Archive for the ‘Pies’ Category
Sweet potato pie makes a nice change from pumpkin pie when you’re looking for a fall dessert to serve at a family dinner or to bring to Thanksgiving. Similar to pumpkin pie, sweet potato pies are made with pureed sweet potatoes and spices that are mixed into a custard with eggs, milk and sugar before baking. Also like pumpkin pie, many sweet potato pies tend to be a little on the bland side. To remedy this in pumpkin pie, I’ll add more spice to boost the flavor, and I do the same thing when making my sweet potato pies.
This Brown Sugar Cardamom Sweet Potato Pie has a lot of flavor and it mostly comes from a relatively small amount of cardamom. Cardamom is a spice with a very strong and slightly citrusy flavor. It pairs very well with earthy sweet potatoes and really brightens up the overall flavor of the pie, not to mention that it is a slightly unusual spice for this type of pie and will set yours apart from a typical pie. The other flavor element here is the brown sugar, which adds a rich sweetness to the pie. Canned sweet potato puree is a very reliable base for this type of pie. If you are using homemade sweet potato puree, you might consider pressing it through a strainer before using to keep the pie as smooth as possible. When baked, the pie should have a creamy texture that is a bit lighter than your usual pumpkin pie and that makes a lovely contrast to the graham cracker crust.
In addition to the brown sugar in the sweet potato pie mixture, there is also a layer of brown sugar added to the bottom of the pie plate before baking. I actually got the idea to add this layer to the bottom of the pie from Cook’s Illustrated. Their recipe ends up giving you a layer of melted syrup on a pastry crust, but since I like to do my sweet potato pies with a graham cracker crust, I ended up using a slightly different technique. I add a thin layer of brown sugar to a cooled graham cracker crust, the pop the crust in the oven before I add the filling to warm up the sugar layer. This keeps the sugar sticking to the bottom of the crust, rather than mixing in with the filling when the sweet potato mixture is poured in. The sugar doesn’t form a truly distinct layer in the pie, though it does add some additional sweetness. What it does do is help keep the graham cracker crust crisp and helps prevent the filling from soaking in and making it soggy before the pie is even served.
Pie pans will vary in depth. Try to resist overfilling your pie crust for best results, even if that means you need to discard a few tablespoons of sweet potato pie filling.
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The only thing better than a slice of freshly baked apple pie is having a whole pie all to yourself. That said, it can be a little daunting (and probably a little unfair to everyone else who wants a slice of pie!) to tuck into an entire 9-inch apple pie with no one to share it with. The solution is to bake a half dozen Mini Apple Pies so that you can have your own apple pie and still share with friends and family.
These mini apple pies have a buttery pastry crust enclosing a filling made with apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. Unlike full sized pies, where the filling bakes while the pie is in the oven, this filling needs to be prepared on the stove top because there isn’t enough time for the apples to completely soften in the oven with the mini pies’ short baking time. The advantage to making the filling in advance is that it can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge, so you will have less prep work to do when you’re ready to bake those pies.
I used my Breville Mini Pie Maker to bake the pies pictured here, but this recipe can easily be prepared in a more conventional mini pie pan or baked inside of a nonstick muffin pan. The pies will all have slightly different shapes and baking times that will differ by a couple of minutes, but they will all turn out to be just as delicious. Depending on the size of the pan you use, you might be able to squeeze the crust for one additional mini pie out of the all butter pie crust dough recipe, too. The instructions that accompany the full recipe below give details for baking the pies in the oven, as opposed to a counter top pie-making appliance. I recommend opting for a plain top crust, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can also assemble mini lattice pie crusts for your pies.
I like to dig into these pies while they are still warm and the center just oozes all over the plate. There is a great ratio of flaky crust to apple filling, too. You could theoretically hold one of these pies in your hand and eat it on the go, but I like to take a more traditional route and serve them with some vanilla ice cream on the side. Leftover pies can be stored at room temperature and they can be reheated by popping them into a preheated oven (375F) for a few minutes to crisp up the crust before enjoying the next day.
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Buttermilk pie is a favorite of mine around fall and in the winter. The pie is something of a Southern classic, and although I am not from the South, it is definitely a well-liked comfort food dessert to have when the weather starts to cool down. Buttermilk pie is essentially a custard pie made with tangy, buttery buttermilk as the primary dairy component. They’re often flavored with a bit of nutmeg or lemon zest. This Buttermilk Lime Pie has a flavor in it that you don’t normally see in buttermilk pies and marries buttermilk pie with key lime pie, another flavor that I am a big fan of.
