Dried Fruit and Nut Tart

Happy belated Tu Bishvat! I am kind of late to the party but only post wise! This past week we celebrated Tu Bishvat, the new year of the trees. Some of us celebrated with the traditional eating of dried fruit, some even had seders, and many went out to plant trees. I think I may have sufficed with some dried fruit but I can't remember. I definitely made it up on Shabbat, though. My friend A hosted me for lunch and asked me to bring a Tu Bishvat related dessert. Anything fruit related really would have been okay but seeing as the connection between this holiday and dried fruit is so strong, I knew I would have to go that route. The solution? The dreaded fruitcake. I was ready to go down that route and have a bunch of people hate me for choosing that (in my head, I don't see what the fuss is, it sounds perfectly delicious despite its repuation.. in any case, I made peanut butter cookies as a back up) when I remembered that there was a dried fruit related recipe in Flo Braker's wonderful book Baking for All Occasions. I flipped open the book to discover that my (freaky) memory for recipes hadn't let me down and there indeed was a recipe for Autumn Dried Fruit- Nut Tart. It may not be autumn around these parts, heck, it's practically summer (it's meant to be winter!), but that didn't stop me from making this tart, especially since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Well, most of them. I tweaked the rest. The tart calls for a sort of jam to be made by cooking some dried fruit together with water, alcohol and orange juice. That is spread onto the bottom of a blind baked tart shell and then topped with a frangipane-like topping and then baked to perfection. The result? Well, by the looks of it this tart won't win any contests on looks alone- the crust is beige as is the baked almond topping. Nonetheless, this tart is delicious. Subtly nutty and cookie like with a layer of yummy jam in the middle, I likened this to a hamentashen, but different. I was a big fan and it went pretty quickly. I used dried peaches and pears because I didn't have any apricots and omitted the whole nuts from that layer. I also swapped out a different recipe for the crust for one I thought was easier to make and work with. I thought the almond mixture was very subtle and by the time it hit me that I should have added a touch of almond extract to it to heighten the flavor, it was already in the oven. Whoops. I guess there's always next year.

Strawberry Rhubarb Icebox Pie

Here it is! The delicious pie that I made last weekend that made use of the crackers I made and the fresh haul of rhubarb. I was told to avoid using fruit in my dessert but I pretended I didn't hear and decided to make this pie because who can resist this winning combination?! Well, everyone was won over by it and pretty much only crumbs remained. This recipe comes from Lauren Chattman's Icebox Pies and it is super easy, no need to turn on your oven at all. I served this with homemade vanilla ice cream (to appease the fruit haters) but you could do without it. If you can get your hands on rhubarb, take advantage and make this!

Banana Cream Pie

It's been quite a while since I've been asked to make dessert for a meal but that's what I was given to make for today's Shabbat lunch. Usually, my dessert brainstorming takes a ridiculous amount of my time but this time it was quick and painless! Banana cream pie! I had a couple of bananas laying around on my counter and I had serendipitously picked up a couple of pie crusts earlier Thursday after my frolic in the snow (yes, we got snow!) so I was all set for pie. Loyal readers of this blog will know I have a weakness for pie making and that I jump at the chance to make a cream pie (something about witnessing pastry cream thicken just does it for me!) so it was time for this classic to have its due. Finding a recipe proved to be a bigger challenge. Every book I own has a recipe for this pie but none were usable until I opened up the KAF Baker's Companion and settled on their version. It pretty  much doesn't get simpler than this and using store bought crust makes this even faster work. I made the filling the night before so it would have time to set properly and then topped with whipped cream at my leisure Friday morning. I chose to layer the bottom with banana instead of folding them into the pastry cream as some other recipes advise. It's up to you, either way you'll have a winning pie on your hands, just as this was.

