Simple Sugar Pie Recipe: 3 Sugar Pie Variations

A sugar pie, or tarte au sucre, is a dessert consisting of three core ingredients—sugar, butter, and cream—baked together in a pie crust. The high proportion of sugar in the filling results in a caramelized sweetness much like crème brûlée. You can serve sugar pie on its own, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Often described as pecan pie without the pecans, sugar pie is also known colloquially as “finger pie,” so named for the technique of using one’s fingers to mix the ingredients directly in the pie shell.

While the sugar pie’s simple construction and basic ingredients make it difficult to pinpoint a definitive location of origin, Northern France is commonly cited as the dessert’s birthplace. The classic dessert originally took the form of a brioche pastry topped with a mixture of sugar, cream, eggs, and butter.

The French immigrants who settled in the area of Canada now known as Quebec are responsible for incorporating maple syrup into the beloved comfort food. Over time, the North American sugar pie resembled its current format: A soft, just-set filling inside a flaky, buttery pie crust.

Tradition and personal preference largely dictate the recipe for sugar pie. Some recipes require you to cook the filling on the stovetop before refrigerating it in a baked pie shell, while others call for par-baking the pie shell, then finishing the assembled pie in the oven. Ingredients tend to shift by region:

1. 1. Tarte au sucre: The tarte au sucre dessert found in Northern France and Belgium resembles a tartlet made from brioche dough, baked with a top layer of sugar, cream, and butter. The French-Canadian brown sugar pie from Quebec resembles a traditional pie and features maple syrup and white or brown sugar in the filling.
2. 2. Sugar cream pie: Sugar cream pie originated in early Amish and Shaker communities and is the unofficial state pie of Indiana, where it’s known as “Hoosier pie.” As its name suggests, sugar cream pie contains heavy cream in the filling, along with a small amount of all-purpose flour or cornstarch, resulting in a fluffier, denser texture.
3. 3. Southern chess pie, vinegar pie, and pecan pie: In the Southern United States, these “transparent” pies are the natural siblings to the sugar pie. Some recipes, like Kentucky transparent pie, feature additional ingredients like bourbon. Learn how to make pecan pie with this easy recipe.