Egg Custard Pie

Egg Custard Pie

I love British cooking shows and none more than the baking shows which have always been my favorite, probably because I have been baking from a very early age. I have made a few versions of baked custard tarts and pies myself over the years, including my now famous and very easy Sour Cream Flan.

I saw this pie being baked on a competition show recently and knew I had to try a version of it myself. To me, it does have a bit of a Christmasy vibe because with all the cream, eggs and nutmeg included it is very reminiscent of eggnog. I'm actually keeping this one in mind for Christmas dinner next year, maybe served with a cranberry and clementine compote.

Pastry

This pastry recipe is sufficient for 2 pie shells but the second half of the pastry is easily formed into a flat round, wrapped tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and frozen for several weeks until you need it.

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (Very cold and cut in small cubes)
• 4-6 tbsp ice water + 1 tsp white vinegar

Pulse the cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt using a food processor or pastry cutter until the butter is reduced to pea sized pieces. Remove to a large bowl. Sprinkle the water and vinegar over the surface and toss with a fork until the water is just incorporated into the dough. Do not over work the dough; handle it only enough so that the dough stays together. 

Separate the dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic. Place in the fridge to chill well. You can freeze one for another time. Roll out into a 12 inch round and place into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate or tart pan being careful not to stretch the dough or it will shrink during baking. Trim the excess pastry from the edges and chill the pan for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil over the pastry in the pan and fill the pan with baking weights. If you don't have baking weights, dry kidney beans or rice will do in a pinch; anything that will weigh down the bottom pastry so that it doesn't puff up. Yo can reuse dry beans many time for blind baking so be sure to save them for that purpose.

Blind bake the pastry using baking weights for about 15 minutes, remove the baking weights and bake for another 10-15 minutes to crisp the bottom of the pie shell. Remove from oven while you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Filling:

In a small saucepan over low heat add:

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• pinch salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• the seed paste scraped from the onside of a small vanilla bean + the remaining vanilla pod

You want to heat this very slowly to almost boiling so the full flavor of the vanilla bean gets infused into the cream and milk. When heated remove the vanilla bean and set aside for a couple of minutes. (NOTE: In a pinch, 4 tsp of pure vanilla extract can be substituted for the vanilla bean.)

Whip together very well:

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

Slowly whisk in the hot milk a little at a time; too fast and you'll scramble the eggs. Remove from heat and pass the cream and egg mixture through a sieve into a large heat proof measuring cup or jug.

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Place the blind baked pie shell in its pan on a baking sheet. Pour in the cream and egg mixture until it has almost reached the top of the shell. Finely grate or sprinkle on a dusting of

• freshly grated nutmeg

Place the baking sheet in the oven. If you have a little more cream mixture to bring the level to the top of the crust, you can carefully pour that into the pan when it is in the oven to avoid spillage. It's perfectly okay if you have a little of the filling mixture left over, pan sizes do vary.

Bake for 60 -70 minutes. The top should be pale golden brown and the center swill still juggle a little at the center.

Remove from the oven and let cool to almost room temperature before transferring to the fridge to cool and set completely. This will take several hours or overnight. Serve with fresh berries or seasonal fruit salad.

Perfect Peach Pie

Perfect Peach Pie

Every year I look forward to making this pie. As a kid visiting southern Ontario on vacation with my family during peach season on the Niagara Peninsula, I remember stopping at roadside stands or even better a u-pick orchard, to get beautiful golden ripe peaches. Still warm from the summer sun, the sweet juice would run down your chin and neck as you bit into them. I fell in love with those peaches and every year look forward to peach season and the chance to make this amazing pie.

The pastry for the pie this year is a hybrid of two pastry recipes I often use. I sometimes struggle with the choice between butter pastry and the traditional shortening or lard based pie crusts I made as a kid. The butter pastry has great flavour but I still find I'm partial to  a super flaky shortening crust. In this case I decided to combine the two and I was very pleased with the result; buttery but still very flaky too.

You can adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe depending on the sweetness of the peaches. I don't like the filling in this pie to be overly sweet and overwhelm the natural flavor of the peaches. I hope to enjoy at least one more of these beautiful pies while summer peaches are still at their very best.

