Pie Club Week 18: Peach/Raspberry Pie

Week 18 was peach raspberry pie, which I made in a slab version. I do not know if slab pies are something that have been around for a long time, or if this is a new idea. I first saw this idea from Martha Stewart, and thought it was interesting and wanted to give it a try. The basics are still the same, I just rolled the pate brisee out into large rectangles and baked it off in a sheet pan instead of a pie tin. Also, the filling is more spread out, so the flat slices are easy to pick up and eat with your hand. This pie also serves 16, instead of 8, so there are more servings with this version. It would be really nice to take to a party or BBQ.

This peach/raspberry filling is very simple and delicious. It is peaches, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt. I cut holes in the top dough as the vents, and it looked really nice. I would definitely make this pie again with a variety of fillings. It was really fun and well received!

Pie Club Week 16: Plum

Week 16 was plum pie, and it was pretty interesting. I really like plums, but had not thought of using them in a pie until now. When I went to purchase the plums, the grocery store had 3 varieties, so I decided to use all 3. When I make apple pie I use a variety of apples, so I thought the variety would be nice in this pie also, and it was. However, this pie did not turn out quite like I wanted it to.

I had in my notes the idea to roll out a bottom crust into a larger circle than needed, and to fold the edges over the filling like with a galette, so I decided to try that with this pie. I liked the double crust effect as far as the texture, but did not love the look, and definitely prefer a lattice top for a fruit pie. Some things are tradition for a reason. :)

The recipes that I based my plum pie off of called for flour as the thickener. I prefer to use cornstarch, but having never made a plum pie before, I thought I would trust the flour. I definitely should have used cornstarch. The flour did not thicken enough, and also the whiteness of the flour mixed with the plums to make an unappetizing, milky, pinkish color in the filling. The plums themselves were beautiful and delicious, but one of the varieties I used baked down a lot more than the other two, and had a mushy mouth feel. I think I would stick to one plum variety the next time I attempt this pie.

Overall, this was a good experiment, and I learned a lot. I always knew to trust my instincts more than a recipe, but it was reiterated for me even more with this pie.I will attempt this pie again, with some changes, because I think it has the potential to be really delicious, unique and interesting!

Pie Club Week 15: Balsamic Strawberry

Week 15 was balsamic strawberry pie, and I LOVE this pie. I am always so happy when strawberries are in season, because their taste is so much more amazing, sweet and perfect than when they are used out of season. I have made this pie many times, because it is one of my favorites, and so I had to include it in my pie club. I also entered this pie in the Ralston pie competition that was held over 4th of July.

This is a lattice, fruit pie that comes out looking so beautiful. Another reason it is one of my favorites is because it is just 5 simple ingredients, which really allow the flavors to shine! This pie is made from strawberries, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, cornstarch, sugar and a pinch of salt. The crust is my flaky pate brisee recipe. And, that is it- simple and perfect. The flavor of this pie is very "jammy". The balsamic vinegar really highlights the strawberry flavor and brings out the sweetness with a perfect sour note. This pie reminds me of strawberry rhubarb, but better.

I will always make this pie, as often as I can, during the summer when strawberries are at their best!

Pie Club Week 14: Blueberry Banana

Week 14 was blueberry banana pie, and it was a cream pie. I am not a huge fan of bananas, but I do like banana cream pie, so this option interested me. I thought that the tartness of blueberries would be a nice compliment to the cream and bananas, and it was. This pie turned out to be delicious!

For this pie, I made a blueberry sauce/topping, and then also mixed in some raw, fresh blueberries so that there would be another texture with all the creaminess of the filling and bananas. I tossed the banana slices in some fresh lemon juice, so that they would keep their color. The crust is a graham cracker crust, which I lined with some of the banana slices. The filling is a lightened pastry cream that I poured over the banana slices into the pie shell. Once chilled, I topped the filling with the blueberry sauce, and layered the rest of my banana slices around the edge. I also added a few slices and fresh blueberries to the center of the pie, and then garnished with mint leaves. I the colors and textures of this pie look really nice.

The flavor was excellent, cool, creamy and satisfying. I liked this spin on banana cream a lot, and will make it again!

Pie Club Week 13: Peach/ Raspberry Frangipane

Week 13 was the second tart so far, and it was a frangipane tart. For those of you who may not be familiar, frangipane is defined as: a filling made from almonds, or almond paste. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods. Frangipane is normally made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, and is often paired with pears during the winter holidays. Typically, I think frangipane is too sweet and do not enjoy it very much.

