A Nutty Twist!

If you've been reading my blog you know that I gave up my "famous" Peanut Butter Pie recipe for my first blog post.  I was planning on making some pies for a good friend/co-worker who transferred to another store and was trying to come up with something delicious but not too time consuming.  Upon finding a chocolate pie crust and cashew butter in my cupboards, I had a crazy thought.  What if I turn my peanut butter pie into CASHEW BUTTER PIE?? Why the hell not?  All I did was substitute roasted cashew butter for the peanut butter in the original recipe and the results were fantastic!  Just be sure your cashew butter is room temperature when you mix up the filling.  The cashew flavor is a little more delicate than peanut butter, but the resulting pie was rich and creamy!  I decorated the top with a smooth layer of chocolate ganache and salted cashews, which provided a perfect compliment to the sweetness.  Who knew that just a slight change in the recipe would result in something so unique and delicious!

The salted cashews on top were perfection!

I had to get my orchid in the picture because I'm just so proud of it!

S'mores, please!

I've been seeing S'mores Pie around the internet for quite a while now and have had it on my "to do" list.  Twice I bought a bag of those Jet-Puffed Jumbo Marshmallows.  The first bag ended up being snack food.  Seriously, once you eat those giant, puffy, white wonders you'll never go back to the puny regular marshmallows again! The second bag remained unopened for several months until I finally got around to making this delightful pie.  Who doesn't love s'mores, the tasty, nostalgic treat?  Nobody, I say, NOBODY!  There is something about the crunchy graham cracker, sweet chocolate and toasty marshmallow that instantly transports me back to childhood.  I can almost smell the campfire smoke and hear the crackle.  Back to simpler times, when life was an adventure to be enjoyed, free of bills and responsibilities.  Oh, how I long for those days!  Sadly, those days are gone, but at least I can enjoy S'mores Pie!

S'mores Pie
1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
12 Jumbo marshmallows (or however many mini or regular sized marshmallows you need)
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbs. cornstarch
4 oz. high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tb. unsalted butter
pinch of salt

To make the chocolate filling, heat 1 1/2 cups of the half and half, sugar and salt in a small, heavy pot until simmering.  Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup half and half with the cornstarch and whisk to combine well.  Whisk in the eggs.  Add some of the hot half and half to the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk everything back into the pot.  Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.  Take the pudding off the heat and add the butter, vanilla and chocolate.  Let sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate and then whisk well to combine everything.  Pour through a fine-mesh sieve directly into the pie crust.  Smooth the top then press plastic wrap directly onto the pudding to keep a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until completely cold and set, at least 6 hours.

Heat your oven to broil.  Arrange the marshmallows on the top of the pie.  Place the pie on the oven rack so it is about 3 to 4 inches away from the element.  DO NOT walk away!  I kept the oven door open and rotated the pie around constantly to brown the marshmallows evenly.  Do this until they are puffy and browned to your liking.  Enjoy immediately!

Get these.  NOW.

Line them all up on your pie.  If you like, you can cut some up to fill in the gaps.

Toast carefully under the broiler.

I'm eight years old all over again!

Pretty in Pink Grapefruit

Next to clementines, my second favorite winter fruit treat is pink grapefruit.  Seeing as how I think of everything in terms of pie, naturally I decided to make a pink grapefruit pie.  Just like a lemon meringue, but with pink grapefruit instead.  And the topping has to be Italian meringue, of course.  I don't know why anyone bothers with "regular" meringue anymore when Italian is SO much better!

I really like the tart-sweet bitterness of pink grapefruit and didn't want to lose that quality in the pie.  So I didn't go too crazy with the sugar and I folded in chopped grapefruit sections to drive home the fresh taste of the fruit.  To do this you need to supreme the grapefruit, which involves cutting off all the skin and cutting out the segments, which produces beautiful slices of juicy fruit with none of the pesky white membrane attached.  You can get a quick lesson on how to supreme in this video by Elishia's Kitchen.

This pie is easy to put together and provides a fresh, beautiful addition to any winter meal!

1 9" graham cracker pie crust
2 cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
zest of one grapefruit
few drops red food color, optional
2 Tb. unsalted butter
1 grapefruit, supreme and chop

Italian Meringue
3 egg whites, saved from the yolks used in the filling
1 cup sugar
2 Tb. corn syrup
1/4 cup water
pinch of salt


For the filling, combine the grapefruit juice, cornstarch, sugar, salt and egg yolks in a small, heavy pot.  Stir well to dissolve the cornstarch.  Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.  When the mixture is thickened, remove from the heat.  Stir in the zest, butter, grapefruit sections and food coloring, if using.  I used just a few drops to produce a dark pink color that resembled the fresh fruit when cut.  Pour the filling into the prepared crust and press plastic wrap directly to the surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until cold, about 4 to 6 hours.

