[Pumpkin Cream Pie] A perfect pie for Fall & Thanksgiving

I don't exactly know how to explain, but I like the pumpkin pie that doesn't have strong pumpkin taste. It still needs to have a taste and scent of pumpkin, but it shouldn't be very distinctive.

 

 The pumpkin pie I like should have only a vague scent of pumpkin spice, but shouldn't be strong. It also would have sweetness which is a must-have virtue for a pie. :D

Not too surprisingly, Mr. D and my kids also share the same taste for the pumpkin pie.

However, it is not easy to find such a pie recipe.

 

I've tried many different pumpkin pie recipes, only to find the right one in 2008.

 

Since then, I've stuck to this recipe.

You should try it!

If you are a fan of a pumpkin pie, but not of its strong flavour,

you should try this recipe.

You may shout "Eureka", just like I did! ;D

 

It's a pumpkin season and perfect time to bake a pumpkin pie.

I baked it last weekend, for a Thanksgiving dessert, and another one the night before yesterday.

 

For a flaky pie dough, see the recipe here:

 

Here goes the recipe for the Pumpkin Cream Pie:

(Adapted from Everyday Food, November 2008)

 

For the pie:

1 single basic pie crust

(see the recipe here)

1 can (15 ouncs = 440 ml) pure pumpkin purée

2 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup light-brown sugar

1+1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

 

for the topping:

1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

 

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven t 400 Fahrenheit (= 200 Celcius).

 

2. On a floured surface, roll dough to a 14-inch round with a rolling pin.

 

3. Wrap dough around rolling pin, and unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.

Gently fit into the plate.

 

4. Using thmb and forefinger, crimp rim of crust.

 

5. T blind-bake, fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights.

Bake until edge of crust is firm, about 20-30 minutes.

 

6. Remove beans and foil, and let crust cool completely.

 

7. Reduce heat to 350 Fahrenheit(=180 Celcius).

 

 

8. Make filling: In a bowl, whisk together pumpkin purée, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and salt.

 

9. Whisk in cream.

 

10. Pour pie filling mixture into cooled crust.

 

11. Wrap the crust with foil or a pie ring, not to brown the crust.

 

12. Bake until filling is set, about an hour.

 

13. Let cool on a wire rack for an hour before refregirating the pie.

 

Make topping:

 

14. Place 3 tablespoons cold water in a saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin, andleft soften,about 5 minutes.

 

 

Place pan over very low heat; stir until gelatin dissolves, and let cool slightly.

 

15. Using an electric mixter, beat cream and sugar until very soft peaks form.

 

16. While beating, slowly add gelatin mixture, and continue to beat until soft peaks from. .

17. Wth a spatula, mound topping in centre of chilled pie.

 

18. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

 

Sprinkle more cinnamon before serving.

 

It has lots of steps, only bcecasue of the steps for the pie crust.

Once you make pie crust, you are 70% or more, to bake an excellent pie.

 

This pumpkin pie is creamy and sweet.

You can have a taste of fall on your palate.

I know you will like it. ;)

 

 

 

Pumpkin Cream Pie

 

 

[Tarte Tatin - Upside Down Apple Pie] Single-Crust Apple Pie made with a cast iron pan

Cake and bread, or baked goods in general, are a "must' in my daily life.

Have you had a day without bread or any type of carbohydrate?

I have tried both Atkins and Dukan diets once each. Atkins for two weeks when I was 25.
I felt miserable. I was not hungry, but felt unsatisfied all the time.
If you stayed out of carb for a few days, you would know what I mean here.
I was not hoping for a big loss. I didn't want to be the biggest loser either. I just wanted to lose 5 pounds, or 7 pounds to look ambitious.
Guess how much I lost after two full weeks of depreviation of carbohydrate. I lost exactly 2 pounds. Can you imagine how much I was disappointed? I had to turn my back from morning toast, baguette, or pasta, you name it, for 14 days to lose only 2 pounds?
I had seen many people who were so successful in shedding two-digit pounds.
Then, look what happened to me. I was religiously following the rule and scheme, to let you know. Darn...
I learned that depreviation of carb would not work, at least for me, after such a painful two weeks.

And then, beginning of 2011,
there was a royal spin of French Dukan diet.
As it seems very effective, I forgot conveniently how my body was mute when I endured Atkins diets more than 10 years before.
I tried hard on Dukan diet.
I had hated 5 pounds stuck with me since the end of my second pregnancy.
Well, if you want to try Dukan diet,
I tell you now. Compared to the Dukan diet, Atkins diet is a piece of cake.
After 7 days on the diet, I did not lose a pound.
I truly admire people who are persistent with the diet.
The diet forbids everything totally reasonable and healthy, e.g. vegetables.

So, I swear that I gave up no carb diet for my life.
And I bake at least once a week as usual.


And I am not so proud to say, but I am a carb lover.
And I love baked desserts, of which my favorite is apple pie.
I prefer having two slices of a single-crusted pie to enjoying only one slice of a double-crusted pie.

As an apple-pie-holic, I baked a tarte Tatin for Easter dessert.
 This tarte Tatin is a rare and unique single-crusted apple pie.

There are a few different versions of history how the this world-famous tarte Tatin was created by accident.
However, my favorite version is the following:
  

According to legend, this dessert would be born in Lamotte-Beuvron in Sologne, France: sisters Stephanie (1838-1917) and Caroline Tatin (1847-1911) ran a restaurant there, which still exists under the name of "hotel-restaurant Tatin ",  One Sunday evening, while preparing an apple pie for a meal of hunters, one of the sisters let apples burn, by accident. She decided to add the pie dough on top of the pan of apples,and put the tart in the oven. Hunters loved this pie, which became the tarte Tatin. (source: http://faqfrc.free.fr/tatin.htm)


Thanks to the Tatin sisters' mistake over 100 years ago, we can enjoy a fabulous single-crusted apple pie. :)
It's so easy to make, and ingredients are very simple.