However, in this tart it was delicious! I found the raspberries and apricots I used to be a better compliment to the sweetness, and I think this tart had a more balanced flavor. I used almond paste for my frangipane recipe, along with creamed butter and sugar, eggs and vanilla. It was light, fluffy, golden and beautiful, and I received a lot of compliments on this tart. I cannot believe that I forgot to take a picture of the complete tart!

The mouth feel was a really pleasant combination of the moist, fluffy frangipane surrounded by the slightly firm fruit and perfectly flaky sweet tart crust. I will use this frangipane recipe in future tarts I make that call for it, and I will definitely make this tart again!

Pie Club Week 12: Honey

Week 12 was honey pie, and my first pie that I was unhappy with.

I figured that with 52 different varieties of pie, it was just a matter of time before one didn't turn out as well as I expected, and it came in week 12. I was very interested in making honey pie, because I love to make custard (which this basically was), and I am interested in sugar alternatives.

I researched some recipes before making this honey pie, because I was not sure where to start. The recipe I tried had a lot of eggs for the thickening agent, of course a lot of honey and just few other simple ingredients, which appealed to me. There was no cream or dairy in this recipe. I used my pate brisee for the crust, which was blind baked. As standard with most custard pie recipes, the filling was very liquid, and was started on the lowest rack then moved to the middle rack and cooked at a lower temperature.

There was a strong smell of honey as it baked, and it took a long time to set up. When I took this pie out of the oven, right away I was not happy with the color. It was visually unappetizing and a dark yellow color. I let the pie cool completely, and then put it in the fridge to keep since it is a custard with a lot of eggs. We didn't try it until the next day, and by that time it had developed a slightly "wet" layer on the filling, and it had a very unpleasant mouth feel. Surprisingly, the crust stayed perfectly flaky and crisp. The flavor profile was just pure, overwhelmingly honey, which was improved with some freshly whipped cream.

I am still interested in making a delicious honey pie, and will continue to experiment with this. I have a few ideas for how it might be improved. I also think it could be nice used in a savory application with nuts or cheese. The draw back is that very good honey is no inexpensive, but when I get a chance I plan to implement some of my ideas. I will keep you posted!

Pie Club Week 11: Mango Tart

Week 11 was Coconut Mango Cream tart. Since tarts are so similar to pies, and because I love them, I have included a few in this pie club. This tart was beautiful, and delicious, but I forgot to get even one picture of it! Let me just say here that I have been on many food blogs and seen a lot of beautiful pictures of food, and I am no food photographer. Forgetting to get a picture of the tart just further proves it. Haha!

Anyway, the base of this tart is where I used the coconut. I do not enjoy mangoes because I taste an anise note in it, but a lot of people do enjoy them and they make a nice pairing with coconut. The base was basically a baked custard with toasted coconut in it. The filling was light, creamy and a perfect compliment to the flaky tart crust.

I peeled the mango, then thinly sliced it and brushed the slices with lemon juice. I topped custard base with sweetened, fresh whipped cream swirls and nestled the mango slices in with the whipped cream swirls. The colors were beautiful, and everyone who ordered this tart had great feedback about it.

I would definitely make this tart again!

Pie Club Week 10: Cherry

Week 10 was cherry pie, which is always a classic. I love cherry pie, but I am not a big fan of the most common versions made with cherry pie filling. They are often too sweet, and in my opinion have too much "filling" and not enough fruit.

Therefore, I opted for fresh cherries, and simple ingredients. I was fortunate to have a cherry tree in a friends backyard! Tart cherries are known as "pie cherries", and you want to make sure to use tart instead of sweet cherries. I picked and pitted the cherries, then mixed them with sugar, vanilla and cornstarch. I used a double crust of pate brisee, brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with turnbinado sugar, and then cut a pair of cherries into the top for my pie vents.

I was really happy with how the vents turned out! This pie was just what I wanted, simple and delicious. The cherries were really the star of this pie, and it was such an enjoyable eating experience. It was not over sweet or sour, and the crust made a perfect, flaky encasement for the filling. 

I will make this pie again, and not change a single thing!

Pie Club Week 9: Chocolate Cream

Week 9 was chocolate cream!!!
This was one that everyone was waiting for, and by far the most popular choice for the month of April. Almost everyone loves chocolate, especially in a creamy custard, set into a flaky crust and topped with lots of cream and more chocolate!

Custard is one of my favorite things to make, so I was also looking forward to this pie. I made a crust that was slightly sweetened and very slightly chocolate by adding a little sugar and cocoa powder. The crust ended up being more tender due to the sugar, which nicely supported the weight of the custard, and the flavor was mild and perfect. I did not want to have a strong chocolate crust with the chocolate filling, because it could easily be too much of a good thing.

