Blood Orange Tartlettes - #SundaySupper

Happy #SundaySupper everyone! Thanks to Isabel, Sundays on Twitter are being dedicated to spending Sunday dinner around the family table. Of course I don't have anybody to physically eat with me, but I know I can count on my Twitter friends to chat while I'm eating ;) Our theme for this week is a Springtime Menu. I've been eying up this Blood Orange Tart I saw on Crumb Blog, and to me springtime = citrus. Let's dig in!

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Chocolate Truffle Tartlets - Tuesdays With Dorie

Today's Tuesdays With Dorie post is the ever-so-decadent Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, made with three different types of chocolate! This is a celebration dessert, which is why I made these last month for my parent's anniversary. They paired very well with the dessert wine I bought in New Jersey (red wine with undertone of cherry), but coffee would be perfect as well.






If you are having a chocolate craving attack, I guarantee these tartlets will fix you right up! Honestly, I shared half with my brother because it was a rich dessert. It also makes a nice breakfast ;)



Since I knew my parents were visiting for the weekend, I split the baking into several time frames. One evening I made the dough. The next morning, I shaped the dough into the pans. Later that same evening, I made the filling and baked them.



The only trouble I ran into was rolling the dough. I couldn't roll it too well into one piece, so I took chunks and patched everything together in the pans.

Unless I know I'm going to feed a crowd or purposely have extras for work, I always scale down the recipes. Originally, this recipe made six tartlets. I had four pans, so after doing some math, I scaled the recipe down to four (with some dough leftover since you can't really cut down an egg). I'm not going to post the actual recipe, but here are the measurements for four tartlets:

3 Tbsp butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 egg yolks
2/3 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp sugar
1.33 ounces white chocolate
1.33 ounces milk chocolate
2 cookies

Special thanks goes out to the hosts this week - Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon, Spike of Spike Does Stuff, Jaime of Good Eats n Sweet Treats, and Jessica of Cookbook Habit.

As always, the group encourages you to buy Baking With Julia.

Check back on March 6 for Rugelach and March 20 when I host Irish Soda Bread :D

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cream Tart

If you ever visit my apartment unannounced, you’ll find cookbooks laying
everywhere – on the coffee table, on the kitchen table, on my desk chair,
on the floor, etc. When I was cleaning for my family to visit this past
weekend, I had about 20 books to put away on my shelf (that needs to be
reorganized). I love cookbooks and when I need a recipe, I tend to look at
pictures first.



When you read The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, you can’t help but
drool over the pictures. After buying the book, the picture for the
Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cream Tart has always jumped out at me. I needed
a dessert for my family and decided to (finally) make the tart.



As the name implies, it is a giant chocolate chip cookie with fudge filling
and whipped cream on top. You make the base in a springform pan, bake it
for 17 minutes (I think mine got a little too brown), then let it cool. As
it bakes, make the fudge filling and let that cool. After cooling both
parts, spread the filling on top and chill for a bit. Then you whip some
cream for the top and voila – a simple yet delicious dessert that is always
in season.



After being successful with this dessert, I have a few ideas I could play
around with. I have individual springform pans, so I want to scale this
down to make just one that you can share or have all to yourself. Then
because the base is sturdy, I want to use it for Baked Alaska.

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cream Tart




Crust
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until smoothly blended, about 1 min. Add egg and vanilla; beat until blended. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add flour mix until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Spread the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake just until the top begins to turn golden but center is still soft, 15-17 minutes. Cool crust completely.

While the crust is cooling, make the filling. In a saucepan, heat cream and butter until the cream is hot and butter melts. Do not let the cream boil. Remove from the heat and add chocolate chips. Let sit for 30 seconds then whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Leaving a 1 inch edge, spread the filling over the crust. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm. Remove from the pan.

Next, make the topping. In a large bowl, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until firm peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the chocolate filling, mounding it slightly in the center. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready.

Source: The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, p. 58

Strawberry Smores Tart

Hope everyone enjoyed the first unofficial week of summer. It was in the 80s and 90s all of last week and the beginning of this week. I had every intention of going strawberry picking last weekend. However, when I called to verify, they said the berries weren't ready for picking. Boo! I had a long list of recipes to make, including Memorial Day's dessert. I stopped at another produce stand, but the strawberries were unripen. I ended up buying a pint at the grocery store, which I do as a last resort. I figured I would wait on making fresh strawberry jam and freeze pops, but I was still making this Strawberry Smores Tart.



