The Sweet, Simple Nostalgia of Sugar Cream Pie

Indiana's state pie transforms basic ingredients into a transcendent dessert

Sugar cream pie, also called Hoosier pie, features a rich, custard-like filling in a crisp crust. Annieseats via Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0

The Hoosiers lay claim to a simple pie containing very few ingredients. Ask any Indianian about this dessert, which harkens back to the 1800s, and you’re more than likely to be regaled with fond stories about how sugar cream pie was a much-anticipated treat at family gatherings.

This humble pie contains a mere six ingredients: sugar, flour, salt, cream, vanilla, and butter. A sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon is the finishing touch. It joins the pantheon of pies that were particularly popular during the Depression, due to their thrifty use of staple ingredients, and earned the moniker “desperation pies.”