Salty Pluff Mud Pie

Community-supported agriculture takes many forms these days: You can subscribe to a weekly delivery of produce from a farm, a monthly cooler from a seafood supplier or a biannual supply of country ham. But only in Charleston, S.C., will you find a C.S.A. for pie. Amy Robinette, who grew up in Spartanburg, S.C., is committed to adapting Southern desserts, which have often come to rely on supersweet and artificial ingredients, back to real food.

In her kitchen, the chocolate chess pie her grandmother always made for Thanksgiving — filled with white sugar, evaporated milk, and cocoa powder — has been adapted to local honey, fresh cream, dark cocoa powder and sea salt from the nearby Bull’s Bay Saltworks. Called salty pluff mud pie, it is her most popular creation. “Pluff” mud is the sticky, sulfurous sediment that lines the bottom of the South Carolina tidal marshes; some say it is the true source of Lowcountry flavor. “I thought it was an awful smell at first,” said Ms. Robinette, who moved to Charleston to attend culinary school and never left. “But now, when I smell pluff mud, I know I’m home.”

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups/354 milliliters honey
• 4 ½ tablespoons/32 grams dark cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons/85 grams butter, cubed
• ¾ cup/180 milliliters heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 chilled, unbaked pie crust in a 9-inch pan
• 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters milk
• Flaky sea salt, for topping

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

    520 calories; 27 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 53 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 146 milligrams cholesterol; 305 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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8 servings

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine honey, cocoa, butter and cream in a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is just starting to simmer.
2. Meanwhile, lightly beat 3 eggs in a medium bowl. Very slowly add 1/2 cup of hot honey mixture, whisking constantly. Pour tempered egg mixture back into the pot, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling. Continue to cook, stirring, until mixture is smooth and thick, 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat.
3. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and flute edges. Whisk together remaining egg and the milk until well combined. Brush egg wash over edge of pie dough, making sure to cover the ins and outs of the fluting.
4. Pour filling into pie shell and lightly tap pie plate on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake pie for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until filling is no longer soupy when jiggled. Allow pie to cool for at least 3 hours, then sprinkle with sea salt.