Coffee Cream Pie

Ingredients
3 oz butter, melted, cooled
22 shredded wheat biscuits, crushed
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup Tia Maria liqueur
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon gelatine
4.5 oz cream cheese, softened
double cream and coffee beans, to serve

Directions:
Grease and line base and sides of a 8 inch (base) springform cake pan. Combine butter and biscuits in a bowl. Press into base of pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
Combine egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, Tia Maria, coffee and milk in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water, taking care base of bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until coffee mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Combine gelatine and 2 tablespoons water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 30 to 45 seconds or until dissolved. Stir with a fork until mixture is clear. Pour warm gelatine mixture into warm coffee mixture, whisking constantly with a balloon whisk until combined. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. In a thin, steady stream, add coffee mixture to cream cheese, beating constantly on low until combined. Wash and dry beaters.
Beat eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition until meringue is thick and glossy.
Stir 1/3 meringue into coffee mixture. Gently fold in remaining meringue. Pour coffee mixture over chilled base. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. Cut pie into wedges. Top with cream and coffee beans. Serve.

Caramel Meringue Pies

Ingredients
3 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, partially thawed
4 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornflour
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups milk
3 eggwhites
pinch cream of tartar
2/3 cup caster sugar
Directions:
Place a baking tray into oven. Preheat oven and tray to 400 F. Cut 2 x 6 inch (diameter) rounds from pastry. Use to line base and sides of 2 x 3 inch (base), 5 inch (top) pie pans. Freeze for 15 minutes.
Place pies onto hot tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Set aside to cool completely.
Whisk yolks, brown sugar and vanilla together in a bowl. Stir in flours. Add 1/2 cup milk. Stir until smooth. Add remaining milk. Pour into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 15 minutes or until custard comes to the boil. Transfer to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat eggwhites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Add caster sugar, 1 tablespoonful at a time, beating until thick and glossy. Spoon custard into pie cases. Top with meringue. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until meringue is firm. Cool completely in pans. Serve.

Banoffee Pies

Ingredients
9 oz pkt granita biscuits
4.5 oz butter, melted
2 bananas
1 pint double cream

Caramel filling
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
1 3/4 oz butter

Directions:
Place the biscuits in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the butter and process until well combined. Divide the biscuit mixture among six round 3 1/4 inch (base measurement) fluted tart tins with removable bases. Use the back of a metal spoon to firmly press the biscuit mixture over the base and side of each tin. Place in the fridge until required.
To make caramel filling, place condensed milk, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 10-12 minutes or until caramel thickens (do not boil).
Pour the hot caramel evenly among biscuit bases. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
Peel and thinly slice bananas, and arrange over the caramel filling. Top pies with a dollop of cream and serve immediately.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients
7 oz wheatmeal or Granita biscuits
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 tbs caster sugar
3.5 oz butter, melted
4 eggs, lightly beaten
14 oz can condensed milk
2/3 cup cream
Finely grated rind and juice of 4 limes
Method
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.
Process biscuits until fine crumbs. Add almonds, sugar and butter, process until combined. Press mixture firmly into the base and 3cm up sides of tin. Refrigerate.
Whisk eggs, milk, cream, lime rind and juice until smooth. Pour into biscuit crust.
Place on tray and bake for 40-45 mins or until set. Cool. Serve with extra lime slices.

