I must first apologize for the piatus. I started a new job (yay!) and I’m still adjusting to the schedule. It’s all good, though. I’m finding my groove and I even had time to bake two pies this past weekend, Grits and Dark Chocolate Mocha Meringue. Yum! But you already have those recipes. This post is about a new pie I’ve added to my repertoire.

Two weeks ago I finally got around to making a raisin pie. It had been on my list but I kept passing it over in favor of other pies. I like raisins, but I just wasn’t sure about a whole pie of raisins. Man, I had no idea how delicious it would be.

The raisin pie is also known as Funeral Pie. For real. From what I’ve read, it’s an Amish thing. Someone dies, you make a pie with what you have on hand. Apparently the Amish always have raisins on hand. I usually have raisins in my cupboard, too, so I had everything I needed to make this pie. Because of the timing, I also called this my Whitney Houston Memorial Pie.

I took the basic raisin pie recipe and kicked it up a notch with a little rum and more spice. Since I had Hot Buttered Rum batter on hand (recipe below), I just used that in my pie. Worked like a charm. I have the breakdown of the spices in my original pie recipe. Either way, it is darn tasty.

Hot Buttered Rum Raisin Pie

2 cups raisins
½ cup Bacardi gold rum
1½ cups water
½ cup packed brown sugar (I used dark, but light works fine)
4 tbs butter
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
1 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs cornstarch
¼ tsp salt

2 9-inch prepared pie crusts

Preheat oven to 425°.

Put raisins in small bowl. Add rum and let the raisins get drunk as you prepare the pie pastry or prep the other ingredients.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together water, salt, and cornstarch. Bring to boil. Stir in hot butter rum batter or brown sugar, butter, and spices until combined. Add raisins, vinegar, and rum. Return to boil and let simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until syrup thickens. Let cool slightly.

Pour filling into 9-inch prepared pie pastry. Top with second crust. Crimp edges and vent as desired.

Place pie on bottom rack and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375° and move pie to middle rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden. Use a pie crust shield or foil tent to keep the edges of the crust from becoming too brown. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

~ ~ ~

Now, let  me tell you about that Hot Buttered Rum. I found this recipe a few years ago and my friends loved it. Oh, my. It is a tasty beverage. I made a batch of the batter during the holidays and stuck it in the freezer. I used ½ cup, packed, for my pie. Yum.

Tony’s Hot Buttered Rum Batter
1 lb light brown sugar
½ lb unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tsp vanilla extract

To make Batter:
In a mixing bowl beat together softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and spices until well combined. Refrigerate in an airtight reusable container for up to a month, or place in your freezer until ready to use.

To make Hot Buttered Rum:
In a coffee mug combine 2 heaping tablespoons batter with 1 ½ oz. Mount Gay Rum or any dark rum. Top with boiling water and stir well to mix. Serve with a cinnamon stick.

It is best to make the batter in advance so the spices have an opportunity to mingle. Be sure to remove batter from refrigerator an hour prior to serving to allow it to soften.

Time for pretty pictures. This was a pretty fun pie to make.

The ingredient lineup

These raisins are about to get drunk

Let the raisins soak in rum for at least 20 minutes

This just looks like black bean soup to me

Pour the raisins into your prepared pie crust

Spread the raisin mixture evenly before topping with other crust

I cut out circles to make pretty vents in my top crust

Then I carefully topped my pie with my pretty pastry

Seal the edges of pastry and trim or crimp excess dough

Now that’s a pretty pie!

I have an awesome pie crust shield to keep the edges from becoming too brown

Baked to perfection

Tagged: food photography, funeral pie, Hot Buttered Rum Raisin Pie, mypiary, piary, pie, raisin pie, Tony's Hot Buttered Rum Batter