It's a graham cracker crust with a layer of strawberries, topped with chocolate ganache and marshmallow cream. Just like a smores with the addition of strawberries. I followed the recipe as written except I had to add more graham cracker crumbs. This dessert definitely tastes good on a hot day, but you have to be careful and not let the ganache melt. I will definitely be making this recipe again and trying it with different fruits, such as peaches or bananas. If I had a blow torch, I'd toast the marshmallow creme and see if that makes it better.



Strawberry Smores Tart


Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Tart
10 oz. semisweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced strawberries
1/2 cup marshmallow creme

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter; mix well. Press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 9-inch tart pan. Place onto a cookie sheet or round pizza pan for easier handling. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.

2. While the crust is cooling, in a medium saucepan, heat the whipping cream over low heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from the heat and add chocolate; stir until melted. Cool 5 minutes or until lukewarm.

3. When the crust is cool, place sliced strawberries in a single layer on the crust. Pour the chocolate mixture on top.

4. Place the marshmallow cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds or until softened. Stir just until smooth. Quickly drop spoonfuls over the chocolate layer. With a knife, swirl. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving to set the chocolate.

8 servings.

Source: Pillsbury Farmer's Market Cookbook, July 2000, p. 84-85

Tuesdays With Dorie - Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

Ok so I technically I made this week's recipe this past summer - Dorie's Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart. Over the summer, the local berry farm lets visitors pick strawberries and black raspberries. Talk about fresh berries, no? Although I loved making this tart, March isn't quite the berry month. And quite frankly, I haven't been to the store to find a substitute fruit. I spent the past six days working at Target, so I haven't been to the grocery store in awhile. And I get to do it all again next week. So much for my degree.



Here's a picture from June when I did make the tart. You can read more about it from an earlier post, but there's nothing really to tell except check your berries for mold and make this tart as soon as berry season starts.

Thanks to Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! for hosting this week, even though I baked this awhile ago. You can find this recipe on page 354 of Dorie's book or on Rachelle's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

This week's challenge is Dorie's Toasted Coconut Custard Tart, which called for dark rum. Now I rarely drink alcohol, but I know dark rum has a specific flavor profile compared to other types of rum or even rum extract. I've been debating on spending money for something I rarely use but decided since I've had really good rum cake in the Bahamas, maybe I could duplicate it. They don't sell tiny bottles of dark rum, so I bought a regular bottle of Myers Dark Rum (which is the only brand of dark rum I could find).



Rum is not something my family enjoys either, so I made two mini tarts,seeing as only my dad and me would be the ones eating them. Boy was I wrong. They lasted maybe 10 minutes because my mom and brother had a bite and decided to eat more. Cutting the recipe into thirds made the perfect amount for two mini tarts. As far as flavor, some TwDers said there wasn't a strong coconut flavor, which makes sense. If you think about it, it's really just a normal custard with toasted coconut folded in. One person suggested using coconut extract, so I substituted that for vanilla. It would be interesting to see if you can make the custard with coconut milk. I know skim milk is frowned upon because of the fat ratio.

The amount of rum used is debatable. The rum is kinda strong, so if you love rum, great. If not, you may want to scale it back to 1 Tbsp instead of 2. I left rum out of the whipped cream because the custard was strong enough. I did use coconut extract in both the custard and topping.



Thanks to Beryl of Cinemon Girl for choosing this delicious tart. You can find the recipe on pages 344-345 of Dorie's Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Beryl's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

FINALLY! After waiting about 16 months, it is now my turn to host Tuesdays With Dorie. Pictures really sell me on a recipe. Although there are many great recipes without pictures, I tend to pick a recipe based on the picture. I've had my eye on Dorie's Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart for ages. The caramel is what really sold me. I love the combination of caramel and salted peanuts, not to mention the chocolate ganache. I used semisweet instead of bittersweet chocolate and salted peanuts.