Apple Ribbon Pie

Crust:
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup ice water (strain out the ice just before using)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Equipment: 10-inch aluminum pie pan; Japanese-style turning vegetable slicer
Make the Crust: In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), mix the flour, salt, and sugar for 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture. (You should still be able to see the pieces of butter.)
In a small bowl, stir the water and vinegar together.
With the mixer running at medium speed, drizzle in the water-vinegar mixture and mix just until a dough forms. (You should still see small bits of butter.) Transfer the dough to a work surface and shape into a round, flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using. (Or, refrigerate up to 48 hours or freeze up to 1 month before using. If frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out.)
When the time comes to roll out the dough, let the dough warm up for a few minutes at room temperature to make it more workable. Dust a work surface with just a few tablespoons of flour and keep some extra flour at hand. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and start rolling outward from the center with quick, light strokes. Don't worry if the edges split a bit; concentrate on forming a good circle from the center. Lift up and rotate the dough 1/4 turn every minute or so to help ensure even rolling. The dough should feel smooth and soft; some say it should feel like the inside of your forearm. If it gets sticky, sprinkle on a bit more flour, but don't do this more than 2 or 3 times; the dough will absorb too much flour. Instead, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the butter. Keep rolling until the circle is at least 2 inches larger than your pan (for example, 12 inches wide for a 10-inch pie pan), or 3 inches larger for deep-dish pies.
Set your pie pan nearby. We always use heavy aluminum pans, because glass pans seem to bake the crust too fast. However, we know that the advantage of glass is that you can easily check the color of the crust. To transfer the crust to the pan, I find it easiest to roll a finished crust up onto the rolling pin, then gently unroll it in the pan. Or, you can fold it gently in quarters, lift it up, position the center point on the center of the pan, and unfold it into the pan. Make sure that the dough is allowed to settle completely into the pan.
Don't stretch and press the dough into the corners; stretched dough will likely shrink back when you bake it. Instead, lift the edges of the crust to let it settle down into the corners. If the dough tears a bit, don't be concerned; we'll patch it in a minute. Using scissors or a sharp knife, trim the dough to within 3/4-inch of the rim. Use any extra scraps to patch the crust, pressing with your fingers (wet them if necessary) or set aside. To decorate the rim, fold under the excess dough then just press it all around with the back of a fork. For a slightly more advanced look, press the thumb and forefinger of one hand together. Use them to gently push the thick dough rim outward, while pushing inward with the forefinger of the other hand, so that they intersect in a "V" with the dough in between. Repeat all around the rim to make a wavy edge. Chill it while you prep the filling.
Make the Filling: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, toss the sugar, salt, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture on the bottom of the pie shell.
Using a Japanese-style turning vegetable slicer, cut the apples into 1-inch wide, long strips. Make apple strips into S-curves (like ribbon candy) and tuck them into the crust next to each other tightly to fill the pie shell. Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the ribbons and dot with the butter.
Place the pie on a sheet pan to catch any juices that boil over. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F. and bake until the crust is golden brown about 40 to 50 minutes more. Check the pie after 30 minutes; if the crust's edge is browning too quickly, cover it lightly with a strip of foil. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Shoofly-Pie

Shoofly pie (or shoo-fly pie) is a molasses pie considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch and also known in Southern cooking.
The more common version of the recipe — sometimes referred to as "wet bottom" — consists of a layer of sweet, gooey molasses beneath a crumb topping sometimes compared to that of a coffee cake. In contrast, a "dry bottom" shoofly pie is more thoroughly mixed into a cake-like consistency.
The dessert has earned quite a reputation in the "Dutch Country" of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where its distinctive flavor and texture is quite alluring to tourists.
The term "shoo-fly pie" first appeared in print in 1926. The name is commonly thought to arise from the fact that the molasses in the pie is so attractive to flies that they have to be constantly "shooed" away.
A Montgomery pie is similar to a shoofly pie though lemon juice is usually added to the bottom layer and buttermilk to the topping. A chess pie is also similar, though unlayered and made with corn syrup.

Fresh Fruit or Canned Filling?

Fruit pie fillings are made from cooked or uncooked fresh or dried fruit. The fruit is assembled in an unbaked bottom crust, with or without a top crust made from a pastry dough or crumb mixture. Crust(s) and fillings bake together.
Thickeners are used in juicy fruit pies so the liquid that come from fruit when baked gels. Without them you will have baked fruit in a puddle of juice. Better to have the juices remain around the fruit to make use of all the fruit's flavor.
Typical thickeners for fruit pies include the obvious thickeners (flour, cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot) and the not-so-obvious (ClearJel and potato starch) and several combinations (flour-cornstarch, tapioca-cornstarch). All are available in the supermarket, except for the combination thickener which you mix yourself with equal parts. The amount needed varies with the kind of fruit and the quantity of sugar used. However, I must warn you that everyone has their favorite thickener and will swear by it as the very best! But, certain thickeners are best used with certain types of fruit.
In general, fruit fillings thickened with arrowroot and tapioca, were clear and bright in appearance, and the flavor of the fruit came through clearly. Of the two, tapioca showed a bit more thickening power and was therefore my favorite. When making a lattice-top pie, the tapioca on top of the fruit baked into hard bits, so first grind it into a fine powder and use ClearJel® or Potato Starch can be used as a good thickener.

