Pie!
Watching new Pushing Daisies + a ten mile run in the rain = I want pie!
Gimme pie recipes, please! Old favourites, new discoveries, anything good. I love fruit and I love nuts, and honey and spices and all creamy things and I don't care about the calorie content! I'd especially like some American pie recipes, because American pies always sounds so exotic!
In exchange, here, have my old school Eccles1 cake recipe.
Eccles cakes
For the pastry:
8 oz (200g)2 strong plain flour (bread flour, or failing that, all purpose flour)
3 oz (75g) margarine
3 oz (75g) lard (or non-hydrogenated shortening if you're vegetarian)
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons cold water
Method:
Blend the margarine and lard on a plate and shape into a block. Divide into four.
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub a quarter of the fat into the flour.
Add water and mix into a rather soft dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and kneed.
Roll out into an oblong approximately 16 cm by 35 cm (6 inches by 14 inches).
Mark into thirds.
Using another quarter of the fat, place small pats over the top two thirds of the pastry.
Fold bottom onto the middle and then top over the bottom.
Seal the edges.
Turn the pastry a quarter turn to the left.
Repeat process until the fat has been used up and also once without fat, and then chill, or freeze until needed.
Alternately, buy a pack of flaky pastry!
For the filling:
6 oz (150g) currants
3 oz (75g) butter
3 oz (75g) soft dark brown sugar
2 oz (50g) candied peel (optional - I use sultanas instead, though that's not traditional)
1 teaspoon mixed spice
To finish:
Egg to glaze
A little caster sugar (super-fine sugar)
Method:
Melt the butter.
Add the sugar, fruit and spices and mix well.
Roll out the pastry (it should be approximately 3 mm thick), and divide it into approximately 8 cm (3 inch) squares.
Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each pastry square.
Brush the edges with water, then gather them together into a circle and press down firmly.
Turn the cake over, shape it into a round, and roll flatter if necessary.
Place on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with castor sugar and slash the top with a knife.
Cook at 400°F (200°C or gas reg 6) for approximately 15 minutes.
1 I'm not sure if non-Brits will know what they are, so here's a pic and explanation.
2 Here's a conversion guide from British to American measurements.
Gimme pie recipes, please! Old favourites, new discoveries, anything good. I love fruit and I love nuts, and honey and spices and all creamy things and I don't care about the calorie content! I'd especially like some American pie recipes, because American pies always sounds so exotic!
In exchange, here, have my old school Eccles1 cake recipe.
Eccles cakes
For the pastry:
8 oz (200g)2 strong plain flour (bread flour, or failing that, all purpose flour)
3 oz (75g) margarine
3 oz (75g) lard (or non-hydrogenated shortening if you're vegetarian)
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons cold water
Method:
Blend the margarine and lard on a plate and shape into a block. Divide into four.
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub a quarter of the fat into the flour.
Add water and mix into a rather soft dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board and kneed.
Roll out into an oblong approximately 16 cm by 35 cm (6 inches by 14 inches).
Mark into thirds.
Using another quarter of the fat, place small pats over the top two thirds of the pastry.
Fold bottom onto the middle and then top over the bottom.
Seal the edges.
Turn the pastry a quarter turn to the left.
Repeat process until the fat has been used up and also once without fat, and then chill, or freeze until needed.
Alternately, buy a pack of flaky pastry!
For the filling:
6 oz (150g) currants
3 oz (75g) butter
3 oz (75g) soft dark brown sugar
2 oz (50g) candied peel (optional - I use sultanas instead, though that's not traditional)
1 teaspoon mixed spice
To finish:
Egg to glaze
A little caster sugar (super-fine sugar)
Method:
Melt the butter.
Add the sugar, fruit and spices and mix well.
Roll out the pastry (it should be approximately 3 mm thick), and divide it into approximately 8 cm (3 inch) squares.
Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each pastry square.
Brush the edges with water, then gather them together into a circle and press down firmly.
Turn the cake over, shape it into a round, and roll flatter if necessary.
Place on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with castor sugar and slash the top with a knife.
Cook at 400°F (200°C or gas reg 6) for approximately 15 minutes.
1 I'm not sure if non-Brits will know what they are, so here's a pic and explanation.
2 Here's a conversion guide from British to American measurements.