The custard was cool, smooth, chocolate perfection which I topped with freshly whipped cream. Standardly, this pie is topped with chocolate curls. However, I do not like eating the curls and am of the opinion that it is too much, so I decided to smooth the cream and then make a design on top of the pie using chocolate sauce. I was really pleased with the result.

This pie was delicious, satisfying and wonderful! I will definitely make it again, and again.

Pie Club Week 8: Oatmeal

Week 8 already, and it was oatmeal pie! Yep, oatmeal. This week I heard a lot of: "What? Oatmeal pie? What is that?" However, some brave souls ordered it, and it is just how it sounds, oatmeal in a pie version. It was delicious and super, super sweet.

The oatmeal pie I made was basically like the filling of a pecan pie, but with rolled oats instead of nuts. I used a basic pate brisee crust, poured in the filled and baked. It also puffs up in the oven just like a pecan pie, and then deflates once it has cooled. When baking, this pie fills the house with the smell of oatmeal cookies.

While this pie was delicious, it was very sweet and we liked it a little better in the morning than as a dessert. I also liked it with just lightly sweetened, whipped cream. If I made this again, I think I would either add some nuts to it, or use more oats to help balance the sweetness of the filling. This was not one of my personal favorite pies so far, but it was yummy and a success! If someone wanted this pie, I would make it again, and may make the version with nuts added this fall/winter.

Pie Club Week 7: Challenge

Week 7 was a challenge week! I let a loyal customer (who asked) give me his 4 favorite ingredients, and challenge me to make a pie with them. It was super fun! And, turned out to be the favorite pie so far...

The 4 ingredients were pineapple, vanilla, coconut and cashews. I love all the ingredients also and right away I had some ideas, so I thought out a few different options before I settled on what I wanted to bake. I decided to incorporate the cashews into the crust in the form of a nut flour substitution. Basically, I made cashew flour and substituted some of it into the flour for my pate brisee. Then, I decided to use the pineapple filling from my pineapple pie (week 1) as the base and first layer. For the second layer, I decided to use some of the coconut filling from my coconut cream pie (week 2). I topped all of that with vanilla flavored, freshly whipped cream, and finished it with a healthy sprinkle of toasted coconut and toasted, chopped cashews!

The result was a light and delicious, creamy dream! There were some slight crunches from the coconut, cashews and flaky crust, and some gooey, nicely sour note from the pineapple. It was great, the customer was thrilled with the result and so was I! The only thing I would change about this pie, would be to make the pineapple layer thicker. The pineapple was slightly lost in all the creaminess, but I will definitely be making this again! I loved challenge week!

Pie Club Week 6: Zucchini

Week 6 was zucchini pies!
For this week and the ingredient, I made two pies, 1 savory zucchini and 1 sweet zucchini. They were both really good, and the sweet version was really surprising! I love zucchini and look forward to it every season because it has a delicate flavor that is sweet, creamy and versatile. It goes so well with other ingredients and can be used with breakfast, lunch, dinner and now even dessert!

Many people have had savory zucchini pie, and are familiar with the flavors. They are typically similar to a quiche, in texture and ingredients. This one that I made had the standard zucchini (I used green and yellow), eggs and Monterey Jack cheese. For spices, I used oregano, parsley, salt and fresh pepper and a surprise-I spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on the crust before baking. I used my lard crust for this pie, which I always do with a savory pie.

This pie turned out so delicious! The oregano balanced the flavors and the parsley brought a freshness. The dijon was very subtle, but added a delicious tang that was more noticeable the day after I baked the pie. As always, the lard crust was perfection! I liked this best warmed up for breakfast, however, it can also be eaten cold any time of the day. One comment I received about this pie really made my day. A couple hours after it was delivered, the pie club member sent me a note that said "I'm on my third piece of zucchini pie. I'm digging it, clearly!" I think this one is a keeper!

6.2 Week Sweet Zucchini:
I had never tried a sweet zucchini pie before this week, but was looking forward to it. I treated this like a fruit pie since zucchini is basically a fruit, but is treated as a vegetable; and also because it has such a mild flavor that I wanted to spice it like an apple pie. I used a double crust, diced the zucchini, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, ginger, lemon juice and an egg to thicken the filling. For this pie, I sprinkled the top with cinnamon sugar just before baking.