For the  Italian meringue, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a small pot and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Clip a candy thermometer to the side and cook over high heat until the thermometer registers 240 degrees.  While the syrup is coming up to temperature, whip the egg whites in a stand mixer until soft peaks are formed and then whip in the salt.  When the syrup is done, pour it slowly down the side of the bowl into the whites while the mixer is running.  Avoid pouring into the whisk, as it will fling the hot syrup all over the bowl.  Continue whipping on high speed until the mixture has cooled and is fluffy, firm and glossy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Pile the meringue onto the pie and make decorative swirls and peaks.  Toast in the hot oven until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Chill about 30 minutes before serving.

Beautiful inspiration!

Adding the meringue to the cooled pie.

So simple and beautiful

Oh, a slice for me!?  Aw, you shouldn't have!

The perfect Winter sweet treat.

Crazy for Coconut!

My birthday was in December and I fully intended to make myself my personal favorite, Coconut Cream Pie.  I even  bought all the ingredients but when the day rolled around, I realized I was too lazy and scrapped the plans.  Luckily, my dear friend Lindsay made me two delicious pies herself!  I tell ya, having someone else make pie for me was just about the best birthday gift I could get.  She made a fabulous peanut butter and jelly pie and, to my delight, a coconut cream pie.  Now that is friendship!

Fast forward to the New Year and I still have the ingredients in my cupboard.  Might as well make that pie now.  This one is full of the namesake ingredient - I use coconut milk and plenty of shredded coconut in the filling and shower the top with a thick layer of toasted coconut as well.  If you're like me and crazy for coconut, this one won't miss!

1 9" graham cracker pie crust
1 can coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 Tb. cornstarch
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 bag sweetened shredded coconut, divided usage
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tb. powdered sugar

For the filling, place the heavy cream, coconut milk and sugar in a small, heavy pot over medium high heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  While the milk is heating, whisk together the cornstarch and eggs.  When the milk has boiled, add a ladle full of it to the egg mixture and whisk well.  This will temper the eggs so they do not curdle when you add them into the hot milk.  Whisk the egg mixture back into the pot of milk and lower the heat to about medium.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly to avoid forming lumps.  When the filling is thickened, remove from the heat and stir in half the bag of coconut and the vanilla extract.  Pour the filling into the crust and press plastic wrap directly to the surface to keep a skin from forming.  Put in the refrigerator and chill completely, about 4 to 6 hours.

Toast the rest of the coconut in the oven until golden brown.  You will need to stir it around frequently so it toasts evenly.  Watch it carefully to be sure it doesn't burn.  Let cool completely before putting on the pie.  Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together to stiff peaks.  Cover the top of the cooled pie with the whipped cream and toasted coconut.  Enjoy!

Just some simple ingredients.

Make a coconut custard for the filling.

Creamy and chocked fully of coconut!

Cutie Pie

You're probably wondering where I've been.  No place fantastic, unfortunately.  I've just been busy.  The holidays, work (during the holidays!!), moving to a new house... You know, life stuff.  I really did plan on delving deep into holiday pies for the blog, but I never made it past the Cranberry Meringue pie.  Oh well.

So I was staring at our box of Cuties (California clementines, my winter favorite) the other day and it hit me, Cutie Pie!!  Damn, I am so clever I practically can't stand myself.  In my mind cutie pie looked like a fluffy mousse-like cloud, decorated with cutie segments.  Oh yes, it will be mine.

I found some recipes for clementine pies on the internet to inspire me.  I ended up making a clementine curd (based on the fruit curd master recipe in The Pie and Pastry Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum.).  To the hot curd I stirred in gelatin and after the mixture cooled, I added heavy cream and whipped it up.  Perfection!  Sweet, a tiny bit tart, creamy and fluffy, my Cutie Pie is the picture of perfection!  Not a bad comeback, I'd say.

Cutie Pie
1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or your own
1 cup freshly squeezed clementine juice (I use Cutie brand)
Zest of 4 clementines
2 Tb. lemon juice
1 packet unflavored gelatin
heavy pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tb. butter

1 cup heavy cream
2 Tb. sugar
clementine or mandarin orange segments for garnish, blot dry on a paper towel

Stir the gelatin into the lemon juice and set aside to let bloom.  In a small, heavy pot combine the sugar and egg yolks, whisking well to combine.  Stir in the clementine juice, salt and butter.  Set the pot over medium heat and cook ,whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.  Be careful not to get it too hot, or your eggs will scramble.  Add in the gelatin and zest, stir until the gelatin is dissolved.  Scrape the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until the curd is thickened and partially set.

