I made that!

For the record, I am so tired of listening to myself talk about how tired I am. Lately it is so hard finding the inspiration to get into the kitchen and cook. Which is weird, because it is prime baking weather: dark, grey, wet. I should be tearing the kitchen apart. But instead (when not tearing up Delancey’s kitchen), I find myself slouched in front of the TV watching reruns of 90210. But a couple of days ago, I was hit hard (thanks Huong!) with an idea: homemade pop tarts. Bite-sized fruit-filled flakey happiness. OK, I know traditional pop tarts aren’t flakey, but if I’m gonna recreate, why not improve? Since it’s apple season galore in Washington, I decided to go with that as a filling.

I made a pie dough using the smear technique, making butter chunks a little smaller than usual. My goal was to have a flakey dough, but to keep the flakes a little tight. I also wanted to keep the apple filling really bright, so I decided to put the cinnamon (because you can’t have apple pop tarts without cinnamon) in the dough.

While my dough rested in the fridge, I started working on the apple filling. I diced the apples up pretty small in hopes of having a flatter pop tart.

Then I sauteed them in butter, sugar and vanilla. After they started to take on a bit of color I poured in some apple cider. I cooked them on medium high heat, until the cider reduced to a glaze. I poured the cooked apples on a tray and placed them in the fridge to cool.

I rolled the dough pretty thin (slightly under 1/8″) and sliced it into squares. I piled some apples onto half of the squares.

I cinched the two pieces together with a fork and poked holes in the top. I brushed butter on and popped them into the oven.

I baked them until they were golden brown and let them cool while I made the glaze. Which was hard because they smelled like pure heaven.

I poured on a glaze of powdered sugar and apple cider and let it set up. And then me and John tore into these little flake bombs. He says they remind him more of toaster strudels, but I will admit that I have never experienced one of those. Either way, I am very excited that I finally got my butt back in the kitchen. Because these guys were worth it.

APPLE POP TARTS RECIPE:

Dough:

9 oz pastry flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

6 oz cold butter, chopped

3 oz water

- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Dump onto pastry board.

- Place half of the butter on the flour mixture. Using a bench scraper, cut the butter into the flour until it is pea sized chunks.

- Place the other half of the butter onto the flour mixture. Using the bench scraper, cut the rest of the butter into the flour until it is in bean sized chunks.

- Use fingers to flick the water into the flour mixture while tossing it around with the bench scraper. Keep sprinkling until it comes together in a shaggy pile. It should hold together as a dough when pinched.

- Using the heel of your hand, smear the dough on the pastry board. This creates sheets of butter in the flour, which turns into gorgeous flakes in the oven.

- Smash the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic and place it in the fridge to rest.

Filling:

3 medium apples, diced into 1/4″ pieces

2 oz butter

1/2 vanilla bean

2 TBSP sugar

1/2 apple cider

- Heat the butter  and vanilla bean seeds in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and sugar and cook until the apples start to take on a bit of color.

- Add the cider and cook over medium high heat until the cider reduces to a glaze.

- Spread the apples on a sheet pan and place in fridge to cool.

Assemble and bake:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

- Roll out the dough and slice into squares.

- Spoon piles of apples onto half of the squares.

- Cinch edges together with a fork and poke holes in top.

- Brush on melted butter and bake until golden brown.

- Cool.

Glaze:

- Mix 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of apple cider. Whisk together and pour into cooled pop tarts.

This one had me with the oat wheat crust. I know, not a typical starting point for feeling giddy about butterscotch, but I was so intrigued. Oats in a pate brisee? With brown sugar? And whole wheat flour? It sounded like a divine mess and I had to have it.