Perfect Peach Pie

For the pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ cup very cold butter cut in small cubes
• ½ cup very cold vegetable shortening cut in small cubes
• 1/3 cup ice water
• 2 tbsp white vinegar

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter and shortening into flour, brown sugar and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter and shortening should still be visible. Pour vinegar into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.

Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a deep 10 inch pie plate. Push the dough into the corners and ensure that it is not stretched at all or it will shrink from the edge. Trim dough to edge of plate.

Roll the remaining dough round into 12 inch square-ish shape and cut that into 8 equal strips for the lattice crust top.

For the filling combine:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 rounded tbsp corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• Toss this dry mixture with
• 8-10 cups fresh peaches, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Juice of half a lemon

Toss all together until well combined and pour into prepared pie plate.

Place the remaining pastry strips on top of the peach mixture, interweaving them to form a simple lattice pattern. Tuck the ends of the strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp with a fork or your fingers to seal the pastry together.

Chill the pie in the fridge for about 20 minutes to a half hour before placing it on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips from the filling) in a preheated 400 degree F oven. Bake for 45 minutes at that temperature before covering the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. 

Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 30- 45 minutes or until the filling bubbles at the center. Allow to cool on a wire rack at room temperature for at least a couple of hours before serving.

NOTE: If your lattice crust begins to get too brown after you have covered the edges with aluminum foil but before the filling is bubbling, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top during the last of the baking time if needed.

Walnut Brownie Pie

Walnut Brownie Pie

After previewing this recipe photo on our Facebook Page yesterday, we are rushing this recipe to publication today because it got such a great response there and folks were actually emailing me for the recipe. The truth is, this pie is just as good as it looks. Imagine a walnut brownie meets a pecan pie! 

I have to confess, I could not resist going to the fridge 3 times to cut little slivers of this pie. Little slivers can be quite satisfying with this very rich pie; it is just the sort of thing I would order for dessert in a restaurant where, at the end of a good meal it's rich sweetness could be appreciated slowly with a great cup of coffee. Those was one of my most successful pie experiments ever. I totally love this one!

Walnut Brownie Crust

Yes, this is an actual cookie crust and does make terrific Walnut Brownie Cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 extra large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2¼ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped walnuts

Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream the butter, vanilla extract and sugars well, before adding the eggs one at a time and beating until light and fluffy. Fold in the dry ingredients and when they are almost mixed in fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Try not to over mix the dough which will be quite stiff. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or so, then roll out to about a 10-12 inch round and place in a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. The dough is very forgiving so if it tears or cracks, just fill in any holes with scraps of dough and press them evenly into place. Make sure the dough is not stretched and is pushed well into the pan. Trim the edges of the dough.

 Filling

In a large bowl whisk together for 2-3 minutes until the brown sugar is dissolved:

4 large or extra large eggs (or 5 medium, or 6 small)
1 ½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups dark corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter

Stir in:

1 1/2 cups walnut halves

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 -50 minutes or until the center is set and jiggles like jelly. Cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Pudding Pie

Chocolate Pudding Pie

My son, who is 12 and my daughter, 14, are turning into able bakers in their own right. Both of them have no problem banging out a homemade chocolate cake, or a  batch of cookies or cupcakes. A couple of nights ago they announced they were going to make homemade chocolate pudding and that became the inspiration for their delicious Chocolate Pudding Pie. The pudding recipe is one I often used as a kid, which brought back memories of my early days in the kitchen as we all enjoyed this creamy chocolate pie.

Chocolate Crumb Crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Mix together:

1 1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

2 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Press evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch glass pie pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Chocolate Pudding Filling

In the microwave, scald almost to the boiling point:

2 1/2 cups whole milk

Sift together:

4 rounded tbsp flour

6 rounded tbsp cocoa

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

It is a good idea to run this mix through a sieve or flour sifter to ensure that there are no small lumps of cocoa in it.

Add the mixture to a medium sized pot over medium low heat and immediately add about 1/3 of the milk, stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to thicken, add another third of the milk and when that begins to thicken, add the final third of the milk. You have to stir this continuously during the cooking time. 