Here goes the recipe:


Ingredients
1 single pie crust dough
(refer to the recipe here)
7-9 medium size apples
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Cup sugar
A pinch of cinnamon

How to make
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Peel and core the apples. Cut into 4-6 pieces.

3. Place butter in a 9" cast iron pan and melt in the preheated oven.

4. Pull the pan out of the oven, and pour sugar in the pan.

5. Caramelize the butter and sugar on low-medium heat.

You need to be careful not to burn the melted sugar +

butter mixture. Cook until the caramel is well colored.

6. Arrange the apples in the pan.

7. Cover the pan with aluminium foil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until apples get tender.

8. Meanwhile, quickly roll the pastry into a circle a smidge bigger than the diameter of the pan.

9. Remove the pan from the heat and wait until the caramel stops bubbling, then place the pastry on top,

pushing down on the edges to cover the apples and crimp the edges inside the rim of the pan.

10. Using a paring knife, cut a + vent on top of dough.

11. Place the pan in the oven and bake about 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is nicely browned.

12. Leave the pie in the pan for about 10 minutes, until it's not too hot to deal with.

Run a knife along the rim of  the pie.

13. Now flipping time~ believe me. It's not difficult at all. Flip the frying pan over onto a large plate.

Slowly lift the frying pan off the tart. Usually all the apples drop onto the pastry, if not, you can place them and scrape any remaining caramel from the pan onto the tart.

Serve it warm or room temperature. Any temperature will be a right temperature.

We didn't have any vanilla ice cream left, but a slice of warm tarte tatin with a scoop of vanilla ice cream will bring you to a paradise. :)

Enjoy the sweetness.

Tarte Tatin





[Sugar pie] Staple dessert pie from Quebec

Pre-post Confession: I have an uber sweet tooth.

One of my favorite dessert is pie with buttery crust!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The most joyful part of visiting a sugar bush is the specialty meal AND a slice of sugar pie for dessert.

La tarte au sucre, or sugar pie, is a typical dessert from Québec, but also from Western Europe including France, and also from Amish country in Pennsylvania. Amish sugar pie is called Shoofly pie.

Well of course, I bake sugar pie at home too, because of the simple reason.

I love pie. I love buttery pie crust and sweet pie filling. I also love savory pie too.

There are 101 reasons for me to bake pie.

Nonetheless, no matter what,

 I always expect to have a big slice of sugar pie when I go to a sugar bush breakfast.

Until this year, there had not been one sugar bush that disappointed me in that aspect.

And this year, Chez Ti-mousse lost lots of points to me and the major reason was that they didn't serve sugar pie for dessert. I was disheartened. :(

I was more disappointed more because I had been dreaming of it.

To boost my dessert spirit, I am decided to post Sugar pie recipe.

I baked three sugar pies for last 3 months. Maybe it is time to refrain myself from baking another sugar pie for a couple of months.

The above one was to bring it to work. That was why the pie was cut into so many slices ;)

This is a fool proof recipe.

Martha (Stewart)'s pie crust recipe is the best pie crust recipe I always use and sugar pie filling recipe is adapted from Quebec recipes site: http://www.recettes.qc.ca/

Sugar pie is a luscious dessert that will boost your mood.

It works really well even or especially when you are made about something!

Here goes the recipe:

First, recipe for pie crust~

Ingredients

(for two single crusts)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

First,

How to make an easy pie crust:

1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine.

2. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

3. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time).

Don't overprocess.

4. Transfer half of dough crumble onto a piece of plastic wrap.

Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick;

Wrap tightly in plastic.

Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days.

You can freeze it up to 4-6 weeks.

I usually make a night before.

Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 2 disks.

Once pie crust is ready,

Sugar pie filling is very easy to make.

Here goes the Sugar pie recipe:

(adapted from http://www.recettes.qc.ca/recettes/recette.php?id=1168 )

Ingredients

2 Cups brown sugar

5 teaspoons all-purpose flour

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, room temperature

1 Cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 single pie crust (see below for the recipe)

How to make

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 180 degrees Celcius).

2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one piece of pie crsut dough into large round,

about 1/8 inch thick.

Roll dough around rolling pin, and place over a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.

3. Line plate with dough, pressing it into the corners.

Fold the overhang under so the crust is flush with the edge of the pie plate and flute the edges.

Trim dough to within 1 inch of the pie plate.

Use your knuckle and finger tips to make frills. :)

Now pie crust is ready :)

You need evaporated milk (unsweetened) to make filling.

5. In a medium size bowl, combine flour and sugar.

 6. Stir in evaporated milk, melted butter, egg, salt and vanilla.

As I mentioned above, please use an egg at room temperature. If you use a cold egg, melted butter will be agglomerated~Now filling is ready.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell.

Cover pie crust with silicone pie liner or aluminium foil, to prevent the crust from overbaking.

7. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 180 degrees C) for 60-65 minutes.

It's ready to come out of oven when crust is golden brown, filling is dark, wiggly, and inflated.

This is just a few seconds after it came out of the oven.

Once the pie is out of oven, it gets sunken within a minute.

Cool on a rack.

I try to limit myself to one slice.

Well, it doesn't always work.

Alright,

To be honest, it never works :(

It looks humble, but a delicious cake.

   

 Sugar pie is best when eaten the day it is baked. But it tastes as good as the first day for the following couple of days, only if there is any left. :)

Enjoy!

Tarte au Sucre