I had this pie at Fougere’s Restaurant, in Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada!). The name is misleading — it has a light caramel flavor, not necessarily what you’d think of as butterscotch. It was the best pie I’d ever eaten, so I asked the waitress if I might get the recipe. A few minutes later, I looked up from my coffee to discover the chef himself standing beside me, in his tall white hat.

The copy he gave me had been stamped with a rubber stamp with the information below. I find the lack of a telephone area code charming — he probably didn’t think it would become internationally famous.

Once you make this pie, you’ll want to share it with your friends and make it famous. Then you should travel to a tiny corner of Nova Scotia for a taste of the original at Fougere’s, and tell the chef I sent you.

Fougere’s Restaurant
G. Ferrara
PO Box 1920, 91 Water Street
Pictou, NS BOK 1H0
Tel: 485-1575 Fax: 485-2575

Makes two pies

Scald 4C milk in a large pan.
Add 1/2 C butter and stir until melted.

Combine in a large bowl:
3 C brown sugar
3/4 C flour
2 T cornstarch
1 t salt

Slowly blend in:
1 C cold milk
6 egg yolks

Mix well, then add the mixture to the milk and butter on the stove. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil and thickens. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Add 1 T vanilla.

Pour into a baked pie shell (if you have a food processor, I recommend “Pie Crust a la Mac”) and top with meringue made from the 6 egg whites.

For the meringue: In a chilled bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Slowly add about 6 T sugar, beating until they form stiff peaks. Spread the meringue over the pie with a spatula and bake for 5-7 minutes at 375 F.