Vinegar Meringue Pie

Yep, Vinegar pie. I found this old recipe and just had to try it out. I could not imagine any pie made with vinegar being any good. I was completely wrong. I would wager that if this was served and no one told of the vinegar everyone would be pleasantly surprised. It’s filling is a spiced custard topped with meringue. I’m not sure that I would ever make it again; at least I can say I gave it a try.

Vinegar Meringue Pie

Filling:

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cups warm water

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

9 inch pre-baked pie crust

 

Meringue:

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

8 teaspoons extra fine granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

In the top of a double boiler, beat the egg yolks, flour, sugar and spices. Whisk in the vinegar and warm water. Cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat , stir in butter. Set aside to cool slightly.

While filling is cooling slightly , make the meringue.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together egg whites , salt and vinegar. Beat until soft peaks form. Combine the extra fine sugar and cornstarch and begin adding while beating a tablespoon at a time to the egg whites . Beat until stiff peaks are formed.

Place filling into baked crust. Place the meringue on top of filling , making sure to have the meringue completely to the edges.

Bake in oven until meringue is golden brown. Completely cool pie and place in  refrigerator until well chilled.

 

 

 

Chocolate Coconut Tarts

Chocolate Coconut Tarts

Coconut Crust:

1 cup cream of coconut

2 tablespoon light corn syrup

4 egg whites

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1 cup toasted chopped almonds

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups half-and-half

6 egg yolks

14 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Almond Topping:

1/8 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa

1/2 cup almonds

Crust:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut out squares of parchment paper to fit about (16-18) 4-inch pie tins. Center the parchment paper on each tin and place each lined tin on top of each other and weight down while completing recipe.

In a large bowl whisk together the cream of coconut, corn syrup, egg whites, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Stir coconut and chopped almonds. Lightly spray the lined tins with nonstick spray. Press the coconut mixture into each tin , forming a crust. Place tins on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; using the back of the spoon gently press down the center of the crusts, if they have puffed up. Turn off oven and return the sheet pans back to the oven with oven door held ajar.

Filling:

In a large saucepan, whisk the cornstarch, espresso powder, sugar and sat until combined. Whisk in the heavy cream and half-and-half until incorporated. Place over medium high heat, whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Reduce heat; continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes longer.

Remove from heat. Whisk in a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Whisk in the tempered egg yolks back into the remaining hot mixture; whisking constantly.

Return to medium heat and bring back to a gentle boil; cook 2 more minutes longer.

Remove from heat and whisk in the cooled melted chocolate and vanilla extract until combined. Place the filling in a glass bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool completely.

Almond Topping:

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and cocoa. Over medium heat bring to a boil; add the almonds . Continue to cook while stirring until the liquid has evaporated and formed a thick syrup. Pour the almond mixture over the prepared pan and allow to cool completely. Once cool, chop in coarse pieces.

Assembly:

Remove the crusts form the oven and allow to cool completely before filling. Fill the cooled crusts with the cooled filling and top with the almond topping. Gently lift the tarts from the tins with the parchment paper liner; serve.

Blackberry Torten

Blackberry Torten

Cake Base:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cloves

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 lb. butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 cups quality blackberry jam

1 cup toasted sliced almonds

Blackberry Frosting:

1/2 lb. butter, room temperature

1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blackberries

Assembly:

1 lb. almond paste

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

2 quarts fresh blackberries

1 cup quality blackberry jam

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of a 12X18X2 inch baking pan with parchment paper; spray with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a large bowl sift the flour, baking soda, spices and salt . In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla and add eggs one at a time; combine well. Blend in buttermilk until incorporated.

Stir in the blackberry jam and almonds.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly with a offset spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on pan.

Using 8cm cake rings, cut parchment paper strips 1 inch taller than the cake ring and enough in length to completely go around inside circumference. Place the parchment sheet inside cake ring like a collar. Cut the sheet cake out into rings using the same size cake rings;set aside.

Roll the almond paste out into a thin sheet on parchment paper. Using the same size cake rings, cut out enough almond paste disks as there are cake cut out.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all the frosting ingredients until well combined and fluffy.

Assembly:

Place a collared cake ring on a cake board, serving plate or large muffin liner.

