Sunday 20 October 2013

Thanksgiving Pie



The best pumpkin pie ever! About 2 inches thick of creamy spice filled goodness. You can use any pie crust even store-bought. Just make sure you cook it before you add the pumpkin filling. 
In this pie, I made a long braid with extra pie dough and then glued it to the pie crust using eggwash (1 beaten egg and 1 tbsp of water). This is one of the best pie crust trims that I've used because it helps prevent the crust from shrinking too much.

Ingredients:

Flaky pie crust dough
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch 
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (is about 1-3/4 cups)
3/4 cup 35% cream
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 cup sour cream

Pie crust:

  1. Roll out pie dough and transfer to 9-inch pie dish. Freeze crust 15min (helps prevent the crust from shrinking). Preheat oven 375 F. Line crust with foil and pie weights or beans. Bake until sides are set and dry (about 15min). Remove foil and beans and cook another 15min. Pierce  crust if begins to bubble. Cool the crust for 30min
Pie filling:

  1. Reduce oven to 325F
  2. whisk both sugars + cornstarch + cinnamon + ginger + and salt in a bowl until no lumps remain.
  3. Whisk in pumpkin + 35% cream + eggs + sour cream
  4. Poor filling in pie crust
  5. Bake pie until the filling puffs at edges and center is almost set. (1h to 1h05)
  6. Cool on rack and cover + chill until cold
Serve chilled with soft whipping cream. 


Sunday 6 October 2013

Irish Soda Bread


Soda bread is a bread that doesn't need yeast or time to rise so it's great if you're in a hurry. What makes it rise is the baking soda and the buttermilk. When you mix them together, they start to react and bubble a bit. 
Irish Soda bread is perfect for dunking in soups or stews. Great warm with butter or jam. 

This is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com  and it is very good and simple.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

  1. Preheat Oven to 325 F (165 C) and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt, and baking soda. 
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg and buttermilk and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened
  4. Add in melted butter and stir
  5. Pour into pan
  6. Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.