BUTTERSCOTCH PIE WITH CURRY CRUST

ph: chris court via bon appétit

In my last post I shared an old-fashioned recipe for Butterscotch Date Custard Pie, so when I came across this modern twist via Bon Appétit I had to share it with you. Curry crust? It will either scare you or pique your interest. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Original recipe by Kierin Baldwin. 

Butterscotch Pie with Curry Crust

Curry Crumb Crust

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 8 oz. vanilla wafer cookies
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled
• 
  
• Filling And Assembly

• 1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1½ cups whole milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar, divided
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon mild-flavored (light) molasses
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Unsweetened whipped cream (for serving)
• ½ cup chopped salted, dry-roasted cashews
• 
  

Preparation

Curry Crumb Crust

• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 325°. Toast fennel seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small plate; let cool, then finely chop.
• Pulse cookies in a food processor until very fine crumbs form (you should have about 2 cups). Add fennel seeds, flour, raw sugar, curry powder, and salt and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
• Transfer mixture to a 9” pie dish. Using a measuring cup, press firmly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake crust, rotating halfway through, until dry and set, 20–25 minutes. Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let crust cool.
• Do Ahead: Crust can be baked 1 day ahead. Store wrapped tightly at room temperature.

Filling And Assembly

• Place gelatin and 2 Tbsp. milk in a small bowl; let stand until gelatin is softened, 5–10 minutes.
• Place granulated sugar in a medium saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add pod. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is melted, then cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture turns amber in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously), stirring until smooth. Return to heat and add ½ cup brown sugar and remaining milk. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and caramel mixture begins to steam, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add baking soda, and whisk until bubbles subside; remove pod and discard.
• Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining ¼ cup brown sugar in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in half of warm caramel mixture. Pour egg-yolk mixture into caramel mixture in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in gelatin mixture, butter, molasses, and salt, whisking until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer filling to a large bowl and chill, stirring occasionally, until slightly cooled and thickened, about 1 hour. (Stirring and cooling pudding before chilling in crust will give it a luscious, creamy texture.)
• Pour butterscotch filling into crust, smoothing top if needed. Chill until set, at least 2 hours.
• Just before serving, spoon whipped cream over pie and top with cashews.
• Do Ahead: Pie can be made (without whipped cream) 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

GURNEY KITCHEN TESTED RECIPES

Several years ago I came across an old recipe box labeled Gurney Kitchen Tested Recipes. The moment I peeked inside and saw a section for Pastry and Pie Filling, I knew I had to own it. In the 1950's, the Home Service Department of Gurney Foundry Co. Limited, makers of Gurney Electric Ranges, distributed kitchen tested recipe files to purchasers of their electric ranges. Popular demand for Gurney's index of individually tested menus prompted the company to make it possible for others to obtain the recipes files for $1.00. Included with over 200 recipe cards are short pamphlets on cooking techniques-- Deep Fat Frying and Sautéing, Roasting, Broiled Foods, Baking, and Pastry-- as well as ones for Cooking the Gurney Electric Way, Principles of Menu Planning, and Oven Meals. The recipes indexes range from Cocktails, Canapés, and Hors d'Oeuvres to Preserving and Confections. 

Here are recipes for a Standard Pastry and Butterscotch Date Custard Pie.

A BITE OF THE CHERRY

"A bite of the cherry" is a British idiom which means, 'a part of something good, especially when there is not enough for everyone who wants it.' 

So let's talk buttons and scraps. If you're any sort of a cook or baker, chances are you've probably been stuck with leftover ingredients you weren't quite sure what to do with; a case of 'a little of this but not enough of that' to actually make a second batch of the dish you originally purchased the ingredients for. So what do you do? Get creative. Some of the best dishes I ever came up with were happy accidents from scraps, leftovers, or odds and ends.

I bake a lot of pies so there are always dough scraps in my fridge, not to mention mini pie or tart crusts in the freezer ready to defrost and fill-- usually at some odd hour because of an unexpected sweet tooth or craving. This means with a little ingenuity I can always scrape together some sort of single-serving dessert. It's literally easy as pie. 

Fruit fillings are easiest to work with. I try to explore new flavor profiles by throwing together unexpected ingredients but most of the time it's just whatever I have on hand-- half an apple, a handful of assorted berries, a spoonful of dried fruit, not quite enough frozen peaches for a smoothie, a stray lemon, whatever. Sometimes I mix fresh ingredients with canned or jarred products to scrape together enough filling for one crust. At other times I may just have the one ingredient to work with. Where do you think make do pie came from?

Today, I had some cranberries, jarred sour cherries, and sage. 

