Did I mention...I love pie?

It was Independence Day yesterday so I figured I should try something slightly United States themed...but because it's not exactly BBQ season here I opted for a combination of two other American favourites, and favourties of mine......Pumpkin Pie (mmmmmm...pie) and baked cheesecake.

I have a great recipe for a simple baked cheesecake that comes from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Kitchen recipe book, and I've been using it ever since I turned vegetarian and suddenly found myself the owner of many a specialist cookbook! I do prefer a baked cheesecake to a gelatin-based, set in the fridge job...it's good to know there are no hooves in my meal, and it just tastes better.

As for Pumpkin Pie, this is something I first got into after reading Judy Blume's "Just as long as we're together", many many years ago. Something about Stephanie's comfort eating of copious amounts of pie obviously appealed to me and now I know why...because it tastes so good!Nothing cures the blues like a good slice of pie. It's one food i find it very hard to stop eating...along with chocolate...and lots of other wickedly unhealthy things..

The other part of this baking equation is a hangover from my childhood, and that is a fascination for things in miniature..such a great marketing ploy...anyway here it means i made individual Pumpkin Cheesecake Pies.

One thing that has always stumped me in American recipes is their use of graham crackers as a base...apparently we just have no equal to whatever a graham cracker may be. In the past I often used malt biscuits, but this time around I went with a more subtle, Kiwi style, Vanilla-Wine biscuit base.





As pictured, I used some muffin cases - designed to give your muffins that authentic cafe look - because they are available fairly cheaply from the supermarket, and its basically just pre-folded baking paper, which helped to keep the whole thing together and not sticking to the muffin tray.

So the biscuit and butter base went in first, followed by the pumpkin-cheesecake layer. I actually only had about half the correct amount of cream cheese (and it was solid as a rock thanks to my fridge, which thinks it's a freezer), but I simply reduced the eggs from 4 to 3, so it wouldn't be too custardy, and then chcuked in an unmeasured amount of of cooked, mashed pumpkin. Now, if i was being truly authentic and US citizen-like, I would probably have got my pumpkin from a can...but instead I just cooked and cooled it myself beforehand. It was about half a pumpkin. I have no idea of weights/measurements...i just chuck things in and if the consistency seems right, away we go.





This filling also contains sugar (i switched to brown because it seemed more suited to the pumpkin), and instead of the usual lemon juice for flavouring i used maple syrup. So this was poured on to the bases and baked for around 20 minutes until they were cute little orangey custard looking things.




Then I had to wait awhile for the pies to cool to room temperature - and for the frozen sour cream to defrost (thank you, mental fridge). Finally it was ready and the topping was whipped up...basically it's just sour cream and sugar, but I used the last (sob) of my vanilla sugar because it has a great flavour and also resulted in pretty little specks of brown vanilla bean in the topping. This is then baked again for about 8 minutes and then...there you have it...oh beautious pie...cheesecake...whatever you are...













Rory very patiently waited and assisted while I photographed the fisnished product....then she plunged in with great enthusiasm. As she told James later, they were very yummy..'and you can't even taste the pumpkin!'. What she means, of course, is that you can taste the pumpkin..but it tastes surprisingly good! Not at all like a vegetable!!

Tuesday's gone...

...gone so long she's almost back again.
It seems my sister and I have a lot in common...looks...talent...............................love of pies.......procrastination...

Last Tuesday we had a baking day in Kate's new kitchen..styley but a little small on bench space...still we managed to come up with a Rhubarb Meringue Pie (mmmm...pie) -with a layer of chocolate thrown in of course-; and a couple of old favourites...Ginger Cake for Phil, and the best ever (truly) Chocolate Caramel Slice, which we've been making since about 1992 when our Dad had a cafe in Milford...these days I like to double the caramel though..sweet sweet sweet.

The pie was basically a Lemon Meringue Pie using rhubarb juice instead of lemon, and because there was a block of chocolate with no other purpose, we melted it down and lined the pastry with a rather hefty layer of the stuff. Kate whipped up a fantastically light and glossy meringue topping..the result was a slightly sloppy, ridiculously sweet, but , in my humble opinion, still pretty damn tasty, pie. (mmmmmm...pie).

 

Okay, so I am really bad at sorting the photos into a beautiful display, I'll sort it out one day, but right now i just don't have the patience. 

