Daring Bakers June 2013: Pie. Also, pie.
Sorry I've been AWOL for like the past week and a half. I was out of town dealing with family bs. Pretty much all there is to say about that, at least publicly. I can't catch up on all the entries I missed, so let me know if there was anything important I should see!
Now that I'm back in America with a real kitchen at my disposal, it's time... to be a Daring Baker again. The Daring Bakers is an online group of, well, bakers, who like to tackle new challenges, and every month a new food/recipe is chosen for everybody to try out.
Confession: I've actually been Daringly Baking again since May's challenge, which was a princess cake. But I tried making the cake THREE TIMES and each time it completely sank on itself. >:( I had to toss it out, which made me mad because I'd already gotten all the other aspects successfully made... just the cake itself kept dying.
y u gotta play me like that, cake?
Luckily, June's challenge was right up my alley...
(Obligatory Blog-checking lines: Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies!)
Yes, it was time for pie! The host posted recipes for 4 different kinds of pie--momofuku's crack pie, a lattice-top crostata, a chocolate caramel tart, and a double-crust apple pie. I am already a master of double-crust pies and not into pure-sugar pies like the crack pie, so I decided to make the other two. :D
First up, crostata!
Home-made preserves ftw--I made mixed berry ones with a lot of blackberries, so it was really sour/tart.
Lattice AASSSEEMMMBBLLLEEE
Baked!
Delicious goodness.
I wasn't a fan of the crust recipe on this, as I like a really crispy/crunchy crust and this was pretty soft, but it was a delicious pie and my first ever attempt at a real lattice! I love fruit pies that aren't really sweet. Wish I could find some rhubarb!
Next, I made the chocolate caramel tart. This was a huge failure, but I learned valuable lessons.
Lesson #1:
pate sablee shrinks. A LOT. I didn't realize it shrank way more than other crusts do, so I just rolled one out like usual, and as you can see, it collapsed into a super thick, super short crust. Next time I make this kind of crust, I'll be sure to roll it out really thin and then roll it out to a bigger size than I need.
Lesson #2:
Make sure that the custard recipe you have works with soy milk. As you can see, my custard DID NOT come together in the middle. It was perfectly baked at the edges, but no matter how long I baked it, the center wouldn't come together. The ONLY factor I can think of is the soy milk because I followed the rest of the directions to a T.
Lesson #3:
(thankfully not pictured)
DON'T EAT SAID UNDERCOOKED CUSTARD, even if you did bake it in the oven for a ridiculous period of time (like TWICE as long as should've been necessary). I learned the hard way that it makes you SICK AS A DOG and spent a couple of days lying around in bed going, "WHY DID I EAT THAT, AGGHH, STOMACH."
This pie will haunt me for a while, and my desire to see a chocolate custard again is extreeemmely low. It was still delicious, but in this case not worth the food poisoning.
Now that I'm back in America with a real kitchen at my disposal, it's time... to be a Daring Baker again. The Daring Bakers is an online group of, well, bakers, who like to tackle new challenges, and every month a new food/recipe is chosen for everybody to try out.
Confession: I've actually been Daringly Baking again since May's challenge, which was a princess cake. But I tried making the cake THREE TIMES and each time it completely sank on itself. >:( I had to toss it out, which made me mad because I'd already gotten all the other aspects successfully made... just the cake itself kept dying.
y u gotta play me like that, cake?
Luckily, June's challenge was right up my alley...
(Obligatory Blog-checking lines: Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies!)
Yes, it was time for pie! The host posted recipes for 4 different kinds of pie--momofuku's crack pie, a lattice-top crostata, a chocolate caramel tart, and a double-crust apple pie. I am already a master of double-crust pies and not into pure-sugar pies like the crack pie, so I decided to make the other two. :D
First up, crostata!
Home-made preserves ftw--I made mixed berry ones with a lot of blackberries, so it was really sour/tart.
Lattice AASSSEEMMMBBLLLEEE
Baked!
Delicious goodness.
I wasn't a fan of the crust recipe on this, as I like a really crispy/crunchy crust and this was pretty soft, but it was a delicious pie and my first ever attempt at a real lattice! I love fruit pies that aren't really sweet. Wish I could find some rhubarb!
Next, I made the chocolate caramel tart. This was a huge failure, but I learned valuable lessons.
Lesson #1:
pate sablee shrinks. A LOT. I didn't realize it shrank way more than other crusts do, so I just rolled one out like usual, and as you can see, it collapsed into a super thick, super short crust. Next time I make this kind of crust, I'll be sure to roll it out really thin and then roll it out to a bigger size than I need.
Lesson #2:
Make sure that the custard recipe you have works with soy milk. As you can see, my custard DID NOT come together in the middle. It was perfectly baked at the edges, but no matter how long I baked it, the center wouldn't come together. The ONLY factor I can think of is the soy milk because I followed the rest of the directions to a T.
Lesson #3:
(thankfully not pictured)
DON'T EAT SAID UNDERCOOKED CUSTARD, even if you did bake it in the oven for a ridiculous period of time (like TWICE as long as should've been necessary). I learned the hard way that it makes you SICK AS A DOG and spent a couple of days lying around in bed going, "WHY DID I EAT THAT, AGGHH, STOMACH."
This pie will haunt me for a while, and my desire to see a chocolate custard again is extreeemmely low. It was still delicious, but in this case not worth the food poisoning.