The pie turned out delicious! It tastes like apple pie, but without the tartness of the apples. The zucchini did not get mushy, and had the texture of apples. The filling thickened perfectly into a carmely consistency, and the crust got perfectly sweet and crunchy with the cinnamon sugar on top! My family said they actually like this better than apple pie! I couldn't believe it. I disagree, I still love apple pie more, but this is a really nice alternative in the spring when apples are not in season yet. I will make this pie again.

Pie Club Week 5: Almond

One month in already, only 47 pies left to make this year!
Well, pie 5 was almond, and it was super delicious! To make this almond pie, I used my famous pecan pie recipe, and just subbed in almonds. I used slivered almonds in the filling, and sliced, natural almonds on the top. A total of about 2.5 cups of almonds!

I prefer almonds to pecans, so I was really excited about this pie. Almonds are already harder than pecans, but I toasted both kinds of almonds before baking to make sure they kept a nice texture, and to bring out their flavor.

The flavor profile of this pie was less buttery than the pecan version, and as my sister said "had a cleaner taste". One person said they would have liked more filling and a little less nuts, but still loved it.  The other 8 people who ordered it thought the amount of almonds were perfect. My friend Mandy was sweet enough to share her almond pie with all our co-workers, and it was a huge hit! Many people asked me if they could place an order for one right then! :) A couple people said that it was perfect in the morning with coffee.

This pie was delicious at room temperature, cold or heated up a la mode! After a day or so, a honey like syrup leaks from the filling and when combined with the flaky crust, happily reminded people of baklava! I did not receive any bad feedback about this pie, and will definitely keep making it!

Pie Club Week 4: Nectarine Galette

Week 4 was supposed to be Apricot Galette, however, I could not find any apricots. I was a little disappointed because they are supposed to be in season right now. However, I settled for nectarines, which turned out to be a nice substitute.

I really love galettes, and they can be made with almost any fruit. If you are not familiar, a galette is defined as: a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat, round or free form crusty cakes. So, basically a simple pie (crust and sweetened fruit) which is not baked in a pie pan, but the crust is folded over the top of the filling and it is baked on a cookie sheet. Often, there are preserves spread between the crust and fruit (apricot is most traditional), and nuts may also be added to the filling.

Galettes are so easy to produce and really highlight the ingredients you use. My sister and I especially love to eat a slice of this pie for breakfast with some hot tea or coffee!

I was not very familiar with nectarines, but being a stone fruit, thought it would be a good substitute for apricots. They turned out to be very pleasantly mild, and reminded us all of an apple more than an apricot or peach. After cleaning, pitting and slicing, I combined the nectarines with some sugar, cornstarch and I love to add some lemon zest for brightness. Placed the fruit in the center of a large disk of pate brisee, folded the edges of the crust over the filling, brushed with mild and sprinkled some demura sugar on the pastry. Baked until golden, and served with some freshly whipped cream. It turned out delicious, and my brother said "anything made with your pie crust will always turn out amazing". That was the best compliment!

The nectarines reminded us of apples, and were very simple and sweet tasting. I expected them to be a littel sour, but they were not at all. I left the skins on, and they were very tender. Overall, the apple version I make is still my favorite, but I would use nectarines agian!

P.S. I forgot to take a picture of it before it cut into it! But, it was beautiful. Fail. 

Pie Club Week 3: Avocado

Week 3 was Avocado and Chocolate Avocado. I love avocados, so I was very interested to make pies out of them, however I also had a hard time imagining them in a sweet form. I made 3 pies so that I could get a range of flavors and become more familiar with this ingredient in a pie.  No one in the club, or my family, had heard of or eaten avocado pie. Thank goodness they were trusting because one of them turned out amazing!

Avocado is an interesting ingredient to use in desserts and pastries because of its creamy texture, silky mouth feel due to it high fat content and mild flavor which allows it to easily combine with other ingredients. Also, it does not require baking or a lot of manipulation. Avocados are basically ready to use, and all 3 varieties I produces were no bake pie.

I made two different chocolate avocado pies, and one was okay, but the other was perfection! The first one I tried had a chocolate cookie crust, creamed avocado sweetened with condensed milk and mini chocolate chips. It was pretty simple, and the color was nice. I was not fond of how the chocolate chips looked with bright green filling. It was not the most visually appealing pie.

I also did not love the flavors of this pie, or the texture. The filling was of course creamy, but since the pie is chilled, the chocolate chips were really hard and not pleasing to crunch into. I am also not a huge fan of sweetened condensed milk, so it was a little too sweet for me. There was also lemon juice in this filling, which helped to cut the sweetness a little, but this one was not our favorite.