Anyway, meanwhile, Juno was either sleeping or just chilling with her bottle, and Rory was on the deck making cupcakes of her own..

 

The ginger cake is fairly simple to make, it's a melt in the pot, stir in the flour, slow bake kind of cake...it can be jazzed up with the addition of pears and/or icing..but this time I left it unadorned, and even though i thought it was slightly overcooked (my preference is always to lean towards raw , not dry), the Light-Thornleys seemed to make a quick demolition job, which i take to mean cake success. Yay. That really is the best part about baking...having people enjoy your food.

As for the chocolate caramel slice...thankfully i left half at Kate's house...once I start eating this, I find it very hard to stop. It was quite soft (the fear of overcooking strikes again..) but I have to say i think i prefer it that way .although perhaps the base could be a bit thicker to support that extra caramel-ly filling... I get such a thrill just looking at the composition of the things we bake too...the colours, the thickness, the whiteness of the meringue, the perfect roundness of a cake...oh..endless raptures

And so the end results:

A cheeky slice of pie...

Cake on a plate

                                                       

Oh caramel heaven....

Clearly when it comes to posting photos, I have no clue. The blog seems to have a mind of it's own where placement of pictures is concerned..

Well. Almost a week late but there it is..the results of a productive day in the kitchen, ignoring my own domestic duties at home. So much more fun.

On another note, because I always like to do what my big sister done, I will lead you here to a beautiful song, which I hadnt heard for awhile but last week, in desperation for some sound, I put an ancient mix tape into my car stereo and heard it again..a perfectly apt love song..and isn't she pretty?

 Which then got me listening to some Mazzy Star, so nineties, so sweet...... so scary how long ago this was!

xx Harriet .

Pie time

I have a thing for pies. Particularly sweet pies. I think it's partly connected to my love of all things Americana, and a longing to be seated in a diner in 1950, as well as a general appreciation for all things old fashioned and rustic. Yesterday while clicking through a series of links I came across this website, threebabesbakeshop.com, which has inspired today's baking effort. I love the whole idea of what these ladies are doing..the pies..the pie subscription service..its all fantastic. Take a look.


Anyway, I've only attempted to make my own pastry a couple of times before, never with great success, but I decided for authenticity in pie making I really ought to give it a go. I found an old recipe in a cookbook at my dad's house, also grabbed some fresh rhubarb from his garden, some apples from the supermarket, oranges from Phil and JT's garden , and thus began Rhubarb and Apple pie. I'm not a great one for following a recipe when I get an idea in my head -sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.

                                                             

I began by cooking the apples and rhubarb on the stove with orange juice squeezed over and vanilla sugar - a gift from Phil and the girls- sprinkled in for a little sweetness. I think perhaps I cooked them a little too much and they went mushy, but it's all trial and error when you make things up as you go...

Then I made the pastry-trying for once to follow the recipe exactly, as perhaps pastry is rather fussy that way - and wrapped and refrigerated it for half an hour. Meanwhile I drained the juice off the apple and rhubarb . This in itself was success enough for me - a beautifully coloured, slightly thick, slightly tart fruit drink. Yum.

So I then rolled out my pastry,( gave my arms a wee workout doing so), and lined an old enamel pie dish with it. From time to time my parents buy me little gems they pick up in op shops, knowing I have a love for old things and old kitchen things especially. These pie dishes were a gift from my mum, and I felt they suited the  occasion perfectly. I baked the pastry blind for a little bit, but all that seemed to do was shrink it and require a little nifty hot pastry stretching ....anyone know what im doing wrong here?

Then obviously the filling went in, and a bit more vanilla sugar because most people like their fruit sweeter than the way I like it, and then I covered it over with the rest of the pastry, brushed it with milk and a little more sugar, and popped it into the oven for about 20 minutes..maybe more, I dont know, I just go by looks and feel more than time.When the pastry looked cooked and its edges were darkening, I took the rustic beauty out.

Well, it definitely looks homebaked, old fashioned, and perhaps a little, not-the-best, but on the whole I was pretty pleased. My pastry still needs work but it's definitely edible..the filling was not too mushy after all..and the orange juice gave it an extra tang that is just delicious. Im still waiting to hear what my taste testers think of it, but I for one am a happy cook today.

Harriet