Shoofly pie is a type of American pie made with molasses associated with Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. While shoo-fly pie has been a staple of Moravian (Hussite), Mennonite, and Amish foodways, there is scant evidence concerning its origins, and most of the folktales concerning the pie are apocryphal, including the persistent legend that the name comes from flies being attracted to the sweet filling.
The name shoo-fly was borrowed from a brand of molasses that was popular in parts of the U.S. during the late 19th century. Possibly related to the Jenny Lind pie (a soft gingerbread pie), it may have originated among the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 1880s as molasses crumb cake, and is sometimes called molasses crumb pie. The modern form of shoo-fly pie as a crumb cake served in pie crust was a post-Civil War innovation, when cast iron cookware and stoves made pie crust more feasible for home cooks.
Description
thumb|Slice of shoo-fly pie
Shoo-fly pie has been described as a crumb cake baked in a pie crust. The primary ingredients of the filling are molasses, brown sugar, and water. Serving the cake in pie crust made it easier for people to eat it with their hands in the 19th century. Different recipes for the wet and dry versions appeared in the early 20th century – the dry version was suitable for dunking in a cup of coffee.
History
Shoo-fly pie began as a crust-less molasses cake called centennial cake in 1876, created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. The name "shoo-fly pie" was used in the 1880s, but its first appearance in print was after World War I. The "Shoo-fly Molasses" brand was named after a popular circus animal that toured in Pennsylvania in the 19th century, "Shoo-fly the Boxing Mule". The mule, in turn, may have been named after a song that became popular half a century before: "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me".
In the Pennsylvania Dutch language, shoo-fly pie is called Melassich Riwwelboi or Melassichriwwelkuche (molasses crumb cake). Before its modern name became popular during the 20th century, it was molasses crumb pie or soda rivvel cake (rivels are lumps of food).