A Bite of the Cherry Cranberry Pie

1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/4 cup of jarred sour cherries (and 1 tablespoon juice)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons of light brown sugar

1 tablespoon arrowroot

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon zest of fresh lemon

1. Position oven racks in the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat oven to 425º F.
2. Have ready and refrigerated one pasty-lined 5-inch mini pie pan and pastry round or lattice to top.
3. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over the dried cranberries to cover about an inch. Allow them to pump while making the remaining filling.
4. In a food processor briefly process 1/2 cup fresh cranberries to a rough chop; add them to a bowl, along with the remaining whole cranberries, chopped sage, sugar, salt, vanilla, and arrowroot. 
5. Drain plumped dried cranberries of excess water and add to bowl. Mix all ingredients well. 
6. Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell, arrange the pastry round or lattice on top, and crimp edges. 
7. Brush the pastry with a milk wash, sprinkle with demerara sugar. 
8. Place the pie on rimmed baking sheet on lowest rack of oven.
9. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 345º F, and move pie to center oven rack and continue to bake until pastry is a deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, approximately 20 to 25 minutes longer. Allow to completely cool, 2 hours.

PIE A LA APPLE

Apple pie baked in an apple? Genius. Here's what you need --

Pie A La Apple
4 large apples (Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, or Rome are the best banking apples)
1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling OR from scratch (see below)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or nutmeg, or allspice - whatever your taste preference)
1 store-bought pie crust - use just 1 of the 2 crusts in the box OR from scratch

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Slice the top off each of your apples and scoop out the inside of the apple. Paring knife and a spoon to hollow out the apple work best.
3. In a small bowl, mix the filling with the cinnamon. Spoon the filling into the well of each apple.
4. Unroll the pie crust and cut it into fourths; one for each apple. Then out of each quarter into 1/4-inch strips. 
5. Lay strips of the dough on top of the apple. Then take one new strip at a time and alternate weaving it over and under the pie strips already in place. Repeat until the top of the apple has been covered. Trim excess pie crust around the edges with a knife. For a nice golden brown crust you'll need to brush it with either milk or cream, or with an egg wash (mix 1 egg and 1 tbsp water). 
6. Place apples in a baking dish and fill with 1/4-inch of water. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from baking dish. You can eat it plain,  drizzle salted caramel over the top, add whipped cream, or eat it with a scoop of your favorite icecream. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Filling from Scratch

2 small apples (Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, or Rome are the best banking apples)

1 teaspoon arrowroot (or cornstarch or 2 teaspoons flour)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon (or nutmeg, or allspice - whatever your taste preference)

squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

1. Peel and finely dice apples.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the apples, arrowroot, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir constantly for 5 minutes. Switch to low heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes. 

Tip: if you believe in the idiom 'waste not, want not' then you can always used the cored out apple for your filling. Just try to keep the chunks bite-sized if possible.

The original recipe is by Girl Who Ate Everything via Tablespoon but I came across it at thekitchn.

STACK PIE

ph: tina rupp via drunkbakers

Have you ever tried to carry more than one pie at a time? Not easy. I bake a lot of pies for social gatherings and transporting multiple pies is a precarious balancing act. Whether heavy or delicate, some pies require a firm grip between two hands. Sturdier pies can be carried two at a time, one in each hand, in a bag or carrier. That is, if you're lucky enough to find one that won't damage your crust, gouge your cream or custard filling, or demolish your whipped or meringue topping. All that effort gone to waste!

This past Thanksgiving a friend gifted me with a vintage tin combo cake and pie carrier. It's gorgeous but bulky, and for a city girl that travels by subway, a bit of a hassle on a crowded train. Besides, I don't bake cakes. What I need is a multi-tiered stackable pie carrier. 

The other option is stack pie. I'm not sure of its origin but my guess would be church potlucks, picnics, or reunions. Back in the day it was just too hard to move a bunch of pies separately, so someone came up with the idea to stack them together. It's basically a bunch of chess pies glued together with caramel frosting. You can make as many layers as you can bake. Talk about pie in the sky. The following recipe is for a stack of four pies. 

Stack Pie
crust

You need four 9-inch pie tins and enough crust for two double-crust pies. 

1. Divide pastry into four even pieces, flatten into 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic; chill in fridge for 1 hour. 
2. Let dough soften slightly at room temp before rolling out. Preheat oven to 300º F. 
3. Roll out and line pans, but just come up to the edge, don't crimp. 
4. Place pie pans in freezer for 10-15 minutes. 
5. Remove from freezer and line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans. Par-bake the crusts for 20 minutes, or until just brown. 
6. Remove parchment paper and pie weight / beans. Brush the bottom with a mixture of whisked egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Place crusts back in oven for 1 minute. Remove and cool while you make the filling. 

filling
10 egg yolks
3 cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
pinch of salt

frosting
3 cups brown sugar
2/3 cups whole milk
2 stick butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 dash of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Turn up oven to 350º F. 
2. Beat yolks for 3 minutes, add sugar gradually, beat to yellow and light looking.
3. Fill the pie shells evenly. Bake 10 minutes, them with a toothpick, pop any air bubbles on tops of pies. Continue to bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden. 
4. Immediately cut away excess pastry with sharp knife from all but one pie (this will be the bottom pie) and discard. Important: Chill pies. 
5. Meanwhile, start frosting: melt butter in small pan. Whisk in brown sugar and bring to boil. Stir in the milk, salt and vanilla. Cool. Beat in powdered sugar in small increments until a proper, sticky, frosting consistency. 
6. Remove three trimmed pies from their pans. Blob some frosting on the top of the bottom pie, spread around carefully. Position second pie on top. Repeat with as many pies as you have. 
7. Slice and serve like a layer cake. Serve within 2 days.