Apple pie in American culture

In the English colonies the apple pie had to wait for carefully planted pips, brought in barrels across the Atlantic, to become fruit-bearing apple trees, to be selected for their cooking qualities, as apples do not come true from seeds. In the meantime, the colonists were more likely to make their pies, or "pasties", of meat rather than of fruit; and the main use for apples, once they were available, was in cider. But there are American apple-pie recipes, both manuscript and printed, from the eighteenth century, and it has since become a very popular dessert.
A mock apple pie made from crackers was apparently invented by pioneers on the move during the nineteenth century who were bereft of apples. In the 1930s, and for many years afterwards, Ritz Crackers promoted a recipe for mock apple pie using its product, along with sugar and various spices.
Although apple pies have been eaten since long before the discovery of America, "as American as apple pie" is a common saying in the United States, meaning "typically American". The dish was also commemorated in the phrase "for mom and apple pie" - supposedly the stock answer of American soldiers in WWII, whenever journalists asked why they were going to war.
Advertisers exploited the patriotic connection in the 1970s with the TV jingle "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet". There are claims that the Apple Marketing Board of New York State used such slogans as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" and "as American as apple pie!", and thus "was able to successfully 'rehabilitate' the apple as a popular comestible" in the early twentieth century when prohibition outlawed the production of cider.

Apple is Upper Crust of Pies

The Salt Lake Tribune


In honor of National Pie Day on Jan. 23, here are 10 pie facts you might want to know:
* One out of four Americans prefers apple pie, followed by pumpkin or sweet potato (17 percent), anything chocolate (14 percent), lemon meringue (11 percent) and cherry (10 percent).
* Three out of four Americans prefer homemade pie.
* If you lined up the number of pies sold at U.S. grocery stores in one year, they would more than circle the globe.
* The wet bottom molasses pie, called shoo-fly pie, was used to attract flies from the kitchen.
* The wealthy English were known for their "Surprise Pies" from which live creatures would pop out when the pie was cut open.
* Pumpkin pie was first introduced to the holiday table at the Pilgrims' second Thanksgiving, in 1623.
* Pie was not always America's favorite dessert - in the 19th century, fruit pies were a common breakfast food eaten before the start of a long day.
- Kathy Stephenson
The Salt Lake Tribune

Southern Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup corn syrup (Karo brand is common in the south)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla flavoring or extract
3 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups pecans
1 9-inch pie shell (deep dish is a good idea)
Directions:
Cream the sugar and butter well in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Add syrup, salt, and vanilla. Mix again.
Add eggs one at a time and mix after each.
Stir in pecans (or you can place them on top if you want).
Pour mixture into pie crust. Do not bake the pie crust first for this one.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 45 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

1-1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups water
3 eggs, separated
zest from 1 medium lemon
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from 1-1/2 medium lemons)
1 tablespoon butter
1 baked, cooled 9-inch pie shell Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the sugar, flour, salt and water in a heavy saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Boil, stirring constantly and vigorously, for 1 minute. (A long-handled spoon to stir with really helps here to get you back from the heat.) Remove from heat. Slightly beat the egg yolks in a bowl with a fork. Mix about one-third of the boiled mixture with the egg yolks; then pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pan with the boiled ingredients, and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly and, again, vigorously. Remove from heat, and add the butter. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to mix thoroughly. Pour into cooled, baked 9-inch pie crust and top with meringue (recipes follow), sealing meringue to edge of pastry. Bake in a 350 F oven 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meringue
3 egg whites, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add the cream of tartar, then gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the vanilla. Pile atop pie, and bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Note:

Be sure to seal the meringue to the pastry edge when spreading it on your pie. To minimize "weeping", spread the meringue on the pie filling while the filling is hot. Also, remember that meringue pies cut better with a wet knife blade.

Pie Troubleshooting Guide

The dough cracks when I try to roll it:
The dough is either too dry or too cold. If it seems to be crumbling apart, work a few sprinkles of water into it--a squeeze bottle works well--but try to handle it as little as possible. If it merely cracks at the edges when you run the rolling pin over it, it probably just needs to warm up a little. Allow it to sit on the counter for a few minutes, but don't let it get too warm, or the layers of fat will melt together and your crust will not be flaky.

