for Marlborough pie dropped dramatically to nearly zero, with no new publications of the recipe until the late 1960s when people began rediscovering the recipe when going through old cookbooks.
The blurbs about Marlborough pie in these later cookbooks don’t sound much more familiar with the pie than what I am typing in this post. Even by 1985, the pie was little more than a memory. Craig Claiborne’s The New York Times Food Encyclopedia says this about Marlborough pie:
“Marlborough pie is supposed to be a Thanksgiving dish, and I am told it is a traditional dessert in Massachusetts.”
The comment exemplifies how far Marlborough pie had faded from American food culture, even in the region it was once most popular.
Why Did Marlborough Pie Disappear?
There are several theories about why Marlborough pie fell out of favor, but the timeline points most directly to the rise of the temperance movement and the passing of Prohibition in the United States. Prohibition passed in 1920, and the last few published cookbook recipes for Marlborough pie before it effectively disappeared appeared around 1921.
The likely reason is tied to one of the pie’s key ingredients: sherry, a fortified wine that gives Marlborough pie much of its distinctive flavor. As alcohol became more difficult to obtain, and later illegal during Prohibition, it makes sense that recipes that relied heavily on alcohol would fade away. Some recipes in the early 20th century omitted the alcohol, but those versions don’t seem to have gained much traction.
What is Sherry?
Sherry is a fortified wine from Spain and one of the defining flavor ingredients in Marlborough pie. Spanish explorers first introduced sherry to the Americas in the 1500s. By the 1800s, sherry was a widely imported luxury item in New England, making Marlborough pie feel like a luxurious dessert for special occasions.
Sherry itself has a long history and is one of the oldest wines in the world. It originated in the Andalusia region of Spain in the 13th century, and was exported to England in the 1500s. It was quickly adopted into British cuisine and, eventually, colonial American cooking.
Most historic Marlborough pie recipes specifically called for dry sherry, which is made from Palomino grapes. Like all fortified wines, sherry is produced by adding a distilled spirit, in this case grape spirits. The process raises the alcohol content, extends the shelf life, and deepens the flavor, making it a flavorful addition to both sweet and savory dishes.
Choosing Apples for Marlborough Pie:
With so many apple varieties available at the grocery store today, it can be tricky to decide which apples to choose for baking. Classic apple pies often call for tart, firm apples like Granny Smith because they provide a good balance for the added sugar and hole their shape during baking. Marlborough pie, however, is a different case. Since the apples are stewed and then pureed into a custard, the texture of the apples doesn’t matter nearly as much.
Marlborough pie works best with a mix of sweet and tart apples. In this Marlborough pie recipe, we recommend using one Gala apple (sweet), and one Granny Smith apple (tart). The sweet apple adds natural sugar and a mellow flavor, while the tart apple brings brightness. Experiment with different apple combinations to find your favorite!
How to Stew Apples:
Nearly all of the original Marlborough pie recipes call for “apples, stewed and drained, then grated.” In today’s terms, that’s essentially unsweetened applesauce. While you can easily substitute store-bought applesauce, making your own homemade applesauce only takes a few extra minutes and gives your pie that extra authentic touch.
How to Stew Apples:
1.
Prepare the apples: Take about 1lb of apples (roughly 2 medium apples), peel, core, and cut them into chunks.
2.
Simmer: Place the apple chunks in a small pot with ½ cup (120mL) of water. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft through when pierced with a fork.
3.
Drain well: Remove from heat and drain off any excess liquid. Extra liquid left behind will thin out the custard filling.
Step-by-Step Marlborough Pie Recipe:
The old recipes for Marlborough pie call for stewing, straining, and grating apples with a box grater, followed by whisking in the rest of the custard ingredients. After many rounds of testing, the best results came from using the modern invention of the food processor. It produces the smoothest, silkiest filling and comes together in under 5 minutes. If you’re using store-bought unsweetened applesauce, you can simply whisk everything together in a bowl.
Crust: Like most custard pies, you’ll want a dark-baked pie crust for this pie.
Apple Custard Pie Filling:
Ingredients
- 1 Granny Smith (8oz) and 1 Gala apple (8oz), stewed (or 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce)
- 3/4c Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 3T Sherry
- 2.5T Lemon Juice
- 3 Eggs
- ½c Milk
- ½c Heavy Whipping Cream
- ½t Nutmeg
- ¼t Salt
Note: See above for how to stew the apples.
1.
Preheat the oven to 350F° (175C°)
2.
In a food processor, combine the stewed apples, granulated sugar, sherry, lemon juice, nutmeg, and salt. Mix on high speed until completely smooth.
3.
Add the eggs, milk, and heavy whipping cream. Blend again until fully combined.
4.
Brush the edges of the pre-baked pie crust with cream for a golden brown color after baking.
5.
Place the pie shell on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour in the filling.
6.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The center should still have a slight jiggle.
7.
Remove the pie from the oven and let cool at room temperature.
8.
Once the pie is at room temperature, transfer to the refrigerator and cool for at least 3 hours before serving.
Tips for Success
Like most custard pies, Marlborough pie filling is prone to cracking as it cools. Especially so in this case, because the applesauce introduces a lot of water to the mixture. For best results:
- Let the pie cool slowly at room temperature before refrigerating.
- Avoid overbaking – the custard should be set but the center should still have a slight jiggle when it comes out of the oven.
If you do end up with cracks in your filling as the pie cools, don’t worry. They don’t affect the flavor and a bit of whipped cream can cover them up beautifully.
Ingredient Substitutions for Marlborough Pie:
Like many old-fashioned recipes, Marlborough pie recipe calls for some ingredients that are not staples in modern cooking. There are a few swaps you can make to make this pie more accessible.
- Dry white wine: such as a sauvignon blanc, for a lighter alcohol flavor
- Apple brandy: for a stronger alcohol and apple flavor
- Apple Cider or Grape Juice: for non-alcoholic options
That said, sherry has a very distinctive flavor, and if you want the most authentic flavor for this forgotten pie, it’s worth seeking out.
Interestingly, at least one 19th century recipe also suggested adding in a small amount of pumpkin puree to “improve the flavor.” I haven’t personally tried this variation yet, but if you do, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a comment or tag me on Instagram with your results.
Marlborough Pie (Apple Custard Pie)
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Dark, Blind-Baked Pie Shell
- 2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream (optional)
Applesauce Custard
- 1 lb Apples, stewed (1 Gala, 1 Granny Smith) (or 1 cup unsweetened applesauce)
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 tbsp Sherry
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
- 2½ tbsp Lemon Juice
- ½ tsp Nutmeg, ground
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 3 Eggs
- ½ cup Whole Milk
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
- Before beginning to make this pie, prepare a dark, blind-baked pie crust. Instructions can be found here.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a food processor, blend stewed apples (or applesauce), sugar, sherry, lemon juice, nutmeg, and salt until smooth.
- Add eggs, milk, and cream. Blend again until fully combined.
- Brush edges of pie crust with cream if desired for a golden brown finish after baking.
- Pour filling into pie shell and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake 30–40 minutes, until custard is set but the center still jiggles slightly.
- Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
One Comment
This is such an interesting pie recipe, I love it! I also enjoyed reading about the history of Marlborough pie potentially being tied to prohibition. Thanks for sharing!