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!