I feel like such a bad hostess because I couldn't get a decent picture of the tart. For starters, the crust doesn't look like a tart crust. Seems like even though I used frozen butter and froze the crust before baking, the edges melt. Do I not press the crust in thick enough? Is it because I mix by hand and not with a food processor? Taste wise it's delicious.


I made this recipe twice. The first time I used my 11 inch tart pan. Mixing the peanuts into the caramel made it really hard to spread, so the caramel didn't make it to the edges. That and the tart is 2 inches bigger than what Dorie made. The peanut halves were also too big.


The second time I used baby tart pans, so I cut the recipe in half. This was my first time using the pans. The crust shrank like usual, and that really frustrates me. Shrunken crust makes it harder to remove from the pan. With the caramal layer, I decided to use baby food processor to chop the peanut halves and sprinkle on top of the caramel instead of mixing it in.

I really do love this recipe, but I still have ways to go before I can get the crust perfect. Hope all you TwDers enjoyed dessert this week.

Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

Caramel
Scant 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 4 pieces, room temperature

Ganache
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, room temperature

3/4 cup honey-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 9-inch tart shell made with Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough (p.444), fully baked and cooled

Getting Ready: Because you have to work quickly once the sugar caramelizes, you should have all the ingredients for the caramel measured out and at hand before you start. Also have a medium heatproof bowl at hand to hold the hot caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Bring the heavy cream to a boil.

Meanwhile, put a medium skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat and sprinkle in about 3 tablespoons of the sugar. When it melts, stir it with a wooden spatula or fork and sprinkle over another 3 tablespoons. When that sugar is melted, add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar - the sugar in the pan may already have started to color, and that's fine. Stir in the corn syrup and boil the syrup until it reaches a deep caramel color - it will probably begin to smoke, and that's normal.

Stand back and stir in the butter. The caramel will bubble furiously and may spatter, so make sure you're away from the action. When the butter is in, add the warm cream - the caramel will bubble furiously again. Lower the temperature just a tad and let the caramel boil for just 2 minutes (226F on candy thermometer). Pour the seething caramel into the heatproof bowl and set aside while you make the ganache.

To Make the Ganache: Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and have a whisk or a rubber spatula at hand.

Bring the cream to a boil. Then pour half of it over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds. Working with the whisk/spatula, very gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece. Don't stir any more than you must to blend the ingredients - the less you work it, the darker, smoother and shinier it will be.

Cover the ganache with plastic wrap, pressing it against the surface to create an airtight seal. Set aside at room temperature for the moment.

To Assemble the Tart: Stir the peanuts into the caramel. If the caramel has cooled and is too thick to spread easily, gently warm in the microwave in 3-second spurts. Spread the caramel over the bottom of the tart shell; you'll have a thin layer. Refrigerate the tart for 15 minutes to set the caramel.

Check the ganache. If it has thickened, warm it in 3-second spurts. Rap the bowl to break any surface bubbles, pour the ganache over the caramel and jiggle the pan to even it.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes - no longer - then keep it at room temperature until serving time.

Baking: From My Home To Yours pages 355-357

Picking Precious Strawberries

Before I share my tart, I would like to ask my readers if they could please vote for me to win coffee beans. I didn't realize the giveaway was a popularity contest *grumblegrumble* I deserve to win because I freshly grind coffee beans and use my espresso machine every morning. I spent $199 on my machine (which was on sale!) and $100 on my grinder (not on sale). Because fresh beans are important, I make sure to buy freshly roasted beans online, roughly $10 for an order. I need a break in my budget because I'm a recent graduate who lives near a city with a not-so-hot video market. I can babble on about beans or different coffee drinks.

ANYWAY

It's finally here - strawberry season! I discovered last year there is a farm about 45 minutes away where I can pick my own strawberries. It seems like the last few things I have made are strawberry-related: strawberry tart, strawberry ice cream, strawberry curd, strawberry jam, strawberry parfaits. Not to mention sneaking a snack here and there.



Although I have recipes to post for all those foods I listed, today I'm bringing you the tart. Now, most strawberry tart recipes were the same - tart crust, pastry cream, strawberries. Then I found a recipe that didn't use a ton of egg yolks or milk. I did have to do a quick run to the store for cream cheese.