Note: The great thing about chess pie is that the filling is a great base to which you can add other ingredients, such as nuts or fruit. You can turn this basic recipe into chocolate chess pie, lemon chess pie, buttermilk chess pie, etc. The possibilities are endless. 

CARDAMOM CHOCOLATE TART

My friend's son requested a chocolate pie. His wish is my command. I like my chocolate in a pâte sucrée crust so I whipped up this Cardamom Chocolate Tart instead.

Cardamom Chocolate Tart
Par-baked Pâte Sucrée (makes one 9-inch tart or 6 mini tart shells - 4 x 1 inch tart form)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (room temp)
1/3 cup sugar
1.5 tablespoons almond flour
1 egg, slightly beaten (room temp)
1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch baking powder

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and almond flour in an electric mixer.
2. Slowly add the egg, scraping down the bowl.
3. Add the flour and baking powder, mixing until thoroughly combined. 
4. With minimum handling, shape the dough into a disk, then wrap in saran wrap. Chill; allow to rest for several hours. 
5. Roll out to fit six 4" x 1" tart pans, about 1/8" thickness. Trim excess dough from edges with a knife. Chill in freezer for 15-20 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325º F. 
7. Bake the tart shells for 15 minutes, or until just barely browned. Remove from oven and allow the shells to cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 65% cacao), chopped
2 large eggs (room temp)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Combine the chocolate, cardamom, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. 
2. Place the cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove and immediately pour over the top of the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then whisk steadily until all the chocolate is melted.
3. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, and whisk. Slowly stream a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking as you pour. Continue until the egg mixture feels warm to the touch; then mix it back into the chocolate mixture. 
4. Pour filling into cooled tart shell(s). Bake on the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, then rotate the tart(s) 180 degrees, and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes. The tart is finished when the edges are set about 2 inches in and the center is no longer liquid but still wobbly. Be careful not to overtake or the filling will be dry; the filling continues to cook and set after it is removed from the oven. 
5. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 1-2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. 
6. To finish, dust lightly with powdered sugar. 

AN OLD-FASHIONED PIE SOCIAL HOOTENANNY

ph: via food52

ph: via food52

ph: via lifestyle mirror

Yesterday I organized an afternoon pie baking soiree with some of my closest friends. Really, it was just an excuse for the girls to get together and have a laugh while we baked pies and drank lots of wine. We baked three pies from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book - Cranberry Sage Pie, Lemon Chess Pie, and Salted Caramel Apple Pie. I'm a huge fan of the Elsen sister's Pie Shop in Brooklyn. They have a knack for giving traditional pie recipes a modern twist by adding uncommon or unusual ingredients. And so far all their recipes have been foolproof.

I went ahead and prepped crusts for two pies as dough needs to rest for approximately 1 hour, preferably 2 or overnight, in the fridge before rolling out. This step in addition to using apple cider vinegar to the dough recipe yields a flakier crust as both actions help to inhibit gluten formation. This doesn't mean your crust will be gluten-free; it just means a flakier, therefore tastier pie crust. Another tip -- if you want your crust to brown in the oven, you'll need to brush on some kind of protein before you pop the pie into the oven to bake. You have two options: milk or cream; or for a glossy finish brush on a mixture of egg and 1 tablespoon of water.

Here is Four & Twenty's dough recipe for one all-butter 9-inch single-crust. See below for their all-butter double-crust dough recipe. 

If you're wondering what a chess pie is, it's a basic pie filling made with a mixture of eggs, butter, and sugar. Sometimes nuts or fruits are added -- in our case, juice of lemons. Chess pies are a Southern specialty but recipes vary with some calling for the addition of cornmeal and others, for vinegar. There are several folklores for the origin of the name, Chess Pie. The most likely explanation is an Americanization of the English word "cheese," referring to the English lemon curd pie filling which is very similar to that of lemon chess pie. Another suggest that it's "chests," said with a southern drawl describing pies with so much sugar they could be stored in a pie chest rather than a refrigerator. And the funniest explanation is that when a plantation cook was asked what she was baking that smelled so good, she replied, "Jes' pie."

All the pies were delicious but my favorite was the Cranberry Sage Pie -- I'll always take tart over sweetness.

Four & Twenty Blackbird Double-Crust Pie

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut int 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 cup ice

1. Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. 
2. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. 
3. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to overblend).
4. Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or small bowl. 
5. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated.
6. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hands (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Tip: Total amount varies but approximately 6-9 tablespoons of water for a double-crust recipe.
7. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine. 
8. Divide the dough in half before shaping each portion into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow. 
9. Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.