I was so smitten that I even did the unthinkable (in my dough snobbery world), I pulsed the dough in the food processor. Sin! But I was feeling it. It was what the authors said to do, so I was trusting them. Just this once. And I have to say it was a little tricky. I err on the side of large butter chunks, and was nervous about pulverizing the beautiful oats. But this recipe doesn’t have a lot of liquid. Translation: if I didn’t incorporate the butter well, the dough would be dry. And it was. So here’s what I learned: Next time I will put half of the butter in the machine with the flour, sugar and salt. I will work that in really well to coat the flour. I will then add the rest of the butter and oats and just barely pulse those in to give me the texture I want. I will also use pastry flour next time, because I found the crust to be not quite as tender as I like.

Since my dough was a tad dry, it was a bit of a pain to press into the shells, but I got there eventually.

While the shells were relaxing in the fridge, I got to work on the butterscotch pudding. The other thing that made my ears perk up about this recipe was the pudding. Most butterscotch recipes just have you cooking brown sugar and butter until it takes on a caramelly flavor. Not this one, here you actually MAKE a caramel sauce and then blend that into a brown sugar and milk mixture. And the depth of flavor was so awesome! And vanilla bean, I am such a fan of real vanilla beans in lieu of vanilla extract. Oh my lord, it was pure torture not drinking the entire batch.

But I didn’t. I went back to the crusts, which by now had spent 30 minutes in the freezer to prep them for the oven. The instructions for this dough said to bake it for 12 minutes, but that was SO not long enough. I think I ended up baking these for 25 minutes to get a good brown. This was key, the caramelization of the brown sugar in the dough is what balanced out the oaty wheaty-ness. The recipe also said to bake them at 325, I’m thinking that they MUST have been talking about a convection oven, because that just doesn’t make sense. I ended up going with 350. I was a bit disappointed that once baked the shells developed not so tiny cracks on their bottoms.

Since giant holes are not good for puddingy fillings, I painted the insides with melted chocolate. This created a nice seal and in the end made for a nice counterpoint in the overall flavor.

And oh yes, we were some happy little campers when these puppies arrived on the table for dessert. While I will definitely adjust some of the technique for next time, I LOVED the flavor of these.  The oaty flavor of the crust went so well with the sweetness of the filling. It sounds weird, but the combination reminded me of wheaties cereal. In a good way. Love it.

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING TARTS RECIPE (adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking):

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup pastry flour

¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ tsp salt

6oz cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¼ cup whole milk

- Put the flours, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add half of the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are small and the dough looks crumbly, like coarse sand. Add the rolled oats and the rest of the butter in and pulse until the butter is mixed in, but still in decent sized chunks.

- Add the milk and pulse for a few seconds. Add a tad more milk if the dough is still dry.

- Scoop the dough out of the food processor and form it into a large disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

- Dust a work surface with flour. Unwrap the disk of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Cut the dough into eight equal pieces, about 2 1/2 ounces each, and gently shape each piece into a smooth disk. The dough will be sticky. Make sure to turn the dough over as needed and keep the working surface floured. Put the dough disks in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

- Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch round just over 1/8-inch thick. Place a round over a 4-inch tart pan and very gently press the dough into the pan. Trim off the excess. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds. Use any excess dough trimmings to make a ninth tart shell or freeze for another time.

- Preheat the oven to 350F.

- Put the tart pans in the freezer for 30 minutes.

- Remove the tarts from the freezer, then arrange on a baking sheet and gently prick the dough with a fork.

- Bake on the baking sheet until golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time. Start checking for doneness after 20 minutes.

- Transfer the tart pans to wire racks and let cool completely.

- If there are large cracks in the shells you can paint them with melted chocolate to seal the crust.

For the Butterscotch Pudding:

6 large egg yolks

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup heavy cream

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted

1 tsp salt

3 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean

2 TBSP unsalted butter

- Put the egg yolks in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.

- In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water and stir gently with a heatproof spatula. Brush down the sides of the pan to melt any loose sugar crystals. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, then increase the heat to medium-high heat and cook until the mixture begins to turn dark amber color. Swirl the pan, if necessary, to create an even color, but do not stir. Remove from heat and use the heatproof spatula to stir in the cream. Pour the caramel into small bowl. Set aside.