The dough sticks to the rolling pin:
Chill the dough before trying to roll it out. Lightly flour the countertop and the flattened ball of dough. Keep dusting the pastry lightly on both sides as you roll. You don't want to work in more flour, but you can always brush off excess from the dough. Pastry cloths and rolling pin covers are also available. These are made from thin machine-washable cotton, and they will help prevent sticking dough; be sure to lightly flour the cloth and the cover before using them. You can also roll the dough out between sheets of waxed paper.

The crust doesn't brown on the bottom:
Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil, and place the pie on the bottom oven rack. Begin baking at a relatively high temperature (425 to 450 degrees F/220 to 230 degrees C), then reduce it after 20 minutes or so. The initial high temperature will help the crust to brown, and reducing the temperature will allow the filling to cook thoroughly before the crust burns. Even better: invest in a baking stone. Bake the pie--on a baking sheet to prevent spills--directly on the hot stone.

I pre-baked my pie crust, and it came out shrunken, puffy, and misshapen:
Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator both before and after rolling it out. Also be sure that you never pull or stretch the dough when fitting it into the pan. Use a fork to poke the crust in several places to allow steam to escape without forcing the crust to puff up. If you're baking a custard pie where the filling is baked in the crust (as opposed to a cream pie, where the filling is cooked on the stovetop then poured into a pre-baked crust) holes in the crust allow the custard to seep through the holes. (You can save extra dough when rolling out the crust and use it to patch cracks and holes.)

Pie Facts

A survey by the American Pie Council found that apple pie is the favorite flavor among one out of four Americans, followed by pumpkin, chocolate, lemon meringue, and cherry.

The average American eats six slices of pie per year.

An overwhelming 76 percent of Americans prefer homemade pie over pie from a bakery or pastry shop, restaurant, diner, or supermarket.

The term "as American as apple pie" traces back to 14th century England. The Pilgrims brought their pie-making skills, along with the apple seeds to America. As the popularity of apple pie spread throughout the nation, the phrase grew to symbolize American prosperity.

Before pie was America's favorite dessert, fruit pies were commonly eaten as part of breakfast in the 19th century.

Other names for a pie are: pastie, oggie, piraski, piragie, patty, and pierogi. More common names include: streusel, tart, turnover, and crumble

The term "upper crust" refers to early America when the economy was difficult and supplies were hard to come by. Only affluent households could afford ingredients for both the upper and lower crusts of a pie; thus, the term "upper crust" was born.

Shoo-fly pie is a wet-bottom molasses pie that was originally used to sit on windowsills to attract flies away from the kitchen.

Individual Pecan Pies with Sweet Tea Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
For the pie pastry dough:
2 tablespoons finely ground pecans
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1 egg white, chilled
2 tablespoons ice water, only if needed
For the filling:
1 cup pecan halves
2 eggs
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the sweet tea caramel sauce:
6 earl grey tea bags
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 quart vanilla bean ice cream
For the pie pastry dough: In a food processor combine the ground pecans, flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the egg white and blend it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount of dough together, if it is crumbly, add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tray with nonstick spray. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 2 foot square, then use a small bowl 3-inches in diameter or a large 3-inch ring mold as a guide to cut out circles. They should be slightly larger in diameter than the muffin tin hole, so when pressed in, the edges come half-way up the sides of the tin.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs until frothy then blend in sugars. Stir in the melted butter, vanilla, syrup and salt until well blended. Arrange the pecans on the bottoms of the tart shells. Pour in the filling to fill the shells almost to the top. Bake until the filling is set and slightly puffed, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a thin knife in the center of the pie, if it comes out pretty clean, you're good to go. Transfer the pies to a rack and cool.
While the pie is baking, make the Sweet Tea Caramel Sauce. Begin my making the tea. Bring 2 cups of cold water to a boil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the tea bags, cover and let steep for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags (squeeze them out) and then return to a simmer until it has reduced by half - so you have 1 cup of really strong tea remaining. Add the 1/2 cup of sugar to the saucepan and continue to simmer over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot around, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and looks like syrup, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour in the cream, be careful as it will bubble up, and continue to cook for 1 more minute. Serve with individual pecan pies and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.