Insert a cake into the collared ring. Lightly spread a thin layer of blackberry jam over the top of the cake. Carefully place an almond paste disk over the top of the jam cover cake. Spread another thin layer of jam. Spread evenly to about a 1/2 thickness the frosting over the jam cover almond paste. Place fresh berries decoratively over the top of the frosting, gently pressing in slightly. Sprinkle some toasted almonds over the top. Place the tortens in the refrigerator to set up. Once the tortens are set, remove from refrigerator and gently slide the cake ring off the torten. Gently pull the parchment away from the sides. Dust with powdered sugar.

Raspberry Tartlets

ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups , plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 eggs, beaten

Pastry Cream:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 vanilla bean , split
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon butter

directions

• 1

  Crust:

• 2

  Combine the flour and sugar into a food processor bowl fitted with a metal blade, pulse a couple of times to combine. Add butter chunks and pulse until a coarse meal is formed. Add eggs and process just until dough begins to form. Remove and form into a disk , wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

• 3

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

• 4

  Butter 8-10(3 1/2 -4 inch ) tartlet pans. Remove dough and roll to a thickness of about 1/8 inch thick and lined each tartlet pan. Place lined pans into freezer for at least 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and prick bottoms with fork. Line each pan with buttered foil and place pie weights in each pan. Bake for about 15 minutes , remove foil and continue until golden.

• 5

  Place on cooling rack , let cool and remove pans from shell.

• 6

  Pastry Cream:

• 7

  Combine milk, vanilla bean and half the sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil. Meanwhile in a bowl , whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar until they turn pale yellow and form a ribbon when dropped from a whisk, about 5 minutes. Sift flour and cornstarch into egg mixture and mix until blended.

• 8

  Remove vanilla bean from hot milk mixture and gradually whisk into the egg mixture. Whisk until blended and return to saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil , whisking for 2 minutes. Stream cream into mixing bowl. Dot surface with tablespoon butter and stir until melted. Cover top of cream with plastic wrap and allow to cool on rack, then refrigerate until needed.

• 9

  3 cup fresh raspberries

• 10

  Powdered sugar for dusting

• 11

  Fill when ready to eat. Fill shell with pastry cream and top with berries then dust with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Hazelnut Chiffon Pie

This lovely pie tastes just like hazelnut bon bons. The crust is a mixture of chocolate and toasted hazelnuts with a layer of dark chocolate truffle and then the pillow soft chocolate hazelnut filling, garnished with chopped hazelnut bon bons for a little bit of crunch

Chocolate Hazelnut Chiffon Pie

Crust

74 grams butter,melted

1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs

1 1/2 cups toasted, finely ground hazelnuts

Pie Filling

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 cups water

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups marshmallow cream or fluff

2 cups hazelnut spread

4 cups heavy cream

Truffle Layer

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate , finely chopped

5 oz. heavy cream

Hazelnut bon bons, chopped-optional

Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients; stir to combine. Press into a large deep dish pie plate. Place in oven and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Truffle Layer

Place the chopped chocolate in a separate bowl. Heat heavy cream to just boiling. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and shiny.

Pour all but about 1/2 cup of the truffle layer into the cooled crust. Smooth over bottom and sides of crust; set aside.

Reserve left over truffle filling for final assembly.

Filling

In a mixing bowl whisk the hazelnut spread and marshmallow cream until combined; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and the gelatin. Allow this to rest 1 minute. Over low heat , stirring constantly, dissolve the gelatin. Once gelatin is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the sugar , vanilla and remaining 1 cup of water. Stir mixture until the sugar is dissolved .  Pour into hazelnut mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Place mixture in refrigerator and chill until mixture forms mounds when dropped from a spoon.

In a large bowl beat the heavy cream until stiff. Fold into the properly chilled hazelnut mixture. Spoon the filling into the truffle lined crust. Sprinkle the chopped bon bons over the top and drizzle the remaining truffle mixture over the top. If the truffle mixture has firmed up too much, gently reheat in microwave to soften to drizzle consistency. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Lemon Blueberry Tarts

• ingredients

  Recipe for double pie crust

• Recipe for lemon curd
• Fresh blueberries
• 5 oz. white chocolate, melted

 

directions

 

• 1

  Roll out pie crust and line tartlet pans; prick bottom with fork. Blind bake the tarts, lined with parchment paper and weighted with dried beans or pie weights. When baked until golden at 425 degrees, remove from oven and while tarts are still warm brush inside of tarts with a thin layer of white chocolate. Set aside to cool completely.