Put the clementine curd into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add one cup of heavy cream and whip on high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes (this may take more or less time depending on the how cold and set the curd is).  The mixture is still not fully set at this point, so don't worry if it seems a little soft.  Pour the mousse into the prepared pie crust and smooth the top.  Refrigerate until set, about 2 or 3 more hours.

Whip the heavy cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Decorate the top of your Cutie Pie as desired with whipped cream and orange segments.  Enjoy the sweet, creamy goodness!

Start with some beautiful clementines.

 

Make a delicious clementine curd.

When it's thick and looks like this when you stir it up, whip it with heavy cream.

Pour into a pie shell and refrigerate until set.

Cutie Pie!

Sweet, creamy citrus.  So beautiful and delicious.

Blueberry grudges

Let me start by saying that as a general rule, I think that whipped cream improves everything.   OK, maybe not sushi, but you know what I mean.  I kind of have a grudge against blueberries.  When I was running my business I spent countless hours baking delicious muffins but all anyone ever wanted was blueberry.  White chocolate strawberry?? No, thanks!  Apple streusel??  Meh.  I swear, I could have offered solid gold muffins for $2 but people would have still turned up their nose and asked, "Don't you have any blueberry?"  So I became bitter towards the blueberries, whom I wasn't all that crazy about to start with.  Now that I've had some distance from  my blueberry muffin days, I look at the little berry fondly again, and without giving them the stink-eye.  While they are still my least favorite of the berries, I think blueberries, like mostly anything, are vastly improved with whipped cream.  And ice cream.  So here is a blueberry pie topped with whipped cream.  Blueberries are very good for you, so it's OK to splurge on the cream.  Because life is all about balance.  And letting go of grudges.

Blueberry Pie (with Whipped Cream)

1 9-inch graham cracker crust

2 pints blueberries (mine were frozen)
juice and zest of one lemon
sugar to taste, I used 1/2 cup
4 Tb. instant Clearjel (or about 2 Tb. cornstarch)
1/2 cup water

2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

If you are using instant Clearjel, combine it with the sugar first, and then add to all the other ingredients in a small sauce pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce to low and  simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often.  Pour the filling into the graham cracker crust, smooth the top and put into the refrigerator for a few hours, until cold.

Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks are formed.  Cover the pie with the whipped cream, or use a piping bag and star tip if you want to make it fancy.  Enjoy!

Nothing like a thick ring of whipped cream to making everything better!

Lindsay's Lemon Pie

My dear friend Lindsay is a very talented writer, editor and graphic designer.  She's helped me in the past with a few projects so when I needed a logo designed for the blog of course I turned to her.  Lindsay knows I'm a woman who lives a modest lifestyle and when I told her I could only pay her in pie, she was more than understanding.  Because she works in a bakery and has access to a myriad of sweets, her initial request was for a savory beef pie of some variety.  But when the Denver weather finally decided it was time to warm up, a refreshing lemon pie with raspberries is what milady's heart desired!

There are a lot of recipes out there for lemon "icebox" pies  that are usually based on sweetened, condensed milk, aka nectar of the gods.  They usually call for adding egg yolks to the pie base, then whipping the whites to make a meringue topping.  In my opinion, this kind of creamy lemon pie just screams out for whipped cream so that's how I've always made it, as well its cousin the key lime pie, which we'll be seeing very soon.  But I don't like throwing out egg whites or letting them sit in the refrigerator until I decide I'm never going to use them, so I just put the whole egg into the pie.

This pie is perfectly sweet-tart and when topped with whipped cream and raspberries (or any berry of your choice) it's the perfect summer dessert.  And because it is so easy to make, you can quickly whip it up to take to any picnic or BBQ with friends.

Lemon Icebox Pie
I used a 9" deep-dish pie pan. If you don't have a deep-dish pan and want to make this recipe even faster, buy one of those large size "2 extra servings" pre-made graham cracker pie crusts.

CRUST
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

FILLING
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed is highly preferred
zest of one lemon
4 eggs
pinch of salt
Sweetened whipped cream and raspberries to decorate

Combine the butter and crumbs and mix well.

Press firmly into a pie pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Remove the zest from one lemon.  Squeeze one cup of lemon juice.  This is about 6 to 8 lemons, depending on their size and juiciness.

In a bowl combine the condensed milk, zest, juice, eggs and a pinch of salt.   Whisk together until  well combined and smooth.

Pour the filling into the pie crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 to 25 minutes.  The filling should be set and will jiggle slightly when you shake the pan.  Cool on the counter about 15 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to cool completely.

Decorate the pie with whipped cream and raspberries, or any berry of your choice.  Or just whipped cream if you like.

Lovely Lindsay with her Lemon Pie!

Guava!