- In another small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk and whisk to combine.

- Add the seeds from the vanilla bean and the vanilla bean pod. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the caramel. Whisk together until combined, then slowly pour one third of the mixture over the eggs, whisking continually. Keep whisking the egg mixture and add another third of the hot milk mixture. Transfer the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the milk minute and, whisking the whole time, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 3-4 minutes, or until very thick and a bit darker in color.

-Remove from the heat and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute to cool the pudding slightly. Let the pudding sit for about 15 minutes.

- Now that the pudding has cooled a tad, add the butter. This will keep the butter from losing it’s emulsion as it melts.

- Chill the pudding in the fridge for an hour, to thicken it. Stir every 10 minutes or so to release the heat.

- Whisk the pudding one more time until smooth. Divide the pudding equally among the tart shells and put them in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving. When ready to serve, garnish with some chantilly cream and chocolate shavings.

Ahhhh…Thanksgiving. I just love Thanksgiving. The whole ritual of spending a whole day (sometimes 2! sometimes 3!) planning and creating a meal to eat with your loved ones, it just makes me glow. Like everyone, I have my traditions, particularly in the pie department. But this year I decided to try something new. I had bought this can of Lyle’s Golden Syrup ages ago, in a sentimental moment (it was big in Australia). I, of course, never used it because, well, it’s British and I don’t have any British cookbooks. Several years ago a peanut pie recipe caught my eye. I mentally bookmarked it, but never found the right time to make it. It’s funny, I’ll try all kinds of things with cakes, but I tend to get a little rigid with pies. They’re just SO much work! But anyways, this year I decided would be the one, the year I made peanut pie for Thanksgiving instead of pecan pie. It was a bold move. John was terrified since he feels a deep and personal connection with my pecan pie. I almost backed down, until I ran across a recipe for a peanut pie that called for golden syrup. It was basically a sign. So I made it.

First I pre-baked a shell. I tossed some dry roasted peanuts inside.

Then I made the goo filling, which I poured on top of the nuts.

And then I baked it for 45 minutes or so, until it was set in the middle. To be honest, I wasn’t totally in love with this pie. It kind of tasted like a Baby Ruth candy bar. After years of oohing and aahing at the idea of peanut pie, I had some serious expectations. But in the end, I had a hard time fighting off the “I’d rather be eating my pecan pie” feelings. But then again, I make a mean pecan pie.

NORTH CAROLINA PEANUT PIE RECIPE (adapted from Scratch Bakery):

1 fully baked pie crust

1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 vanilla bean

2 TBSP all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3 large eggs

1 cup golden syrup

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts

- Preheat oven to 350.

- Rub seeds from vanilla bean into brown sugar to break up clumps.

- Whisk brown sugar, flour, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in medium bowl.

- Whisk eggs in another medium bowl to blend.

- Add brown sugar mixture to eggs.

- Add golden syrup, apple cider vinegar and melted butter to eggs and whisk to blend.

- Pour peanuts in pie crust. Pour in filling.

- Bake pie until filling is set, about 40 minutes.

This was my 3rd pie for PreThanksgiving: A browned butter pecan pie. I made this one because according to John, it would be mean to NOT make it. I think it’s safe to say that this is HIS favorite pie. I start this pie the same as the others, by fully pre-baking the crust. Since my dough puffs up quite a bit when baking, I hold it down by placing inside a cake pan filled with beans (and I think there’s some rice in there too) on top of a parchment circle.

Once baked and cooled I pour in some pecans that I roughly chopped, since it helps the pie slice a little neater.

Then comes the gooey filling. I take pride in this recipe, I’ve tweaked and tweaked it until I think it’s just the right balance of sweetness, saltiness and nuttiness. They key is in the browned butter, which I think adds depth.

Then I pour the filling onto the pecans.

And since it is thickened with eggs a custard, I bake it at 350 instead of the higher heat some recipes call for. It’s finished when it just starts to show signs of cracking, and when it feels firm in the middle.