The original recipe called for chocolate drizzle on top but also suggested dipping each strawberry tip into chocolate. I probably would have dipped the strawberries, half the tart in white with the other half being dark, but I wanted to cut back on the sugar a little. Besides, it was fine without it.

Strawberries and Cream Tart



1 9-inch pie crust
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp shortening

1. Bake pie crust fully according to your crust directions (whether on package or in recipe). Let cool before filling.

2. Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Beat cream cheese until fluffy (try to get excess cream off beaters but don't worry about them being clean). Add sugar and extract. Beat well. Fold in cream. Spoon into cooled pie crust.

3. If you want to dip strawberries, melt together chocolate and shortening. Dip each strawberry tip. Arrange strawberries pointed side up over filling. Chill until set. If you want to add a chocolate drizzle, chill the tart for 30 min. Melt chocolate and shortening then drizzle onto tart. Chill again until chocolate has hardened. Store in the fridge.

Makes 10-12 servings

Source: Pillsbury's Four Seasons of Pie Baking, 1988 p. 31

Dorie's Soft Chocolate and Berry Tart

Did anybody else watch The Next Food Network Star premiere last night? I'm excited for a new season! I don't have a favorite yet, but I think Brett looks a lot like Adam from last season. While watching the promos, I did favor Michael, but I'm not too sure after hearing him talk. It does give him lots of character, but I'm not sure if I could watch a whole show with him. Melissa looks like she is going to explode with energy.

Also, I saw promos for Dinner: Impossible with Robert hosting again. I must admit, I enjoy Robert as the host much better than Michael Symon, although I'm really surprised they are letting him come back after he supposedly lied about his credentials.



Enough about tv. Time for dessert! I recently received a tart pan for my birthday a few weeks ago. I was originally going to do Dorie's Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart on page 355, but I also saw the Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart on adjacent page. Since I had a container of blackberries to eat, I decided to make the berry tart. Now, the recipe calls for a 9-inch tart pan. Mine is 11 inches. The crust recipe provided does make enough to cover my pan, but the berries definitely did not. I'll have to make sure to buy two containers next time. I would've had enough if mold didn't exist. Grr.



I don't want to post the recipe because although this isn't a Tuesdays With Dorie pick, I still want to support Dorie and her publishing company. Besides, you really should buy this book. For those of you who do own this book, you can find the tart recipe on page 354 of Baking: From My Home To Yours.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Banana Cream Pie

This week's pick was Banana Cream Pie. I was excited to make this because my parents love banana cream pie. However, this isn't your typical banana pudding and meringue pie. It's a pastry cream filling with whipped cream on top.

I didn't make the pie crust, so I bought one pre-made. I wanted to, but I had a super-packed weekend two weeks ago (when I made this pie) and was too exhausted. I barely finished making this pie before running off for the night. Plus I usually end up with a tough pie crust. I don't even like eating pie crust.



This recipe I used fresh nutmeg for the first time, thanks to Marx Foods. They mailed me samples of six spices a few weeks ago. The people there are just awesome. Now if I can find a good recipe to use the rest of my spices. Any recipes with grains of paradise, tellicherry or scheuzan peppercorns? Anyway, back to the nutmeg. Now I know why you should use fresh - it's very powerful! I'm definitely going to consider using fresh nutmeg when possible.



Back to the pie itself. The pastry cream confused me. I was expecting silky smooth, like eclairs. Especially since banana cream pie normally has that smooth pudding. Wrong (unless I overcooked it??). It was thick and kinda gloopy, but it was still smooth. It spread easily over the bananas, so I guess I did it correctly? It tasted like pumpkin pie with the nutmeg and cinnamon. Since I was running short on time, the cream only chilled for an hour in the fridge and was still pretty warm. Didn't notice much of a difference since the assembled pie chilled in the fridge overnight.



As for the topping, the whipped cream was different. Good, but I prefer the traditional meringue. Plus you are left with 6 egg whites, so might as well use some making meringue. I used some of the whites for cupcakes (will post on April 13 for the virtual bake sale!)

Thanks Amy of Sing For Your Supper for picking this delicious pie! It lasted only 2 days with four people. You can find the recipe on pages 342-343 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Amy's blog.

