The handwritten recipe was supposed to remain inside one family.
According to the anonymous note that accompanied it, a grandmother had prepared the apple cream pie for decades. After she died, two relatives reportedly refused to share the instructions with anyone else.
One family member had a different idea.
She photographed the recipe and sent it to PostSecret, a long-running project that publishes anonymous secrets submitted on postcards.
Her message was direct. She said her aunts did not deserve to keep the recipe to themselves and that she missed her grandmother.
The internet quickly gave the dessert a new name: Spite Pie.
Years after the original post began circulating, home bakers are still preparing the vintage apple pie and sharing their results online. In July 2026, Allrecipes tested the recipe again, bringing its unusual family history to a new audience.
It does not look like an ordinary apple pie
The recipe uses familiar ingredients, but the preparation is unusual.
Instead of cutting the apples into slices, the instructions call for three peeled Granny Smith apples to be grated directly into a deep-dish pie crust.
Melted butter is poured over the shredded fruit.
Sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg are mixed separately before milk and beaten eggs are added. This thin mixture is then poured over the apples.
There is no top crust and no crumb topping.
As the pie bakes, the grated apples soften into the custard mixture, producing a filling that holds together more evenly than a traditional sliced-apple pie.
The original recipe shared through PostSecret lists only eight filling ingredients and a short set of handwritten instructions.
Ingredients
Makes one deep-dish pie, approximately eight servings.
- 1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust
- 3 Granny Smith apples
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Optional for serving:
- vanilla ice cream;
- lightly whipped cream;
- powdered sugar;
- extra cinnamon.
How to make Spite Pie
1. Prepare the oven and crust
Heat the oven to 400°F, or approximately 200°C.
Place the unbaked deep-dish crust on a baking sheet. The sheet will make the pie easier to move and catch any filling that bubbles over the edge.
A store-bought frozen crust can be used, but it should remain unbaked.
2. Grate the apples
Peel and core the Granny Smith apples.
Grate them using the large holes of a box grater. Place the shredded apples inside a clean kitchen towel or several layers of paper towel and press gently to remove some of the excess juice.
Do not squeeze them completely dry.
Grated apples release considerably more liquid than slices. Removing a small amount prevents the finished filling from becoming watery, a problem reported by some bakers who tested the recipe.
Spread the apples evenly inside the pie crust.
3. Add the melted butter
Pour the melted butter over the grated apples.
Try to distribute it across the entire surface rather than concentrating it in one area.
4. Prepare the cream mixture
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add the milk and stir until the flour is incorporated.
Pour in the beaten eggs and mix again until smooth.
The mixture will look thinner than an ordinary custard filling. It thickens in the oven as the eggs cook and the flour absorbs moisture.
5. Fill the pie
Slowly pour the cream mixture over the grated apples.
Use a fork to gently move the apples in several places, allowing the liquid to reach the bottom of the crust.
Do not vigorously stir the filling inside the pie shell.
6. Bake at two temperatures
Bake the pie at 400°F for 10 minutes.
Without removing it from the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F, or approximately 175°C.
Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes.
The pie is ready when the center is mostly set but still moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken. The filling will continue to firm as it cools.
If the crust begins browning too quickly, cover its edge loosely with aluminum foil.
7. Cool before cutting
Allow the pie to cool for at least two hours.
The filling may appear soft when it first leaves the oven. Cutting it immediately can cause the custard and apple mixture to spread across the plate.
For firmer slices, refrigerate the cooled pie for another hour before serving.
Why grated apples change the texture
Grating the apples creates hundreds of small pieces that cook quickly and distribute evenly through the filling.
Traditional apple pies often contain separate layers of fruit and sauce. In Spite Pie, the fruit becomes integrated into the custard.
The result sits somewhere between an apple pie, a soft bread pudding and a spiced custard tart.
Because the grated fruit does not form large pockets, the filling is less likely to fall out when the pie is sliced.
Granny Smith apples work well because their tart flavor balances the large quantity of sugar in the original recipe. They also retain enough structure to avoid completely disappearing during baking.
Is the recipe really 100 years old?
The viral note described it as an old family recipe, and later coverage has commonly referred to Spite Pie as a century-old dessert.
The exact date and identity of the family have not been independently verified because the PostSecret submission was anonymous.
The recipe itself resembles vintage American apple cream pies made with eggs, milk, sugar and warm spices. Similar desserts appeared in community cookbooks and baking contests during the twentieth century.
What can be verified is the path through which this particular version became famous: it was posted anonymously by PostSecret, copied into Reddit’s r/Old_Recipes community and repeatedly tested by home bakers.
Why the pie keeps returning online
The recipe has everything a viral dessert needs.
It is simple, made with common ingredients and connected to a story people immediately understand.
A secret recipe was being guarded by two relatives. Another person decided that the best response was to share it with everyone.
The name also helped.
“Apple Cream Pie” sounds familiar.
“Spite Pie” makes people stop scrolling.
But the dessert survived beyond the original joke because home bakers found that the recipe worked. The grated apples create a distinctive texture, while cinnamon, nutmeg and tart fruit give it the familiar flavor of an old-fashioned autumn pie.
The woman who submitted the recipe wanted to prevent it from disappearing inside one family.
Instead, she turned it into a recipe thousands of strangers could bake.
