FA+
Shop
Pi Day Pie Recipes
9 years ago
Fellow WAM fans, I'm sure the fact that tomorrow is Pi Day. Perhaps you're interested in the Pie Face Challenge proposed by 
Wamfurs However, you're wondering how to make a pie suitable for slapstick. I've looked into the topic and I'm willing to help you out.
The invention of the pie in the face gag is typically credited to comedic actress Mabel Normand. Mack Sennett, the director, took the idea and ran for it. The recipe from this era is preserved in Buster Keaton's autobiography, My Wonderful World of Slapstick and in a 1964 interview with Keaton.
1. Prepare two pie crusts. Make a paste of flour and water and use it to glue the crusts together. The two crusts make sure your fingers don't go through the bottom of the pie. Bake the crusts until brittle and carefully remove it from the tin. (The tin could injure the actor or distract from the moment of impact if it flies off).
2. Make a thick mixture of flour and water that clings like glue. Fill the pie an inch deep with the mix.
3. If the pie is destined for a brunette or someone in dark clothes, add a layer of lemon filling and top it off the a generous amount of whipped cream.
4. If the pie is intended for a blonde or someone in light clothes, add a layer of blackberries or blueberries and just enough whipped cream to splatter.
Al Christie disputes the claim that Sennett Studios had the first pie in the face on film. He claims to have done it first and that the gag was already in use in burlesque shows in London. Christie's recipe is based on egg whites. They should be mixed with enough flour to make them gooey.
An A-Z of Food and Drink believes that the gag dates to the mid-19th century and originally used Bird's custard powder, known in North America as creme anglaise.
The gag made its way to circus clown acts. However, the Keaton recipe wouldn't work. It was too much trouble to make a pie that was when you're on the road. Besides, whipped cream can discolor clothes if left on the clothes for too long. As a result, they substituted shaving cream. A few years ago, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus revealed how they make their pies to advertise their attempt to win the world record for the biggest pie fight:
1. Take eight 1.5 oz. bars of shaving soap. Use a cheese grater or salad shooters to get a bunch of large, thin pieces of soap.
2. Fill a 30 - 40 oz. container with about 4 inches of cold water. Put the soap in the water and let it dissolved for 10 - 30 minutes.
3. Mix the soapy water with a paint mixer, moving it in a circular motion. Also move it up and down to get air in the mixture. The process should take 10 - 15 minutes. If the mixture is too soupy, add more soap.
Nickelodeon appears to have done things differently. An episode of Wild and Crazy Kids featuring a huge pie fight shows one of the hosts simply filling the pie tin with whipped cream. What Would You Do? sometimes used pie crusts, but not always. They also seemed to use whipped cream, as pied audience members sometimes ate the pie. An article by a local newspaper mentions a large amount can whipped cream backstage at the Double Dare Live Tour back in the 90s.
In the past few seasons, the post game pie in the face was a tradition among the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately, the MLB has banned the practice. They started out with shaving cream, but later made a deal with a local bakery for the real thing. In an article,they revealed how they make them:
1. Bake a pie crust.
2. To make the the filling, combine dry pastry cream with 26% fat heavy cream. Once they're integrated, add orange concentrate. It should have a consistency like batter. It'll be too yellow at this point, so add some red food coloring to get a nice orange. Fill the pie crust.
3. Top the pie with homemade whipped cream for a more explosive splatter.
Orange is the traditional flavor because orange is one of the team's colors. However, they do other types too for variety, including chocolate, pineapple, and strawberry.
So there you go! That's plenty of pies for you to choose from, both easy enough for the novice and complicated enough for the advanced. Get baking and have a great Pi Day tomorrow!
Wamfurs However, you're wondering how to make a pie suitable for slapstick. I've looked into the topic and I'm willing to help you out.The invention of the pie in the face gag is typically credited to comedic actress Mabel Normand. Mack Sennett, the director, took the idea and ran for it. The recipe from this era is preserved in Buster Keaton's autobiography, My Wonderful World of Slapstick and in a 1964 interview with Keaton.
1. Prepare two pie crusts. Make a paste of flour and water and use it to glue the crusts together. The two crusts make sure your fingers don't go through the bottom of the pie. Bake the crusts until brittle and carefully remove it from the tin. (The tin could injure the actor or distract from the moment of impact if it flies off).
2. Make a thick mixture of flour and water that clings like glue. Fill the pie an inch deep with the mix.
3. If the pie is destined for a brunette or someone in dark clothes, add a layer of lemon filling and top it off the a generous amount of whipped cream.
4. If the pie is intended for a blonde or someone in light clothes, add a layer of blackberries or blueberries and just enough whipped cream to splatter.
Al Christie disputes the claim that Sennett Studios had the first pie in the face on film. He claims to have done it first and that the gag was already in use in burlesque shows in London. Christie's recipe is based on egg whites. They should be mixed with enough flour to make them gooey.
An A-Z of Food and Drink believes that the gag dates to the mid-19th century and originally used Bird's custard powder, known in North America as creme anglaise.
The gag made its way to circus clown acts. However, the Keaton recipe wouldn't work. It was too much trouble to make a pie that was when you're on the road. Besides, whipped cream can discolor clothes if left on the clothes for too long. As a result, they substituted shaving cream. A few years ago, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus revealed how they make their pies to advertise their attempt to win the world record for the biggest pie fight:
1. Take eight 1.5 oz. bars of shaving soap. Use a cheese grater or salad shooters to get a bunch of large, thin pieces of soap.
2. Fill a 30 - 40 oz. container with about 4 inches of cold water. Put the soap in the water and let it dissolved for 10 - 30 minutes.
3. Mix the soapy water with a paint mixer, moving it in a circular motion. Also move it up and down to get air in the mixture. The process should take 10 - 15 minutes. If the mixture is too soupy, add more soap.
Nickelodeon appears to have done things differently. An episode of Wild and Crazy Kids featuring a huge pie fight shows one of the hosts simply filling the pie tin with whipped cream. What Would You Do? sometimes used pie crusts, but not always. They also seemed to use whipped cream, as pied audience members sometimes ate the pie. An article by a local newspaper mentions a large amount can whipped cream backstage at the Double Dare Live Tour back in the 90s.
In the past few seasons, the post game pie in the face was a tradition among the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately, the MLB has banned the practice. They started out with shaving cream, but later made a deal with a local bakery for the real thing. In an article,they revealed how they make them:
1. Bake a pie crust.
2. To make the the filling, combine dry pastry cream with 26% fat heavy cream. Once they're integrated, add orange concentrate. It should have a consistency like batter. It'll be too yellow at this point, so add some red food coloring to get a nice orange. Fill the pie crust.
3. Top the pie with homemade whipped cream for a more explosive splatter.
Orange is the traditional flavor because orange is one of the team's colors. However, they do other types too for variety, including chocolate, pineapple, and strawberry.
So there you go! That's plenty of pies for you to choose from, both easy enough for the novice and complicated enough for the advanced. Get baking and have a great Pi Day tomorrow!
WAMFURS
~wamfurs
you have a bad link my friend. Thank you so much for this! Take the pie face challenge for a good cause! challenge your friends!
h_dialer
~hdialer
OP
Thanks for the heads up. I've fixed the link. I expect you'll be getting a lot of participation in the next couple days. It'd be real cool if this went viral.