In a large measuring cup, whisk together 

3 egg yolks

Before adding the whisked egg yolks you have to temper them with some of the pudding to ensure they don't scramble and produce lumps. To do this, working as quickly as you can, remove from the heat and just add a ladle full of the pudding mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly then add them all at once back to the pudding mixture, still stirring the pudding constantly. Cook for another two to three minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour the hot pudding into the prepared pie crust and cool completely in the fridge. To prevent a "skin" from forming over the pudding as it cools, cover the surface of the pie with plastic wrap if you like.

When completely cooled and set, garnish the pie with vanilla whipped cream and grated chocolate before serving.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip all together until soft peaks form.

Frozen Key Lime Pie

Frozen Key Lime Pie

Here's a perfect cool summer dessert. I've seen many recipes for this pie but this is my own twist with a vanilla cookie crust and a little whipped cream folded into the mix to lighten up the texture even more. This doesn't freeze terribly hard at all so it is easy to cut and has a very refreshing creamy finish. The fact that it's frozen means that you can make it days in advance of any summer event. It would be terrific to take along to any summer barbeque that you get invited to; heck make one and you are sure to get several invites. Perfect to have in the freezer to for dessert at a moment's notice.

Line the bottom of a 10 inch spring-form pan and lightly grease the sides.

Mix together:

• 3 cups vanilla cookie crumbs ( I use Nilla cookies)
• 3/4 cup melted butter

Press into the bottom and about 3/4 up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F. Set aside to cool.

Whip to soft peaks:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 rounded tsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place, add

• 9 extra large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar

Whisk at high speed until  light, foamy and pale yellow in color, about 5 minute.

Slowly whisk in:

• Two 10 ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup lime juice
• zest of 3 limes finely minced

Gently fold in the previously whipped cream. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Freeze overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and lime slices before serving.

Perfect Pecan Pie

Perfect Pecan Pie

This is my favorite pie. I've been making it for 30 years or more and it is always on my table on Christmas Day as a treat for myself and  some other Pecan Pie lovers in my family. I am a bit of a nut nut I must admit which accounts for a large part of why I love it so much.

Although my love for this pie is well established, we have a very intermittent relationship because I simply cannot resist this one so I don't make it all that often. It is one of those desserts that I covet and uncharacteristically do not willingly share. If it is in the fridge, it calls to me and I find myself making several trips , knife in hand, to cut small slivers which I eat throughout the day. I would probably polish an entire pie off in two days in tiny slices if left to my own devices. Little slices don't count anyway....right? 

Perfect Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Pastry for 10 inch pie shell

Butter Pastry

• 1 cup very cold butter cut in small cubes
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water + 2tbsp white vinegar added (Only enough liquid to make a dough form.)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour, brown sugar and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible. Pour vanilla into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.

Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes.You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a 12 - 14  inch round and place in the bottom of a deep 10 inch pie plate. Push the dough into the corners and ensure that it is not stretched at all or it will shrink from the edge. Trim dough to a half inch past the edge of plate. Fold the ends under and finch with fingers or fork to shape the edges into whatever design you like best. Place in freezer while you prepare the filling.

Filling

In a large bowl whisk together for 2-3 minutes until the brown sugar is dissolved:

• 4 large or extra large eggs (or 5 medium, or 6 small)
• 1 ½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups dark corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Stir in:

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Bake for 40 -50 minutes or until the center is set and jiggles like jelly. Cool completely before serving.

Egg-free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Vegan)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I decided this year I would come up with a vegan pumpkin pie recipe (no dairy, no eggs) so Sam can enjoy it more than one time. I thought that adding flour to the pumpkin mixture in lieu of eggs would stick it together and give it the right texture. The hard part was figuring out exactly how much flour to use. I'm happy to say I have it just right in this recipe and the texture is spot-on. Also, the spice blend I came up with works perfectly with the pumpkin. This pie is super easy to make, and it smells heavenly while baking. I'm thrilled with how this pie turned out, and am looking foward to making it again for Thanksgiving.