Next, I made just an Avocado pie. This one had both lime and lemon juices and was also sweetened with sweetened condensed milk. This pie had a graham cracker crust and was also chilled. It ended up being very similar to a margarita pie. It was smooth, creamy and pleasantly citrus. I think it would be better in the summer months. This was my sister in law's favorite of the 3 avocado pies.



Finally, I made the second chocolate avocado which turned out amazing and very surprising! This pie ended up being gluten free and I didn't even plan it that way! The crust was very interesting, and I will use it again with other pies. It was a spiced crust and was made from nuts, dates, cocoa powder, cinnamon, a little honey and nutmeg. It is a very flavorful crust, but when combined with the chocolate avocado filling became more mild. I produced 6 of these pies, and only 1 person did not love the crust. When I make this in the future, I will may use smaller amounts of the spices, but overall I love it!
Now, for the filling, it was simply creamed avocado with a little lemon juice and a pinch of salt, blended with melted dark chocolate. It was so dense, and super satisfying, chocolaty delicious! If I had not told anyone, they would have never know that the filling was avocado. The fatty texture in from the avocados made the filling so rich and smooth, this pie reminds me of chocolate silk, but so much healthier! There is no flour, and the only added sugar is from 1 tablespoon of honey used in the crust. I finished this pie with little stars of freshly whipped cream, and was so pleasantly surprised with this pie!

I will defiantly produce this one over and over again! I learned so much from avocado pie week, and it was so fun and delicious!

Pie Club Week 2: Coconut Cream

Week 2 was Coconut Cream, and this week I only made one recipe version. Most people have had coconut cream pie before, so I knew what I wanted in this pie. The coconut cream I made had coconut custard on the bottom, and sweetened whipped cream on top of the custard. I made the custard with coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, egg yolks, salt and cornstarch and then folded in toasted coconut flakes. I also topped the pie with toasted coconut flakes. I used my pate brisee recipe for the crust.

Overall, the pie was very delicious and I only received very positive feed back about his pie, including "I would definatley purchase this pie in a bake shop" and "This is the best coconut cream pie I have ever had". I really enjoyed making and eating this pie! It was perfectly smooth, creamy and light. The custard had a very pleasing mouth feel, and smelled amazing! Since I toasted the coconut, it had a very nice texture and did not stick in my teeth like coconut sometimes will. It held shape perfectly and was visually appealing.

The only thing I will work on to improve upon this coconut cream is that I would like there to be more coconut flavor in the custard. I used vanilla with the coconut milk, but I think I will take that out of the recipe. Also, I would like to infuse some coconut flavor into the custard through a steeping process, or something similar, to get more true coconut flavor. I try to use extracts, especially with a flavor like coconut. I am excited to experiment!



Pie Club Week 1: Pineapple

I have decided to dedicate this blog, (which I have hardly used) to documenting the 52 different pies I am going to make in the next 52 weeks! I am making these pies to help develop my menu for a business that I will be opening, and to perfect the recipes I will use. I created a pie club, where my friends and family can becomes members and choose 1 or 1 of each pie from the 4-5 I make each month to enjoy and give me feedback on. I am super excited about this pie club!!!

Week 1: Pineapple Pie
I tried 3 different recipes for pineapple pie, and there was one clear winner. I made a lattice pie, which included canned pineapple, sugar and cornstarch.

The second pie was a double crust with fresh pineapple, eggs, sugar, flour and lemon.

And the third, was a pineapple meringue pie which included canned, crushed pineapple, sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla and butter.

I was really hoping the pie that I used fresh pineapple and lemon in would be the best, but it turned out that simplicity won. The first pie, which was the most simple and had the fewest ingredients, was by far the best; and very delicious. 

The double crust pie with the fresh pineapple had a perfume aftertaste, which was not pleasant, and with flour as the only thickener it did not set up the way I wanted it to. I could have used cornstarch in the pie as well, but I wanted to experiment with other thickeners. 

The meringue was also good, but not as good as lemon meringue, so why bother? :)

Overall, I found pineapple pie to be a very delicious option. It smelled heavenly during baking and as it cooled.  Pineapple pie is beautiful when baked, and I received amazing, positive feedback about it, including "This pie is better than golfing!". The flavor was not overly sour or sweet, but a very nice in between and I love that is used simple ingredients. The density of the filling was perfect with the flakiness of the crust, and was balanced even more with some fresh whipped cream. this pie reminds me of pineapple upside down cake, but even a little  better due to the flaky crust! A wonderful, non-traditional, fruit pie that I will definitely bake again.