• 2

  Fill the cooled tart shell with lemon curd . Top with fresh blueberries.

Fast and Easy Blueberry Crustata

Fast and Easy Blueberry Crustata

1/2 package frozen puff pastry

2-21/2 cup blueberries

zest from 1 lemon

juice from half a lemon

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2-3/4 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of berries

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

coarse sugar for crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Toss the berries in a bowl with the sugar,lemon juice, zest and cinnamon.

Thaw pastry sheet as directed on package. Roll out pastry into a free form circle. Place berry mixture in the center of the dough. Place on parchment lined baking sheet Spread berries out carefully to with in 2-3 inches of the edges of the dough. Bring edges up over the berries to form outside crust. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle crust with coarse sugar. Bake in oven until crust is golden. Serve with ice cream, creme anglaise or whipped cream.

 

Chocolate Coconut Wedges

10 (5×2 1/2 inch) graham crackers

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 tsp. salt

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 inch round pan with removable bottom; set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a metal bade, process the graham crackers until they are finely ground. Place into a large bowl. Add the coconut,salt and melted butter; stir to combine. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely.

In a heat proof bowl, place the chopped chocolate. Place over a pan of simmering water,; don’t allow water to touch the bottom of the bowl. Melt the chocolate until smooth. Remove and allow to cool 15 minutes.

In a small bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks. In a saucepan add the heavy cream and heat until the cream just boils. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot cream into the yolks. Add mixture to remaining cream and whisk over medium heat until the custard reaches 160 degrees. Whisk the custard into the chocolate until smooth and pour evenly over the crust. Smooth top with offset spatula. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Loosen the side carefully with a knife and push bottom up to remove to a serving platter. Place a stencil  of your choice over the top and dust with the powdered sugar.

Strawberry Tart

Strawberry Tart

Tart pan lined with crust and blind baked

1/4 cup white chocolate, melted

Fresh strawberries

Pastry Cream:

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean , split and scraped of seeds

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon butter

seedless strawberry or raspberry jam

Line the unbaked tart crust with foil or parchment and weight with dried beans or pie weights. The dried beans can be reused over and over again as pie weights. Allow to cool and store the beans in a lidded jar. Blind bake the tart crust. Allow crust to completely cool.

Brush the baked tart shell lightly with the melted white chocolate. This allows your crust to remain crisp when it’s filled.

In a saucepan , combine the half-and-half, vanilla seeds and vanilla bean and bring to a boil and remove from heat; cover allow to set 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs , sugar and flour until light and combined. Remove  the vanilla pod, rinse it and set aside to dry. Bring milk back up to a simmer. Temper the egg mixture with some of the hot milk milk mixture, whisking a small amount into the eggs mixture. Pour back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Bring to a boil stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and butter. Stir until combined. Place in a bowl and cover top of pastry cream with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely.

Place cooled pastry cream in cooled tart shell and spread out evenly.

Cut the tops off the fresh strawberries and arrange decoratively over the top of the pastry cream.

Heat  some jam with a touch of water until the jam is melted. Lightly brush the tops of the berries.

Serve chilled.

*Reserved vanilla pod- once nice and dry add to a jar filled with granulated sugar, seal airtight and in a few weeks you’ll have vanilla sugar. Keep adding vanilla pods each time you have used one in a recipe.

Apple Butter Apple Tart

 

1 lined tart shell

cinnamon sugar

thinly sliced, peeled and cored Granny Smith Apples

Apple butter

Crumble:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoon softened butter

Preheat oven to 375 degree. Spread a layer of apple butter on the bottom of the unbaked tart shell. Layer decoratively the thinly sliced apples. Sprinkle the tops of the apples with cinnamon sugar. Combine in a small bowl the crumble ingredients. Evenly crumble on top of the tart. Place tart on a baking sheet and bake until apples are tender.

The crumble recipe is enough for one 12 x 4 tart pan with removable bottom.

If you are making a larger tart , make additional crumble.