Tuesdays Thanksgiving With Dorie

This week's recipe was perfect for Thanksgiving. If you can't decide between pumpkin or pecan pie, this pie allows you to have both. I've had my fair share of pumpkin pie, but I don't think I can recall ever having pecan pie. With this recipe, I think I expected more of a sugary topping. Although the pie was good, I didn't think it was THAT great.

Mine fell apart when cutting it, but it was fine after being refrigerated. It might have been the crust. My dad decided to buy premade pie crusts, so I used one of those.

Thanksgiving Twofer Pie




Thanks to Vibi of La Casserole Carree for choosing this pie so close to Thanksgiving. You can find the recipe here.

If Only I Had A Slice Now

Ok so really I baked this pie back in October after I went to an apple festival, but I love this picture so much, I couldn't let it sit on my laptop any longer. I used Roma apples, which are delicious on their own. This is considered French Apple Pie because there is a topping rather than another crust on top. I'm getting better at making homemade crusts. Now if I can just make it a circle so it actually fits the plate haha

French Apple Pie




Pastry for 1 crust pie
6 apples, peeled, cored, and slices (mine were more cubed than sliced)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place pie crust into 9-inch pie plate.

2. Combine sugar, flour, salt, zest, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Place half of apples in pie shell. Squeeze 1 Tbsp juice on top. Top with half of sugar mixture. Arrange the rest of the apples on top. Repeat with juice and sugar mixture. Dot with butter.

3. Blend together topping ingredients with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes.

Makes 1 pie.

Source: Long Grove Apple Haus Apple Cookbook, 1976 p.61

Tuesdays With Dorie - Summer Fruit Galette

Who doesn't love fresh fruit in the summer time (or any season, for that matter)? When I saw that Tuesdays With Dorie's next recipe was Dorie's Summer Fruit Galette, I started to think of the possible fruit combinations. Originally, I wanted to do apricots because I have never had fresh apricots (gasp!). Unfortunately, the local farm was sold out and the grocery store didn't put them on sale until the day after I made this (regular price - $3.99 a pound). So I decided to go with peaches. Then I thought, well raspberries compliment peaches, so it turned into a peach and raspberry galette.

For those not familiar with a galette, it's a pie crust filled with whatever (usually fruit but I suppose you could make a nut filling). What makes it a galette and not a pie or tart is the folding of the dough as opposed to putting it in a pie or tart pan.

I used peach preserves for the jam flavor, simply because that's what we had in the fridge. I am still new at homemade pie crusts, and since I don't own a food processor and I was too lazy to use the blender, I made it by hand. I don't think I rolled it out to a full 13 inches, but eh. Mine turned out to be VERY juicy from the peaches, so I guess that means more graham cracker crumbs next time. Also, I didn't use all of the custard. Honestly, I couldn't tell there was the custard filling simply because my galette was filled to max capacity and it was incredibly juicy. I would definitely be making this galette again, perhaps with apricots next time.

It also makes a good breakfast snack *cough*


Summer Fruit Galette




It was Michelle's turn to pick the recipe. If you own the book, the recipe is on page 366. If you don't have the book (what are you waiting for?!), you can find the recipe on her blog. Thank you Michelle for picking such a nice, refreshing summer dessert!

Tuesdays With Dorie - French Lemon Cream Tart

Another Tuesday is here, and you know what that means! And I am bending the rules once again because I do not own a stand mixer. Why is a stand mixer so important? Normally, a hand mixer can get the job done just as well, but not for today's original recipe. Madam Chow picked Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. I was excited because I haven't made buns in a longgggggggggg time. So as I was scanning the recipe, I needed to make Dorie's brioche. I looked up the brioche recipe, and when I read that it wears out your hand mixer and should be made with a stand mixer or by hand, my excitement dropped. My family recently bought a hand mixer because our other one broke after 30 years (it was my parents), so I wasn't going to risk breaking a new one. I decided to see what recipes have been made before. Considering I had three lemons to use, I chose The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. Or rather, it was a pie because I don't own a tart pan.

Now, the recipe flopped because of the baker, not because of the recipe. I read other people's comments, and the hardest part was getting the cream up to 180F. I had that same problem. Next time I need to use a deeper pan for the double broiler because the boiling water almost spilled out after awhile. Also, it takes a lot of arm strength because you must constantly whisk for 10-20 minutes (depending on how long it takes to reach 180F). Although my cream did thicken in the fridge, it wasn't enough to hold on its own in the pie crust. Also, there was too much butter for my family to stomach. Next time, I'll cut the amount in half and taste as I go along.


