Love Big, Bake Often: July 2011

Today is the Pie Party! Time to show me your pie! Seriously…..show me your pie! Pretty Please?

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a lot of talk of pie, and a pie party….on twitter of course. And then a Pie Party event on FB….realized I must participate. I bake enough pie. And I had a couple of pie recipes that I wanted to try out too. So the wheels started turning. Thank you so much to Shauna, Gluten Free Girl, for starting the Pie Party….hope we have more of these!

First, I made this Blueberry Cream Pie….and damn was it good.

Then, I got the idea of making a S’Mores Pie in my head. And couldn’t shake it. Canada Day was coming up, 4th of July right behind it….and what says summer celebrations more than a S’More?? Not much.

Attune Foods was kind enough to send me a box of their Organic Honey Graham Crackers a few weeks back, with hopes that I would make something delicious with them. And I sure did. This pie is incredible. At first I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough of the Attune Foods graham crackers left to make the crust…the little mice that are my children seem to have been making their way into the box and helping themselves! Luckily after turning them into crumbs in the food processor I measured….and voila…enough. whew. minor crisis averted.

I love a baked Graham Cracker Crust…I think baking it just gives it a nuttier flavor and tends to be more stable when slicing.

Graham Cracker Crust:

Measure 1 1/3 cup of graham cracker crumbs, mix with 1/4 cup of sugar, add 5 tbsp melted butter, mix together to coat all the crumbs with a bit of butter. Press into pie dish. Bake at 350 for 8 – 10 min. Let cool completely before pouring in pie filling.

Easy Peasy right?

Now I have a love of all things pie, but lately a GOOD chocolate cream pie has been creeping its way to the top of my list lately. And this recipe makes a GOOD chocolate cream pie!

Chocolate Cream Pie Filling:

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus 1 3/4 cups
3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 egg yolks
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions:

In a small saucepan combine sugar, 3/4 cup heavy cream, milk, cornstarch and pinch of salt, and whisk until smooth. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking from time to time for the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and whisk over the heat until thoroughly combined and very thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue whisking until thoroughly combined (it will be very thick). Cover the mixture with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Once the chocolate mixture is cooled. Whip the 1/2 cup of whipping cream with powdered sugar until you get stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Pour the chocolate filling into the graham cracker pie crust and chill in the fridge for about 3 hours.

Now….for the Marshmallow part of the S’more….the most important part! (in my book) You can’t just throw on a marshmallow and all it good. It MUST be toasted. right? So I cut marshmallows in half, covering the chocolate layer with them….then let Jason take the torch to them to “toast” them for me…..he did such a good job…look: