All Derby meals need some sweets to round out the day’s festivities.  For many, the dessert of choice is “Derby Pie,” or some close facsimile thereof.  Please note, Derby-Pie® is trademarked (a little more on that in a bit), and the only means to that particular pie is to order direct from Kern’s Kitchen.  For the masses who don’t want to pay the Kern’s premium price but want the taste, you must utilize one of the facsimile recipes that abound – which is fine by me.  In fact, I’ve taken it to a different format, and propose that the perfect finger dessert is what I’m dubbing “Derby Bourbon Tassies.”

I’m hoping most readers will be able to discern what a ‘tassie’ is.  But should you be a know not, then fear not.  The term is a derivative of an old French word “tasset,” or what is a small pouch or cup.  In the baking world, that translates into a tiny pastry cup that is filled with something like pecan filling, lemon curd, a custard or other fruit fillings; in fact, most bakers consider it a type of cookie.  I happen to LOVE tassies (love, love).  On the few occasions my mother would make her ‘pecan cups’ (usually a ladies’ luncheon – not for the kids), I gobbled however many I could get away with!  Even more appealing is that tassies are not just sweet fare, but make fabulous savory appetizers as well with perfect fillings being pimento cheese, crab salad, and sauteed mushrooms to name a few.

So what’s the deal with this trademarked Derby-Pie®?  The history lesson here goes something like this:  what is now known as Derby-Pie® was invented some 50+ years ago as a specialty item at The Melrose Inn, located in Prospect, Kentucky.  Then manager George Kern was the driver behind the secret recipe, with assistance from his parents.  It was officially named after the family members tossed names into a hat; ‘Derby Pie’ was the slip that was drawn.  The recipe is a guarded secret, and that chocolate nut pie is now a famously trademarked item too – one that is vigorously policed by Kern Kitchens and its attorneys to this day.  Hence, nobody can call the pie “Derby Pie,” which just frustrates the hell out of folks.

But as I said, that’s alright by me.  There are a plethora of look-a-like recipes out there that try to capture the specialness of the Derby-Pie®.  You might see titles such as:  Kentucky Bourbon Pie, Kentucky Nut Pie, Run for the Roses Pie, Pegasus Pie, etc.  The basic formula is a blend of chocolate and nuts (walnuts or pecans) that go into a pie shell, along with a brown sugar, butter and egg filling similar to that of pecan pie.  Some recipes add a touch of bourbon, others don’t.  Do I liquor up my tassies?  Absolutely!  My nut cups get bourbonized, big time …

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It’s Easter, and thought I’d share a religious experience of sorts with the foodie crowd.  Forgive the irreverence, but my personal epiphany was around something warm, yeasty and buttery with the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon.  I’m talking about Moravian Sugar Cake.  A couple of bites of this and you’ll have a life altering experience that will invoke deep, gluttonous thoughts.  I was bowled over by this regional treat several years ago when visiting some friends in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  I had joined the couple and some extended family of theirs for social festivities, and I kept hearing the phrase lobbied over my head:

“Did you take her to Dewey’s yet”?” … “You gotta take her to Dewey’s.”

Hmmmm, sounded suspiciously like a “wings ‘n rings” beer joint for the local Bubbas.  Politely, I asked about Dewey’s.  One of those in the know said that Dewey’s was a bakery that had the BEST cake ever.  That when you went, you had to buy several cakes, since they didn’t last too long.  Must be good cake I thought, considering this fellow kept talking about it.  OK, consider me hooked.  After a day or two more, complete with wining, dining, shopping and yakking — someone else asked my friend:  “Did you take her to Dewey’s yet?”  My curiosity was getting hard to manage; I didn’t know if I would last much longer.

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I need saving!  There’s been an arctic breeze here in Maine, with wind chill factor in play.  I’m no rugged snow bunny, so I’m inside, swaddled in layers of sweats and looking for an edible cure to the winter blahs.   My cure all?  LEMON.    Sure, I like chocolate and other sweets – but nothing quite does it like lemon.  The tart citrus taste, the clean and bright smell.  It lifts the spirits.  Who the heck doesn’t like lemon?

And in my humble opinion, the perfect citrus indulgence is the Lemon Cheese Layer Cake.  I grew up calling it ‘lemon cheese cake’ – but make no mistake, this is no New York style cheesecake.  The “cheese” reference speaks to light colored cake layers with a filling of rich and buttery lemon curd.  Once all the layers are stacked and filled, the entire outside of the cake is draped in the same curd until this beauty is glistening and luscious.  And what makes this cake so unique is the fact that you can’t really buy it anywhere.  Based on my restaurant observations, an old fashioned layer cake of this caliber just doesn’t make the list of trendy desserts since it competes with the likes of fig & rosemary panna cotta or basil-berry-macadamia gelato (please note the sarcasm).

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