I love tropical fruit.  There's just something about the intoxicating sweet perfume of fruit like guava, passion fruit and mango that instantly transports me to white sandy beaches and beautiful blue water.  My original inspiration for this dessert was a tart recipe in one of  Bobby Flay's cookbooks.  The first time I tried it I switched things up to make it in a bar form, much like a lemon bar.  For this incarnation I used a graham cracker crust in a tart pan because I really like them and they're just so easy to make.  And in case you're wondering if I'm cheating by making a tart, NO!  A tart is essentially just a flattened out pie so why the heck not!

Guava paste and cheese is a popular combination in some Latin American cuisines, often inside of little turnovers.  This is kind of an inside-out version, all tarted up to be fancy!  I think you'll enjoy the rich, orange-scented cheesecake filling topped with the sweet guava paste.  This would make an excellent dessert to finish off a meal with Latin flavors, or with tea or coffee and your best friends.

Guava Cheese Tart

I made this in an 11" tart pan with a removable bottom.

CRUST

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

6 Tb. unsalted butter, melted

FILLING

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

3 eggs

TOPPING

1/2 of a 21 oz. can of guava paste (you can find this at a Hispanic grocery store)

1/2 cup guava nectar

Combine your crust ingredients and mix well.

Press firmly into a greased 11-inch tart pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and let cool.

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a mixer bowl and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl often.

Add the vanilla and orange zest, beat to combine and keep scraping the bowl.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate each.  Scrape the bowl between each egg to make sure you get all the lumps.  The batter should be perfectly smooth.  Once all the eggs are mixed in, STOP BEATING!!  Otherwise your filling will have a grainy texture from too much air being incorporated.

Scrape the filling into the cooled crust and bake in a 350 degree oven for
approximately 20 minutes, until the filling is lightly puffed and jiggles slightly.

This is a 21 oz. can of guava paste.  Use half of it.  You can save the other half to eat with cheese.  I'll post another recipe with guava paste so it won't go to waste!

Melt the guava paste with the nectar in a saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk frequently until everything is smooth.

When the tart is done baking, let it rest for about 5 minutes then gently spread the warm glaze over the top, using an off-set spatula.  Be sure your glaze is warm when you do this, it thickens up very quickly as it cools and will tear your filling up if it is not warm enough.

Enjoy!

I finally give it up for my first post!

I make this peanut butter pie and I've always refused to share the recipe.  I first made the pie back in 2004 when I was a personal chef at an assisted living community.  It was a big hit with the little old folks.  I made the pie frequently when I was the summer chef at a dude ranch, and then again when I was a pastry chef on a train.  There is just something about this pie that causes people to go ape shit, in a good way.  It could be the fact that it contains chocolate and peanut butter, which go together like, well, chocolate and peanut butter.  I don't mean to brag, but the people love this pie.  Many have asked for the recipe and I have always refused to give up the goods because a woman has to have some secrets, ya know!!  So, I figure for the inaugural pie on my blog, it's only fitting that I finally give it up.  This recipe has never even been written down before today, or even measured for that matter!  So consider yourselves lucky, folks.

First, a note about my photos.  They suck.  Spare the comments, I know they suck.  I have no natural light in my kitchen and I don't really know how to use my camera.  And I'm extremely impatient and really wanted to get the pie up on the blog so I didn't take the time to carefully research, practice and plan.  Deal with it.  I'll get better, I promise.

Elisa's Practically Famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

I use a 9.5" glass pie pan

CRUST

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup sugar

FILLING

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided usage

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups heavy whipping cream

TOPPING

4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Additional sweetened whipped cream, optional

Combine all the crust ingredients and mix well.

                                        

Firmly press the crumbs into a pie pan.  I use a measuring cup.

                                     

Bake the crust for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

                                           

While your crust is cooling, make the filling and chocolate ganache topping.

Add the peanut butter and cream cheese in your mixer bowl.
Mix on medium speed until well combined.

Once combined, add 3 cups powdered sugar and the vanilla.
Turn the mixer on/off slowly so as not to create a cloud of sugar.

When the mixture is done it will look like cookie dough.
Scrape this into another bowl and clean out your mixer bowl so you can
whip the cream to stiff peaks with the remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Fold/smash/stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture.
Fold in the remaining cream and try to be semi-gentle with it
so as not to deflate the mixture.  Don't worry if you have some streaks.

To make the topping, add your chocolate and cream to a bowl over a pot
of simmering water.  When the chocolate is melted, whisk well to combine.

Add your filling to the cooled pie crust and smooth the top.

Decorate the top with the chocolate.  I used a squeeze bottle and
you can see where air bubbles caused it to splatter all over.
I call that a "homey touch."  Decorate with whipped cream if you like.

This is a very rich pie and I recommend cutting it into 8 to 12 slices.  Sit back and wait for the swooning!  You're welcome.