BROWNED BUTTER PECAN PIE RECIPE:

1 single crust pie pastry

4 oz unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 vanilla bean

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

- Roll out pastry into a 12-13 inch circle, transfer and center into 9 inch pie pan. Place in freezer for 20 minutes.

- Line with foil, fill with weights (dried beans) and then bake in 400 degrees oven for about 20 minutes, or until beginning to brown and look set. Lower temperature to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and continue baking for another 10-20 minutes, until fully baked. Set on wire rack to cool.

- Using a shiny skillet or saucepan to melt the butter over medium heat. Stir butter and keep an eye on it as you wait for it to brown. You want the butter to be a good dark brown, but you need to catch it before it burns. Use your nose as your guide, it well smell nutty as it begins to brown. Once browned, transfer butter to a bowl to let cool slightly.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use fingers to rub seeds from vanilla bean into brown sugar, breaking up any clumps. Combine eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well to blend. Add the browned butter and whisk again until evenly combined.

- Place the nuts in the cooled pie shell and pour in the filling.

- Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the filling, including the center, is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate pie 180 degrees about halfway through. When done, the pie will have puffed slightly and developed cracks around the perimeter.

- Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly.

This is about my second (and favorite!) pie for PreThanksgiving this year: Ginger Almond Pear Pie. While most people gravitate to the sweeter fall pies, the fruit pies always get my vote. I am a freak for pear pie, and the addition of ginger and vanilla bean takes pear to a whole other level.

I started (as always) with a fully baked crust. Then I chopped up my pears. I like them pretty large, so they don’t turn to mush when baked. I tossed the pear chunks with sugar, the seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean, some shredded fresh ginger, cinnamon and cornstarch. I stuffed those into the pie crust, keeping in mind that they will lose about 50% of their volume when baked and cooled.

I then covered the spiced pears with some almond crisp topping that I had waiting for me in the freezer.

Then I baked it until the topping was browned and the pears were bubbling, which was about an hour. Once again, I don’t have a photo of the slice, but it was a mighty fine pie.

Nut Crisp Topping
 Recipe:

7 oz AP flour

3 oz brown sugar

3 oz sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cups ground nuts

6 oz cold butter, cut into cubes

- Stir the dries together.

- Add the butter and mix in with your fingers. As the butter warms up, the mixture will begin to come together with a crumbly, but not sandy texture.

- Store in freezer until ready to be baked.

Every year, right around this time, something wonderful takes place. My friends gather for OUR version of Thanksgiving – without the family squabbles, awkward conversation and mediocre food. We call it PreThanksgiving, the idea being to celebrate right before everyone shuffles off to their families. I’m the proud owner of a giant deep fryer, which is where John shows the turkeys what’s what. Friends show up bearing delicious side dishes (people in San Francisco can COOK!) and before the night finishes there will be at least 2 and if we’re lucky all of the following events: an impromptu dance party, a food fight, kings cup, a piñata, a flip cup championship and music performances of songs written about each other.

My role in all of this: the pie, of course. I fancy myself a bit of a pie ninja, so there’s pressure to deliver something special each year. I usually make 3 pies: a pumpkin pie, a nut pie and a fruit pie. This year my pumpkin pie was the wild card, a pretty complicated construction consisting of 3 layers of pumpkin custard, crème fraîche whipped cream and a pumpkin caramel mousse.

First step: roasting a pumpkin. Pretty simple, I just sliced it in half, scooped out the seeds, placed it cut side down on a tray with a bit of water and let it roast until it was soft (about an hour). Then I scoop out the flesh from the skin, purée it and let the water drain out.

Then there’s my crust. I don’t make pie too often, since I get kinda geeky with it and my crust alone is a bit of effort. I’m a firm believer in baking the crust all the way through, to avoid any soggy pie unpleasantness.

While the crust was cooling I prepared my first layer, the pumpkin custard. This recipe (Sherry Yard, 2 for 2!) called for pumpkin purée, spices, sour cream, egg and cream.

