Chesscake, a typical southern dish that satisfies a sweet craving
The chess cake, a dessert from the southern United States with a sweet filling and a sour touch, has a name whose origin no one knows for sure.
“Southern Living claims that there are a few theories out there, one of which being that”
When you think of pies, Dutch apple pie, pumpkin pie, or pecan pie come to mind. In the UK, a pie must contain minced lamb and puff pastry, and in Chicago, the favorite pie is often Chicago-style pizza. There isn't just one way to make a pie: it can be sweet, savory, meat-based, cheese-based, or chocolate-based, depending on the region.
In the United States, chess cake has a simple recipe and a peculiar name. It's very popular in the Deep South and less so outside that region. Its name has nothing to do with the game, but rather with sweet Southern hospitality and a hint of lemon.
According to The Kitchn, it usually contains lemon, although some recipes include vinegar. Besides a little optional lemon juice, it doesn't contain fruit or nuts, and traditionally, no chocolate either, although some versions do. According to Southern Living, the filling of a traditional checkerboard cake should be sticky, very sweet, and have a touch of acidity to balance the sweetness.
It looks very similar to lemon meringue pie, but checkerboard pie uses a different thickener. According to the Food Network, lemon meringue pie has a pastry crust with a filling of lemon, sugar, butter, egg, and salt, while checkerboard pie has a pastry crust filled with butter, sugar, and eggs. Its filling is thickened with flour, cornflour, or a combination of both.
The chess cake may be derived from the English lemon tart due to their similarities, but no one knows for sure. What's Cooking America does note that it appears in Martha Washington's cookbook, with cream, eggs, and sugar, and with butter and flour for the pastry.
Regarding the name, Southern Living offers several theories. One suggests it comes from the English word for cheese, even though the pie doesn't contain cheese. Another says it was kept in a chest before being eaten. It's also believed that the Southern accent altered the original word, resulting in a peculiar name for an equally peculiar dessert.
The traditional version includes lemon, though equally delicious variations exist. Eater explains that many recipes fall under the umbrella term "lemon pie": the basic ingredients are sugar, butter, and eggs, and flour or cornstarch can be added to thicken the filling. The sweetener can be brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or almost anything else.
The recipes vary widely. Hercules Chess publishes some of its favorites, many using a mixture of wheat flour and cornflour as a thickener. Almost all of them use a different acidic ingredient, from lemons to vinegar or grapefruit. They all have distinct flavors, textures, and levels of sweetness, but they share the same mysterious name.