Tag Archives: Pies/Crisps/Tarts

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Sweet All-Butter Pie Crust

October 26, 2009


When we came home with 25 lbs. of Virginia grown apples, I knew apple pie was in our future. This dessert is extra special because Dustin helped out. He drove us to Charlottesville on our apple-picking adventure, braved gravity and climbed to the top branches to find the finest and ripest, and even helped make the pie! He’s usually not very involved in the cooking around here. Partly it’s my fault for being so territorial in the kitchen. That, and he lacks the desire. (Unless he’s having a sugar craving and wants cookies- NOW!)

But this dessert bears Dustin’s magic touch. He peeled and cored and sliced all the stunning Granny Smiths that filled the dish. In my time of need, he came to the rescue and he was indispensable! I was busy rolling out pastry and boiling caramel and fretting over what I wanted to be the perfect pie. And my cute husband rolled up his sleeves and chopped through those apples in no time! (Or just in time, rather, to smother them in cinnamon, butter, and sugar, pour them into a deep dish, cover them with a blanket of pastry, and send them off to bake).

It’s no wonder that I thought this pie was a sweet success. I made it with my honey. (Awww!) So my opinion might be a little jaded. Together, curled up on the couch under laptops, lecture slides, and books, we finished off half a pie. Including several scoops of vanilla ice cream. Dustin has never loved apple pie, but he agreed that this was a good one. My favorite part? The most amazing, buttery, flaky, spectacular crust I’ve ever had! I swear- I’ll never, ever buy one again. Reserve a little of the filling “juice” to brush on top and it will turn golden, sweet, and crunchy.

I was surprised that with all the butter and sugar, the filling was not super sweet. I liked that the tart-ness of the Granny Smiths snuck through. You could always mix in a few apples of a sweeter variety for a sweeter pie. I sure have a crush on that crust, though! Crust + thick caramel-apple filling + frozen vanilla ice cream = Ahhh.

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Sweet All-Butter Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe sweet all-butter double pie crust (below)
7-8 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pastry dough according to directions (below). Chill until ready to use. Roll out each pastry on a floured surface until large enough to cover pie dish. Place one sheet of rolled out pastry in the bottom of the dish. Brush with egg whites.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, sugars, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

4. Toss apples with cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour caramel mixture over apples (reserving several Tbsp. to brush the crust) and stir to coat. Pour apples into pie dish.

5. Cover with the second sheet of rolled out pastry. Trim the edges, pressing them together. Make several slits in the top. Brush the top with the reserved caramel mixture.

6. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the apples are soft. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes before serving warm topped with vanilla ice cream. (If you serve it immediately the filling will ooze out- it needs some time to set up.)

Makes 1 9-inch deep dish apple pie.

Sweet All-Butter Double Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) COLD unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6-7 Tbsp. ice water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor (or by hand with a whisk). Add butter and pulse until coarse mill forms (or cut in butter by hand with a pastry blender until only pea-size crumbs remain). Gradually blend in enough ice water until dough clumps (or mix in a Tbsp. at a time by hand). Form dough into a large ball. Divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours or overnight.

Makes a double 9-inch pie crust.

(Crust from Epicurious, Filling adapted from All Recipes)

Fruit Tarts

June 18, 2009

I’ve been wanting to master the art of fruit tarts forever. Every time I passed by a bakery window I’d admire the rows of tart perfection and a wave of jealousy would rush over me. I want to be able to create that! If I thought about it too hard I’d begin to salivate…I could almost taste them…their flaky butter crusts surrounding the sweet cream filling, piled high with fresh juicy fruits in every color of the rainbow.

The crust recipe I used has been circulating through kitchens across America, and has such a good reputation that I didn’t dare stray. It’s quite easy to make, and if you take the shortcuts I did, it’s quick as well. The filling? Only a matter of creaming a few ingredients together. And for the fruit topping…why, you can use whatever your heart (or stomach) desires. It couldn’t be more simple.

I used marscapone for my filling but you could go with the more traditional cream cheese. There are countless recipes out there for tart fillings…so experiment. I was very happy with this crust, and I’m sure it would be great with a variety of creative fixings.

With a dessert this picturesque, I worried that the taste wouldn’t stand up to it’s visual appeal (as is often the case with sub-par baked goods). But these delicate morsels were divine. Fresh and fabulous.

Sweet Tart Crust

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
9 Tbsp. very cold unsalted butter (1 stick plus 1 Tbsp.), cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

DIRECTIONS
1. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing. Chill the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for about 2 hours before rolling.

NOTE: I don’t have a large food processor and so I did this step by hand using a pastry blender. I found that my dough wasn’t quite moist enough so I added about 1 Tbsp. of water to help it come together. If you are using a food processor you will probably not need to add the water. Instead of chilling the dough I chose to press it directly into the pastry tins. To prevent it from rising while baking I lined the dough filled pans with aluminum foil and filled them with beans. Halfway through baking (after about 10 minutes), I removed the beans from the crusts, pricked them with a fork, and returned them to the oven. Since I used smaller tins, they didn’t take the full length of time to cook. Make sure to let them cool completely before filling.

2. To roll the dough: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork.

3. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

4. To fully bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes.

5. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon (or prick it with the tip of a small knife). Bake the crust about 10 minutes longer, or until it is firm and golden brown, brown being the important word: a pale crust doesn’t have a lot of flavor. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature.

(Sweet Tart Crust from Confessions of a Tart, originally from Dorie Greenspan)


Marscapone Filling

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. marscapone cheese
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup. confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. orange zest

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl combine the marscapone, vanilla, sugar, and orange zest, mixing until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Once the tart crusts have cooled, evenly divide the filling between them and spread it over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange fresh fruit/berries on top of the filling and serve.

(Filling adapted from Simply Recipes)

Makes 1 large 9-inch or 4 4-inch tarts.

All-Butter Pie Crust

February 9, 2009

Most pie crust recipes call for shortening. In avoiding trans fats and impure oils (stick to olive or canola oil) I went on a quest for a shortening-less crust. Lard would make a great crust, but I didn’t happen to have any sitting around. To quote Recipe Zaar: “shortening is virtually flavorless, and is used to make baked goods light and flaky”. When an ingredient is packed full of fat, why would you want it to be flavorless? If I’m going to ingest all those calories I want my body to know it and to savor every second of it! That’s why this butter crust is delicious- buttery as well as light and flaky! I used it for my Dad’s lemon meringue pie. It was a cinch to throw together, although I have to give my mom credit for the impressive edge work. I’m still a pie novice.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter, diced
3-4 Tbsp. ice water

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix flour and salt in food processor (or by hand with a whisk). Add butter and pulse until coarse mill forms (or cut in butter by hand with a pastry blender until only pea-size crumbs remain). Gradually blend in enough ice water until dough clumps (or mix in a Tbsp. at a time by hand). Form dough into a large ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

3. If necessary, (first prick the bottom of the crust with a fork) bake in 450 F preheated oven for about 10 minutes (until it starts to turn golden brown).

Makes 1 9-inch pie crust.

(Adapted from All Recipes)