I baked the custard in the crust until it set.

I let that cool and then whipped some cream, crème fraîche and maple syrup until it was pretty stiff. I spread that on the custard layer and popped it in the fridge to chill while I got to work on the 3rd layer.

I started by making a caramel.

I mixed spices, brown sugar, pumpkin purée and gelatin into the caramel and let it cool.

Then I whipped up some meringue and cream, folding each into the caramel mixture to form the mousse.

I topped the pie with the mousse and let it chill some more in the fridge. Sadly, I don’t have a picture of the slice, so you can’t see all the pretty layers (another reason to make it yourself!). Once unveiled, this pie didn’t stand a chance of surviving PreThanksgiving Day intact.

TRIPLE SILKEN PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE (Sherry Yard):

Pumpkin custard layer:

Dough for 1 (9-inch) pie crust

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup  pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons brandy

- Roll out pastry into a 12-13 inch circle, transfer and center into 9 inch deep dish pie pan. Trim edges and place in freezer for 20 minutes.

- Line with foil, fill with weights (dried beans) and then bake in 400 degrees oven for about 20 minutes, or until beginning to brown and look set. Lower temperature to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and continue baking for another 10-20 minutes, until fully baked. Set on wire rack to cool.

- Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar, pumpkin, sour cream, heavy cream and brandy.

- Pour the mixture into the springform pan on top of the cooled pastry. Cover the pan with buttered aluminum foil and bake until the custard is just set, about 1 hour.

- Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature.

Whipped cream layer:

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup creme fraiche

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons maple syrup

- Combine the heavy cream and creme fraiche in a large mixing bowl and beat until it starts to thicken and swell. Add the sugar and maple sugar and continue beating until stiff.

- Spread in an even layer on top of the pumpkin custard and refrigerate.

Caramel pumpkin mousse:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin

3/4 cup plain pumpkin puree

3 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 tablespoons sugar

- Place  2 tablespoons water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir, then let it sit for 1 minute.

- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a mixing bowl. In a heavy saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and the lemon juice and cook over high heat until the mixture turns a caramel color.

- Remove the caramel from the stove and stir the brown sugar mixture into it. Add the softened gelatin and stir to dissolve. Whisk in the canned pumpkin and set aside to cool.

- Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they foam. Add the cream of tartar. Continue to beat, adding the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar in a slow, steady stream. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny, about 2 minutes.

- Lighten the warm pumpkin mixture by folding in one-third of the beaten egg whites. Pour the remaining egg whites over the top and carefully fold them into the pumpkin mixture using a rubber spatula. Fold in the whipped cream.

- Carefully pour the mixture over the whipped cream layer and smooth the top. Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.

8. To serve, gently unmold the pie from the pan and set it on a plate. Garnish with additional whipped cream if desired.

I am stubborn. While my chocolate strawberry pie soup was certainly delicious, I want a pie. A pretty pie that slices and everything. It can be gooey and messy, I just want a piece of it to be lifted out of its comfy circular mother pie and onto a plate. For me. And my friends. Is that asking so much? So I’m trying again. Retaliation for Sunday’s failures. But I’m changing it up a bit. No more chocolate pudding, instead a nice pink strawberry pastry cream. I’m not too tough to go pink. Pink pie. There, I said it. I like pink pie.

It pretty much started the same as the other pie. First up, I needed to make my crust. I tend to make a lot of pie dough each time, and then portion it into chunks that I keep in the freezer. This makes it much harder to make up reasons for NOT making a pie on a whim. So today all I had to do was thaw my dough out and bake it.

Then I brushed it with melted chocolate, so that once cooled,  it would protect my crispy crust from the ooey gooey pinkness coming it’s way.

Then, the pinkness. My plan was to blend some pureed strawberries into a thick pastry cream, so I needed to get my berries ready. I made a compote by cooking chopped strawberries with some sugar for 7-8 minutes.

I let that cool down, then pureed it and strained out the seeds and chunky bits.

