A classic chicken pot pie made by Hoosier Mama Pie Co. in Chicago. (Photo by Audrey Leon)
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Audio Slideshow: Charlie Trotters To Go pastry chefs give a behind the scenes look to their pies.
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By Audrey Leon, Ally Clark and Britni Day
Of all the pastries to become in vogue this year an old familiar dessert is poised to knock cupcakes off their public pedestal, pies.
The flaky, sweet treat earned the top spot in “Good Housekeeping” magazine’s “Top 10 Food Trends of 2011” and it is even replacing the traditional cake at some weddings. Every media outlet from the New York Times to television news magazine “Nightline” has declared that pie is making its comeback.
“We used to brainstorm names and daydream about a bakery,” said Dana Kruger, a pastry chef at Sweety Pies Bakery in Skokie.
The Kruger family opened Sweety Pies Bakery, 8042 Lincoln Ave., in late 2007. It was a dream that took many years to realize as Kruger’s mother Arden, a nurse, baked in her spare time. Soon after Kruger attended the French Pastry School of Chicago, the family was ready to open its own store.
“It’s nice to make things that we love,” Kruger said. “We get to make things the way we would for ourselves.”
While patrons can find cakes, cookies and other pastries available in the shop, pies are the house specialty.
“We have definitely (seen an increase),” Kruger said. “We’ve been selling a lot more pies.”
A recent Los Angeles Times article cited a NPD Group study that discovered Americans ate 722 million servings of pie in 2010, a steady increase from 2009.
It certainly hasn’t hurt that three of Sweety Pies’ signature pies – Chocolate Cashmere, Raspberry Pie Supreme and a chocolate pecan creation called Crocodile pie – were featured on local television show “Chicago’s Best.”
“That (TV program) really boosted people’s interest in our pies,” Kruger said.
Even with the increased profile, Sweety Pies still manages to be selective about its special orders, Kruger said.
“We’re doing a wedding this summer with vegan wedding pies,” she said. “Sometimes people want to switch it up.”
“We are definitely seeing people be more creative at weddings,” Kruger said.
There are plenty of places in Chicago to find palatable pies and there are stores more springing up all the time.
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Check out this map of Chicago pie shops:
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Hoosier Mama Pie Company, 1618 1/2 Chicago Ave., operates out of a tiny hole in the wall in West Town, but on any given day patrons will encounter its chef Paula Haney operating the register with a smile.
There are many empty storefronts on this stretch of Chicago Avenue, but the busy pie shop manages to be a bright spot in the neighborhood. “Bon Appetit” magazine recently named Hoosier Mama one of its “10 Best Places for Pie” in the country.
With seating for barely six people, the shop wows with a myriad of seasonal fruit pies and standards such as the Derby, a pecan pie with chocolate drizzle and a hint of bourbon. Hoosier Mama also features a host of savory pies with flavors like “spinach, mushroom and goat cheese” and a down home favorite “Chicken Pot Pie.”
Hoosier Mama Pie Company opened its doors on “Pi” day (March 14) 2009, but Haney sold her treats long before, starting with a stand at Green City Market and branching out to coffee shops around town like Metropolis Coffee, Charmer’s Cafe and Noble Tree.
Charlie Trotter’s To Go, 1337 W. Fullerton Ave., features plenty of decadent desserts from pies, tarts and cakes to ready-made entrees, soups and salads.
Baker Janet Hurley has been with Trotter’s To Go since summer 2010, and before that she attended both Kendall College and the French Pastry School of Chicago.
Hurley said that she didn’t see pies as a trend for weddings when she previously worked wedding cake bakery, but thought it was a great idea.
“I think that’s awesome that people are breaking away from tradition,” Hurley said. “Weddings should be a smorgasbord of desserts.”
An example of a wedding pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Co. (Photo by Audrey Leon)
Eva Frahm, another baker at Trotter’s To Go, said she believed pie and tart sales at the store have increased.
“We probably sell more tarts than pies,” Frahm said. “Pies are not our specialty, but whenever we put them out they sell.”
“The chocolate pecan goes fast,” Hurley said. “We had a table full yesterday and it got wiped out.”
The pecan pie is one of Trotter’s To Go’s top flavors, but the store also offers seasonal fruit pies, such as rhubarb, in addition to coconut cream and custard pies. The baking team also enjoys experimenting with new flavor combinations.
“Sometimes we’ll have special orders and left over ingredients so we’ll play around with the recipes,” Hurley said. “We like to see if there’s new flavors we can do.
“We once did a chocolate with passion fruit curd and it didn’t go well.”
Hurley is enjoying pie’s return to prominence.
“We used to not get a lot of pie orders, mostly cake, but we’re getting more and more orders for pies,” Hurley said. “It’s kind of fun.”
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Visit our Storify capturing the buzz online about pies.
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