Creamy and custardy, this no-bake, Southern-inspired, rum-spiked cream pie is a surefire winner

Bibi Hutchings, a lifelong Southerner, lives along a quiet coastal Alabama bay with her cat, Zulu, and husband, Tom. She writes about the magical way food evokes memories, instantly bringing you back to the people, places and experiences of your life. Her stories take you all around the South and are accompanied with tried-and-true recipes that are destined to become a part of your memory-making as you share them with your friends and family.

Lost Bay Regatta is a local, multi-class sailing regatta held the first Saturday in October on Perdido Bay, the dividing line between Alabama and Florida. Now in its 36th year, it is hosted by The Point Yacht Club, located only a short bike ride away from where I live, and is one of the more popular and well-attended races in our area.

Lost Bay is a one day, single race regatta for mono-hull sailboats of at least twenty feet with both spinnaker and non-spinnaker divisions. It is a much anticipated race among local and regional sailors, in part because of where it falls on the calendar. It is near the end of racing season, so hopes and expectations are high to take home some silver, especially if placing has been otherwise elusive throughout the year. And, it is one of the last opportunities to finally beat that pompous, oftentimes unsportsmanlike, fellow sailor in your class.

I am not a sailor, unless you count the handful of times I have been onboard a fairly large and very stable catamaran (not a mono-hull), slowly moving through calm water on a beautiful day while enjoying a cocktail. I've never even been out on a racing sailboat, not even my husband’s Melges 24 on a non-race day . . . though I did climb aboard it once when it was in the garage.

I am what you call adrenaline-averse. Just the chaos at the start of a sailboat race is enough to keep me a spectator. Imagine being among a whole fleet of boats crowded together, each jockeying for the same place on the starting line at the same time. There is a lot of yelling, whether directed toward those on other boats, who clearly do not know right-of-way rules, or loudly expressing (which sounds a lot like yelling) to your own crew what needs to be done right now. My nerves would be shot before the race ever began.

I am married to a sailor — a competitive one — but aside from providing moral support and being a fun date to the after party, my biggest contribution on race weekends is what I create in the kitchen. Rather than participate in the madness of a race, I prefer the calm of my paddle board or a chair on the end of our dock, where I can watch in peace as the boats sail out. Like majestic swans, they cross in front of the house on their way to Perdido Bay. But once they are around the point and I can no longer see them, my day on the water comes to an end. They make their way to the start just north of Innerarity Point; I make my way back to the porch.

As the race day concludes, I do not know if there will be champagne corks popping in celebration or egos that will need soothing from disappointment, but I rely on this pie to be just the thing for either scenario or any imaginable one in between for that matter. As much as I am not a sailor, I do understand the power of fresh whipped cream . . . and rum.

Regatta Cream Pie is a version of a rum cream pie with a crisp chocolate cookie crumb crust. It has a heavy hit of dark rum, which my sailors appreciate regardless of how well they performed on the water. It is creamy and custardy — the sweetness just right — and it has become standard fare at my house for Lost Bay weekend.

I adore this boozy, easy to make, no-bake, yet ultra-fancy tasting dessert. There is a subtle hint of eggnog flavor, but it is the chocolate and rum pairing that sets this pie above the bar for me.

Whatever your occasion, and anytime during the year, there is no going wrong with a Regatta Cream Pie.

Yields

8 to 10 servings

Prep Time

15 minutes

Chill Time

2 hours

Ingredients

Crust:

1 stick butter (4oz), melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups crushed chocolate wafer-style cookie crumbs

Filling:

1/2 cup water, divided

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

5 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark rum

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/3 bar unsweetened chocolate, grated

Directions

1. Mix crust ingredients together and press into pie pan and refrigerate.
2. Sprinkle gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water and allow it to sit 5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup boiling water and still until totally dissolved.
3. Beat egg yolks about a minute then add sugar in a steady stream and continue beating about 3 minutes until light and pale in color.
4. Stir the gelatin into the egg and sugar mixture.
5. Stir in rum.
6. Using a cold, clean bowl, whip cream to soft peaks.
7. Fold whipped cream into gelatin mixture.
8. Pour filling into prepared crust and chill until firm. You may have extra. **Do not overfill.
9. Grate chocolate on top before serving.
10. **Place excess filling into ramekin(s) and chill separately. Put aside a few chocolate wafers from making your crust, and consider it your bonus serving for making the pie!

Cook's Notes

Sugar: I prefer coconut sugar, but regular sugar works fine.

Making the crumb crust: I make the crust right in my pie pan by first pouring the melted butter in and swirling it around to coat. Then add in the cookie crumbs and cinnamon. Combine, then press firmly into bottom and up sides.