Egg-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

1 small can of 100% pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 cup of Hemp milk or vegan milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin and milk and stir it all together until well-combined.

Make the pie crust dough. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, put the ball of dough in the middle, and lay another large piece of wax paper over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin circle larger than the pie pan. Spray the pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel the top piece of wax paper off, and invert the crust, centered, into the pie pan and remove the other piece of wax paper. Press the dough into place in the pie pan. Fold the edges of the dough that is hanging over back under itself along the edges of the pie pan and press the dough to the sides of the pie pan to make a nice crust.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling in the middle of the pie crust and use a spoon or spatula to move the filling to the sides of the crust.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let the pie cool for 2 hours before serving. Store the pie in the refrigerator.

Ice Cream Pie Cupcake Recipe

Happy Birthday, Sam! I made these wonderful "Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes" for Sam's birthday today. The idea to make these frozen cupcakes just came to me out of the blue, and I am very happy with how they turned out. The combination of the shortbread crust with vanilla ice cream and blackberry sorbet is so tasty. I've posted my recipes for the crust and sorbet previously, this is just a new way to put them together for a fun dessert.

Ice Cream Pie Cupcake Recipe

1 recipe of Vegan Shortbread (pie crust)
1 recipe of Blackberry Sorbet
1/2 pint of vanilla ice cream of your choice (I used Coconut Bliss vegan ice cream)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the Vegan Shortbread pie crust recipe. Instead of pressing the dough into a pie pan, spray 8 sections of a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, divide the dough into 8 pieces, and press the dough into each of the muffin sections to yield 8 mini crusts. Spray the mini crusts with more non-stick cooking spray and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them fully cool before adding the ice cream.

Let the ice cream sit out for 30 minutes or so to soften up before scooping and spreading the ice cream into the pie crust. Fill each pie crust to the top with ice cream. Put the muffin tray in the freezer to set while you make the sorbet.

Make the Blackberry Sorbet recipe. As soon as it is done, while it is still soft, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of sorbet and top the Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes with the sorbet like it is frosting. After "frosting" all of the cupcakes, put the muffin tray back in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.

When you're ready to serve them, slide a knife down into the side of a cupcake and it will pop right out of the muffin tin. You can serve the cupcakes on a plate and just pick them up like a regular cupcake to eat, or you can put them in small custard cups and eat them with a fork. Makes 8 Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe (Vegan)

Many years ago I created this pie recipe when I needed a dessert for a holiday meal. The addition of Allspice to the pie filling really adds great flavor. I always use frozen berries to make this pie, and the consistency of the filling comes out perfect every time. The picture above is a mixed berry pie with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries in it.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe

2 - 12 oz. bags of frozen unsweetened mixed berries (24 oz. or 1-1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 2 cups of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Top with Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the oven rack where you are going to bake the pie just in case any of the filling runs over.

In a medium sauce pan add the frozen berries, sprinkle the sugar and the flour evenly over the berries, and add the Allspice and the salt. Turn the heat onto Medium and gently stir everything together. Continue to stir the berries over Medium heat constantly for about 5 minutes until it is well mixed and the filling has a nice consistency.

Make the pie crust dough and divide it in half. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, form half of the dough into a ball and set it in the middle of the wax paper. Take another large piece of wax paper and cover the ball and roll it out into a large circle between the wax paper pieces that is bigger than your pie pan.

Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Remove the top piece of wax paper, and invert the rolled out pie crust over the pie pan and peel the wax paper off it. Use your fingers to gently press the crust into the pie pan and let the edges hang over the sides. Pour the pie filling into the crust.

Form the second half of the dough into a ball and set it on the wax paper again, cover it with the other piece of wax paper, and roll it into a circle large enough to cover the top of the pie with edges hanging over. Remove the top piece of wax paper and make a few slits into the pie crust. Once again, invert the pie crust over the pie to cover it evenly and peel away the wax paper. Press the two crust edges together and roll them under and just inside the edge of the pie pan. After you've done that around the whole pie, use a fork to gently press the crust to the edges of the pie pan all around the pie. Top the pie with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let it cool before serving it.