Then I made a pastry cream, a really thick one (I said I want a slice…).

And then I swirled in my pureed strawberries.

And poured it into my pie shell!

Man, that is pink. I popped the pie into the fridge to firm up a bit before tossing on some sliced strawberries.

And now I wait. Tonight I will devour you and all your pinkness!

RECIPE:

1 pie shell

2 oz good dark chocolate

2 ¼ cups milk

1 vanilla bean

7 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

3 TBSP flour

3 TBSP cornstarch

12 oz strawberries, hulled and chopped

¼ cup sugar

2-3 pints strawberries, hulled and chopped

2-3 TBSP sugar

1 cup cream

1 TBSP cream

- Blind bake pie shell. Cool.

- Melt chocolate. Brush onto inside of baked pie shell.

- Put milk in pot. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk and bring to an almost boil. Let steep for 20 minutes.

- In another pot cook 12 oz strawberries with ¼ cup sugar for 6-8 minutes. Cool and puree.

- Mix sugar, salt, flour and cornstarch, Whisk in egg yolks.

- Temper milk into egg yolk mixture.

- Pour back into pot and cook, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly. Taste to make sure cornstarch is cooked.

- Blend strawberry puree into pastry cream.

- Pour into cooked pie shell.

- Let sit in fridge for an hour to set.

- Macerate 2-3 pints strawberries with 2-3 TBSP sugar. Pour over filled pie.

- Let sit in fridge for a few hours.

- When ready to serve, whip cream with 1 TBSP sugar and spread onto pie.

Are you ready to get messy? This post is a reminder that we all make mistakes. And as long as those mistakes still taste good, who really cares? I do, because I’m a perfectionist, but I don’t think anyone else at dinner tonight did.

This pie is a spin on a family tradition. In the south, chocolate pudding pie is king. Every family has their recipe, and of course, everyone thinks theirs is the best.  I’ve made this one for years, and I’m pretty confident it’s a winner. Traditionally, in my family, it’s just a crust, some chocolate pudding and some meringue. I like to wait for strawberry season so I can throw some strawberries on top. Today I traded out the meringue for some whipped cream.

It all started out like any other pie: with a perfectly baked flaky pie crust. Crust so flaky I could see the butter boiling in the translucent flakes when I pulled it out of the oven.

Then I smeared in some melted dark chocolate. The melted chocolate forms a shell to protect the crust from the wet filling. I’m a bit of a crust Nazi, you won’t find any soggy crusts in my kitchen!

Once the chocolate covered crust spent a enough time in the fridge for the chocolate to firm back up, I poured in some chocolate pudding. This is where I started getting nervous. I had made the chocolate pudding an hour earlier, so it should have firmed up by then. But it didn’t. Ouch. I thought “maybe it just needs a little more time in the fridge…” I had my suspicions. I was pretty sure I had gone a little light on the flour that thickens the pudding. But denial is a powerful thing.

So I let that hang out in the fridge for a few hours, to get nice and firm. Except it didn’t get nice and firm.It’s possible that it was a tad thicker than earlier, but firm it was most definitely not. But what was I supposed to do? I had dinner guests and those dinner guests wanted PIE. John’s mom was in town and I was hoping to throw down with some mad skills. I don’t just make pudding pies EVERY DAY. And this ain’t no JELLO pie either! So there was no turning back, so I just went with it. I dumped the strawberries on and watched them sink like titanic wreckage into the depths of my beautifully, glossy chocolate goo.

I figured I might as well own it, so I whipped up some cream to throw on top as well.

I was prepared for a structural failure. When it’s time to be presented came, I placed it ever so gently into a baking pan. We all ooohed and aaahed at it’s beauty. And then I crushed it with one quick slice of the pie trowel. We ate in bowls, and eventually ended up just digging into the pan with our spoons. It wasn’t pretty, but I have to admit, it was mighty tasty. And even submerged in a sea of chocolate soup, my crust was fantastic.