Racetrack Pie from Barn8 Restaurant + Bourbon Bar and pastry chef Katie Irvin is a Kentucky Derby classic that celebrates the most exciting two minutes in sports. It features a layer of rich fudge brownie on the bottom and a nutty pistachio chess filling on top.
Crust
Ingredients:
- 2 ¾ c flour all purpose
- 2 sticks or 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ c water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions:
- Slice the cold butter into thin pats and toss into flour, salt, and sugar. You want to smash the fat into the dry ingredients to incorporate. Keep rubbing the butter into the flour until the pieces are pea-sized.
- Drizzle the cold water over the ingredients. Work the water in until a shaggy dough starts to form.
- Dump the dough and any dry bits onto a clean work surface. With a bench scraper, cut the dough in half and stack on top of each other to create layers.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours minimum, or ideally overnight.
Pistachio Paste
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces Setton Farms Dry Roasted with Sea Salted Pistachios
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp neutral oil such as canola
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 350ºF and roast the pistachios. This helps release the oils and will grind easier.
- Grind the pistachios in a food processor until sandy. You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. Add the sugar and oil, to help the nuts grind into a paste. Scrape and process until smooth and a liquid paste forms.
Fudge Brownie
Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 egg
- ¼ c sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- Large pinch of salt
Instructions:
- To make brownie batter, start by melting the butter and chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or over a double-boiler on the stove.
- While this is cooling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt until lightened in color and thickened.
- Stream in the chocolate and butter mixture into the eggs. Whisk until combined.
- Sift in the cocoa powder and cornstarch into the batter. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
Pistachio Chess Filling
Ingredients:
- 5 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup milk
- ½ cup pistachio paste
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
Instructions:
Melt butter in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
To bake the pie:
- Roll pie crust a few inches larger than your pie plate. Place into plate and press the bottom and sides firmly. Trim any excess dough and shape the crust. I always go for a classic crimped edge.
- Par-bake the crust for around 15-20 minutes at 375ºF weighed down with parchment and pie weights or beans. Remove the weights and bake an additional 5 minutes until the bottom starts to barely brown and no longer looks “wet.”
- Spread the brownie batter into the bottom of the par-baked crust and bake for 8-10 minutes at 325ºF.
- Once the brownie is mostly baked through, pour the pistachio chess filling in and bake for about 30 minutes at 325ºF until the top is evenly browned and the filling is set.
- Chill completely before serving.
Optional for serving: Whip a pint of cold cream with 2 tbsp of powdered sugar and 2 tbsp of pistachio paste to top the pie once cooled. Sprinkle some chopped up Setton Farms pistachios for crunch.
“Pistachio and chocolate mingle together well because the chocolate brings a certain bitterness that pairs nice with a toasted nut. Pistachios in particular have a bit of sweetness that works with the richness of chocolate. The two combined make a really special dessert.” – Katie Irvin