The pie has a bright, but not tart, lime flavor that comes from freshly grated lime zest, not from the addition of lime juice. It has an almost pudding-like texture that is fluffier and less dense than the filling of a typical key lime pie. It also isn’t quite as silky smooth as key lime pie fillings tend to be. The result of this is that the pie feels a lot homier to me, and it also is more likely to encourage me to reach for seconds. The pie can be served at room temperature, but I prefer it slightly chilled with a bit of whipped cream on the side.
I used a homemade graham cracker crust for this pie. Graham crackers make for a crispy crust and add a really nice additional layer of flavor to the pie. I generally opt for graham cracker crusts when I make key lime pies, too, so using one here reminds me of key lime pie even more. A pastry crust works perfectly well, with this filling but should be blind baked before adding the filling to it. If you do use a pastry crust, consider adding an teaspoon of lime zest when you make it, to further highlight the citrus in this dessert.
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Peaches and cream is a great flavor combination, no matter what type of cream you’re using. My grandmother was fond of serving peaches and ricotta or cottage cheese with a little sugar on top. I like peaches and ice cream or cream anglaise. I also quite like this Peach Crumble Pie, where the peaches are suspended in a lightly sweetened custard made with sour cream. And I would have to say that the idea of peaches and cream, in general, is improved by the presence of a crumble topping – but then again, most things are improved with a crumble topping!
The pie is relatively quick and easy to assemble if you have a pie crust already made and ready to go. In fact, you can make the pie dough a day or two ahead so you’ll have it on hand when you’re ready to bake! The streusel topping mixture comes together in just a few minutes and the custard filling whisks together in even less time than that. The finished pie has a silky custard filling that is studded with juicy peaches, and the crisp cinnamon-kissed crumble topping adds a nice contrasting crunch to the rest of the pie. It is flavorful – and definitely captures the idea of peaches and cream – but also has a very light feel to it thanks to the tanginess of the sour cream. The pie is served chilled (although it is also good at room temperature) and it makes a great dessert for a warm night.
Both fresh and canned peaches work very well in this recipe. I actually think that it works a little bit better with canned (or jarred) peaches because they are very tender and guaranteed to be juicy. They’re also very convenient, as I almost always have a jar of peaches sitting in my pantry. If you end up using canned peaches, choose some that are halves packed in juice or light syrup and drain them very well (quickly rinse the syrupy peaches) before chopping them up to use in the pie. If you have fresh peaches, choose peaches that are extremely ripe and tender, and make sure to remove the skins before using them.
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Chocolate cream pie is a pie for chocolate lovers. Most chocolate cream pies have a pudding-like chocolate filling that is made on the stovetop and poured into a prebaked pie crust. The pies are easy to make, but are subject to a huge amount of variation. Some actually are filled with pudding, rendering them very difficult to slice and making the crusts soggy. Some are too chocolatey, while others lack a solid chocolate flavor. Many are far too sweet. For me, a chocolate cream pie should have a good, but not overwhelming, chocolate flavor, a creamy filling that is still easy to slice and a crisp, buttery crust to hold everything together. I also tend think the best chocolate cream pies are those made entirely from scratch, not from a pudding mix.
Fortunately, my Classic Chocolate Cream Pie meets all of my requirements. It has a lovely chocolate flavor that has nice custard notes and is not too sweet. It sets up just firm enough to slice cleanly and easily, but is still tender and has a silky mouthfeel. It definitely satisfies a chocolate craving, but isn’t so rich that you can’t eat a generous slice of it. I typically use low fat or whole milk when making this pie, and both give good results. I also like to use bittersweet chocolate, but both dark chocolate and semisweet will also produce good results. Like other chocolate desserts, however, use a good quality chocolate for the best flavor.
I like to top my chocolate cream pies off with whipped cream. If I’m serving the pie to a crowd, I’ll make up a big batch of lightly sweetened whipped cream and “frost” the pie generously with it, then garnish it with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or some chocolate shavings. If I’m planning to eat the pie myself, or just with a couple of family/friends, I’ll usually hold off on the whipped cream and add it slice-by-slice as I serve the pie. For the best results, be sure to prebake your crust until it is a deep golden brown and it will remain crisp even after the pie has been refrigerated, making leftover slices as good as the first. The pie will keep well for a couple of days after it is made, if you’re not going to serve the pie to a group and finish it in one sitting.
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