LIEBESTORTE PIE RECIPE

The below is a pie recipe was R&D’d by Minnesota Opera for the piece, as well as their recommended clean-up procedures. It is an excellent resource for anyone performing the song cycle. It is possible to do other recipes. For the piece’s second outing at Wolf Trap Opera, we used a Whole Foods Key Lime Pie, topped with whipped cream stiffened with gelatin. It worked pretty well. Whatever the method, I would emphasize:

—The pie needs to “read” theatrically. So you can’t underdo the topping for cleanliness’s sake. The classic vaudeville “pie-in-the-face” look is iconic, and it’s underwhelming if you don’t achieve it.

—The topping needs to be stiffened to prevent it from flying everywhere. In the Minnesota and Wolf Trap tests, we tried regular whipped cream and Ready Whip. Both were disasters. They exploded everywhere, making for a strenuous and stressful cleanup on stage. They got in the singer’s eyes, ears, nose, and hair. And they didn’t even look very good. (Ready Whip in particular is quite watery and runs off the face in rivulets.) But using gelatin as a stiffiner made for a topping that was much more controlled, much more comfortable for the singer, and created a hysterical Pagliacci-like mask of cream that read very well.

—Make sure a separate pie test is part of the song cycle’s rehearsal process, so all stakeholders (performers, presenter) will be comfortable with the mess and to reduce as many variables as possible.

GOALS of Minnesota R&D

  • An edible pie that won’t hurt someone when smashed into their face

  • A pie that will hold up to being out of the fridge for at least 40 minutes

  • Ingredients that won’t stain costumes

  • NON - “soupy” pie filling & topping A ‘pistachio green’ filling

  • A lofty/fluffy white topping

  • Made from shelf stable, easy to source ingredients

  • Able to be created in Minnesota Opera’s shop ‘kitchen’ in approximately one hour.

    MNOP RECIPE INGREDIENTS (quantities are per pie)

  • Satin Ice brand meringue powder

  • 3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar (any brand, ours did have cornstarch)

  • ¾ cup Jell-O no bake classic cheesecake – 1 box (used the filling mix only, not the crust mix)

  • Good & Gather Instant Nonfat Dry Milk

  • 1 ½ cup Knox Original Gelatin – unflavored

  • 1 envelope Pillsbury Deep Dish Pie Crust - premade frozen –

  • 1 crust Jade Leaf brand Matcha – 1 ½ tablespoons


    MNOP RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

    MILK (from dry milk powder)
    —Following instruction on box – make 1 quart of milk (though you only use 1 ½ cups per pie)
    —Cool in fridge until you are mixing the cheesecake filling
    PIE CRUST (per instructions, watch timing carefully)
    —Thaw for 10 minutes, preheat oven to 400
    — Prick bottom of pastry with fork
    — Bake at 400 for about 7-12 minutes until lightly browned [we had various results with the two different ovens that we used]
    —Let cool
    CHEESECAKE FILLING (per instructions on box)
    —Beat ‘filling mixture’ packet and 1 ½ cups cold milk on low for 30 seconds
    —Add 1 ½ tablespoons of matcha powder
    —Then beat mixture on medium for 3 minutesPour into cooled pie crust
    —Put pie in fridge for one hour before topping with meringue
    MERINGUE
    —    Sprinkle 1 packet of gelatin (.25 oz) over 1/4 cup of cold water, let absorb for at least 1 minute.
    —Heat gelatin & water in 5 second spurts in the microwave until melted(10-15 seconds total); then let cool for at least 5 minutes
    —Stir ¾ cup of warm water with 3 tablespoons of meringue powder; let sit for 2 minutes
    —Beat meringue mixture on medium for approximately 2 minutes until it starts to get foamy
    —Beat in cooled gelatin until just incorporated
    —Slowly add ¾ cup powdered sugar, beat on high until stiff peaks form –10-15 minutes
    PUT MERINGUE ON TOP OF CHEESECAKE TO CREATE A LOFTY TOPPING AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT

    MNOP PIE CLEAN UP

    In MNOP’s February 2026 blocking of the piece, the radius of ‘pie spread’ was approximately 6’ around the performer. The performer lay down in the pie bits after smooshing it into his face, serving to smoosh the filling into the flooring. During bows the pie bits get further smooshed underfoot. The pathway from stage to where the performer bathes will also have a trail of pie droppings. These are our recommendations for clean up:

    1. Have a ‘shoe cleaning’ area nearby for people to use so you minimize tracking of pie bits around the floor

    2. Squeegee large blobs/pieces into piles, wiping the squeegee blade clean with a paper towel between each pass

    3. With paper towels, rags, or gloved hands, move piles of pie into garbage

    4. Squeegee remaining bits into plastic dustpan, or onto disposable rags

    5. Use scrub brush with water only to scrub one ~4’x4’ section at a time. Use squeegee to move liquidy gunk onto a disposable rag or paper towels. Move onto next ~4’x4’ section. Change water often.

    6. For next pass of floor: use a small amount of Dawn soap in warm water,use scrub brush to go over the whole area. Use squeegee again to moveliquidy gunk onto disposable fabric rag or paper towels.

    7. With fresh water, mop entire area, then let dry

    8. If area is still sticky, repeat from line 6.

    9. Will likely need to scrape pie residue from any seams or screw holes in the floor.

    10. With fresh mop water – mop entire stage (and pathway to dressingroom)