Fresh Lime

Ray bought me a pie book! I think I'm going to try to make every recipe in it, starting with a custard pie.

First, dress up!

I used vanilla wafers for the crumb crust. I should probably invest in a food processor. Potato mashers don't work very well...

I mixed the crumbs with sugar, salt and melted butter until everything was moistened.

1 1/2 cups crumbs

2 T sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Then I used my fingers to press the mixture into the pie pan. There were a few crumb pieces that were a little too big, but it should be fine.

Bake at 325ºF for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Custard! I mixed everything together in a saucepan and whisked over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

5 egg yolks
2 t. cornstarch
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (I used 5 limes)
1/4 t. salt
1 T lime zest
1 1/4 cups sugar

I should probably also invest in a juice squeezer... and a zester.












I removed the custard from the heat, added the butter and continued to whisk for about another minute. I let it cool for about 20 minutes and then poured it into the crust.

1 T unsalted butter

Now for the meringue, something I've never done before. Ahhhhhhhh!!!

I have another kitchen need: glass bowls. I needed to warm the egg whites to dissolve the sugar by setting it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Instead, I used a pan in a pan. After mixing for about a minute, the sugar was completely dissolved and the mixture was just slightly warm.

2/3 cup egg whites (about 5 eggs)

1/2 cup sugar

I removed the pan from the heat and added cream of tarter and salt. Oh, guess what else I need a HAND MIXER!

I used my milk shake mixer until I thought it was going to melt, then I tried the blender...

Ray was determined to make the meringue work with a whisk. He beat the mixture forever and got it really close, but I needed a mixer.

 My friend Amanda saved the day! It's working!

I beat the meringue on high for a few minutes until it was stiff and forming peaks when I lifted the mixer. I then beat in the vanilla.

1/2 t. vanilla extract

I did it! I smoothed the meringue over the pie and used the back of the spoon to make peaks.

It was really beautiful. I cried a little.

I browned the tips of the meringue in the oven under the broiler for a couple minutes (about 4 inches from the heat). Cool and serve!







I personally didn't really like this pie. Ray, Jake and  Patrick seemed to love it. I guess I don't like meringue. Next time I'm making a fruit pie!

Chocolate Cream

Another new pie for me, chocolate cream!

I couldn't find chocolate graham crackers or chocolate nilla wafers, so I went with a box of chocolate graham animal cookies for my crust. 

1 1/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

5 T. melted butter

I stirred until moistened, pressed into the pie pan and baked at 350ºF for about 10 minutes.

I didn't smooth my crust thin enough to completely cover the sides, but the little lip I had worked out just fine.

Now time to start the pudding! 

My favorite part is separating the yolks.

I combined the yolks with sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan and whisked until moistened. I then added the milk and brought the mixture to a boil while constantly whisking. I reduced heat and whisked until thick.

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 t. salt

3 cups whole milk

Chocolate!

I melted chocolate and butter and then added the vanilla and chocolate to the pudding in saucepan. I whisked the pudding until smooth.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 T butter

1 t. vanilla extract

I poured the pudding into a bowl and covered it with foil to avoid a skin while cooling in the fridge. Now to wait for 2 hours.

I hate waiting...

Once the pudding was cool, I smoothed it over the crust.

I'm so excited to eat this pie!!! I'm gonna be so fat!!!

I placed some of my leftover animal cookies around the edge to make up for my lack of crust. They got a little soggy after a day or two, but they were totally awesome at first.

I lightly covered and chilled the pie overnight.

I think I ate about half of this pie myself. I still can't believe I'm not fat. Every piece was covered in whipped cream too...

Sweet Cherry

My mom and I were driving back from a day hike with the dog and decided to stop at a family orchard to pick up some cherries. I brought home four pounds of Rainier cherries. It's time for another pie.

Poole Family Farms

This was the first pie I've made that needed a top. I had to double my crust recipe and make two balls of dough.

My mom told me it was easy to pit and halve cherries... she either lied or has super powers. I guess it wasn't necessarily hard, but it was very time consuming. I discovered it was easiest if I sliced each cherry longways so the pit was more exposed and easier to remove.

Two pounds of cherries later and my fingers were stained orange.

Pitting is the pits.

I rolled out the dough for the bottom crust and set it in the pan.

Then I added a little sugar, some cornstarch and lemon juice to the cherries and gently mixed them until they were evenly coated.

I poured them into the bottom crust.

I rolled out the second ball of dough and sliced it into eight strips. Adding a lattice top to my pie made me feel really special.

After crimping the edges with a fork, I brushed on an egg wash and sprinkled the top with a little powdered sugar.

70 minutes in a 400 degree oven later and I have a beautiful cherry pie! Add a little vanilla bean gelato and it's perfection.








 I feel like such a grandma...

Apple Custard

My friend Ian and I decided we should get together and bake again, since last time we did this we created an amazingly beautiful Funfetti cake:

This time we baked an apple custard and surprisingly succeeded! Ian, his wife Jen and I ate almost the entire thing in one sitting, so I decided to try again at home by myself.

First I peeled and sliced the apples.

Then I whipped up the custard until it was super bubbly. I like bubbles.

This crust was cooked with the filling unlike the banana cream pie.

I spread out the apple slices so that they covered the entire bottom of the crust.

Next, I poured the custard slowly over the apples.

Magic happens in the oven: the apples end up evenly layered throughout the custard with a layer on the top.






Another delicious pie. My boyfriend Ray isn't a big fan of cooked fruit, so I pretty much ate this entire pie to myself. One day I will be fat. One day.

Banana Cream

This was the first pie I had ever made. It's my boyfriend's favorite, so I wanted to do it right. I did everything from scratch. No cheating with frozen crust and boxed pudding. It was easier than I thought and EXTREMELY DELICIOUS! I topped it with homemade whipped cream and we finished it off in no time.

Butter, flour, a pinch of salt and a little water-
Voila! Crust!

Next was the pudding. I definitely had never made pudding from scratch before, so I was a little intimidated.

Somewhere I learned how to separate egg yolks from the whites...

After the mixture became crumbly, I had to add it to the milk and butter on the stove.

Things were looking good, but the pudding was still so runny.

I let it cook a little longer and soon it started to thicken up. Time for the bananas!

I had never had banana cream pie before, so I had no idea what I was doing or what it was supposed to look like. The recipe said to slice the bananas longways and then in half, but I thought this was prettier.

I covered the bananas with the warm pudding and added a few more to the top. A few hours in the fridge and it was ready to be devoured.






I'd like to thank Goodwill for my hefty wooden rolling pin and solid metal pie pan. I'd also like to thank my oven for somehow not destroying my crust.