The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart




I'm not going to post the recipe because I wasn't satisfied with my results (and I stress my results, not the recipe itself). The recipe can be found in Baking: From My Home To Yours, 2006 p.331.

A Challenging Pie

You must have patience when it comes to making Coconut Cream Pie. If you rush the filling, it will become super runny. I was doing fine with the filling until I burnt it. I was trying to clean out the one cabinet so I could pack for college. Apparently you have to stir it quite often; otherwise it will burn on the bottom. Since I burnt it, I poured what I could into a new pan (which was most of it). Since I didn't want to burn it a second time, I let it get bubbly and then turned it off. It took about 15-20 minutes. It wasn't as thick as it called for, so next time I'll let it go maybe another 5 minutes. As a result, the pie filling was super runny. The meringue acts as an insulator, so the filling does not cook anymore when you toast the meringue.

You can easily make Banana Cream Pie with this recipe. Omit the coconut and put sliced bananas in the bottom of the pie before adding the filling.

I already had plans for this pie before I joined Chefs Like Me. When I saw the challenge this week was pie, I thought the timing couldn't be better.


Coconut Cream Pie




9 inch pie crust (mine was pre-made but homemade works too)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour OR 1/4 cup cornstarch (I used cornstarch)
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
3 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1. Line a pie plate with pie crust. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge. This is important because when it's baked, the excess will break off. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes. After crust is removed, turn heat down to 350F.

2. For filling, in saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, flour/cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Make sure you stir because it will burn on the bottom. Reduce heat; cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Separate egg whites and yolks. Beat yolks in a bowl. Stir in 1 cup of hot milk mixture into the yolks. This will allow the yolks to get used to the heat; otherwise, they will curdle. Pour egg mixture into milk mixture. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir in 1 cup coconut. Pour into baked pie crust.

4. For meringue, beat egg whites, 1 tsp vanilla, and cream of tartar at medium speed for 1 minute. Soft peaks should form. This means when you take the beaters out of the egg whites, peaks will form but fall back down.

5. Gradually add sugar, about 2 Tbsp at a time. Beat at high speed for 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form. When you take the beaters out, peaks will form and keep their shape.

6. Spread meringue on pie. Make sure you spread all the way to the crust and no holes are present. The meringue acts as an insulator. The filling will not cook anymore. If heat does get in, the pie may shrink. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top. Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 minutes or until meringue and coconut are golden. Cool in the refrigerator.

Source: "Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Pies," 1978 p. 32

It's A Tart, Not A Pie!

Happy birthday America!

According to my dear pal Wikipedia, a tart is an open-faced pie. Since it is a type of pie, my family (me included) kept calling it a pie rather than a tart. Whatever you want to call it, it's delicious. I made it for my family's mini 4th of July picnic. If you really wanted it to be patriotic, you could sub strawberries and blueberries for the peaches. I also made a variation of macaroni salad, but I suggest making your own cheese sauce because the packaged mac and cheese has a high sodium level. Next time, I'm going to make Amish macaroni salad.

EDIT: This is a galette, not a tart.


Peach Galette




1 prepared pie crust
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 peaches, sliced
1/4 sugar
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 tsp sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon
8 oz whipped topping

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Grease 10-inch pie plate. Place pie crust into plate. Spread cream cheese on top of crust.

2. Toss sliced peaches with sugar and flour. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Fold edges of pie crust over peaches, leaving a big circle in the middle. Sprinkle cinnamon + sugar over peaches and crust. Bake 25 minutes. Crust should be golden brown and juices should be bubbly. Serve warm with whipped topping.

Source: Kraft "Food & Family" magazine, Summer 2007, p.16


Macaroni and Cheese Salad




1 pkg (14 oz) macaroni and cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup each red, green, and yellow peppers, chopped
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped

1. Prepare macaroni and cheese as directed.

2. Meanwhile, chop peppers, eggs, and onion. Toss with prepared macaroni and cheese. Add milk and mayo; mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Source: Kraft "Food & Family" magazine, Summer 2007, p.5