Dutch Apple Pie

Things have been nuts here. I've been opening course after course which has left me no time, and now that the situation is precarious and less than ideal, posting hasn't happened, although I've really wanted to. Two courses ago, I baked a ton for my soldiers and this pie was the favorite. It was devoured in minutes. I've since made it again, a rare phenomenon, and it was a hit. This recipe comes from A Taste of Home Church Supper Desserts and I must say, that book doesnt disappoint. It's my go to for soldier-friendly recipes that are sure to please. Sure, there are plenty of recipes that call for convenience products but nothing that some homemade replacements cant fix. The recipe is pretty simple. You make one streusel like crust recipe, press most of it into a pie plate. In goes the filling and then the rest of the crust serves as its topping. The filling also is made interestingly. You boil water, sugar and cornstarch and when it's thickened add some chopped apples, some cinnamon and some vanilla. Bake and voila! A perfect fall dessert. It doesnt hurt to serve a la mode, either. Just saying.

Lemon Cream Pie

For my sister's Shabbat sheva brachot, (way back in August, when I was in New York!) I put myself in charge of making dessert. I went a bit crazy, makings two different types of truffles, two different types of biscotti and two different types of frozen pies. (Having just received a copy of Icebox Pies, it was clear they would be of the cold variety. Also helped break the heat!!) The first pie to catch my eye was none other than the Lemon Cream Pie, also the first pie recipe in the book. The idea is a familiar one, whipped cream folded into homemade lemon curd and poured into a graham cracker crust. Yum. I don't know anyone who can resist the delightful tang of lemon curd especially when mellowed by cream. Even my father, who is one picky dessert eater, stealthily went back for seconds. I used store bought graham cracker crust because that's what I had on hand, but I encourage you to make your own, it is so much better that way. As far as the lemon curd goes, it is quite easy but since it is made with whole eggs, you'll have a lot of straining to do to get all the cooked egg white out. Don't be lazy, strain as many times as you can. It makes all the difference.

Pastry Cream Tart with Strawberries

Ok, I know the title is misleading because the strawberries are glaringly absent from these photographs, but trust me, they were there. I made this for a Shabbat lunch a couple of weeks ago and I topped the tart just before serving so Shabbat+topped-a-la-minute= no strawberries in the picture. This tart is just another in my line of cream filled pies/tarts because even though I'm no fan of creams and custards, they are just fun to make! This recipe comes from the Israeli Ben Ami cookbook. The cream here is vanilla flavored; I used vanilla bean paste instead of a vanilla bean and the specks were nicely present in the finished tart. You can use any seasonal fruit that looks good- strawberries are just at their end and I personally love them. I macerated them overnight in a bit of sugar and orange liqueur. To keep things parve, I used soy milk and non dairy whipping cream. My tart shrunk a slight bit so make sure to thoroughly freeze it. Don't let it get too dark or else it will be hard to cut... I know :) This tart not only looked impressive but was gone pretty quickly. Considering this dessert features the winning combination of strawberries and cream, that comes as no surprise.

Black Bottom Pie

Alright- time to catch up on my pies! I made this one a while ago for dessert for Shabbat lunch and it's another from Haedrich's Pie! This pie is messy to eat but I can assure you it's worth all of the napkins it'll take to clean the cream from your chin! We start with a biscuit or graham cracker crust and then pile in a ganache, which is your black bottom. On top of that goes a whipped cream lightened pastry cream with a flavor that brings me back to my childhood Swiss Miss days. (I must say I love making these pudding/custard/cream pies, especially since the work can so easily be divided over a couple of days!) A nice fudge sauce would be nice but I opted out. To make the ganache parve, I used coconut milk instead of cream. My cream turned out sort of soft, (hence the mess!) so I would add a bit of gelatin next time to stabilize it. All in all, another successful pie. Pi(e) day, here I come!

Peanut Butter Pie

Things have getting busy in my army life (in the best way!) and that's why posting has not been happening. I have somewhat of a day off and one of my goals is to get this post posted! A couple of weeks ago, more like a month ago, I was invited out for Friday night dinner and was asked to bring dessert. Her criteria were gooey, cinnamoney and fruity. Well, I took gooey and ran with it! I did some research and came across this recipe for Peanut Butter Pie in Patty Pinner's Sweety Pies. After confirming that no one was allergic to peanuts and that peanut butter was an acceptable choice, I made my shopping list. This pie comes together really easily, you just stir a bunch of things together. I decided to add some chocolate to the bottom to cut the sweetness. Next time, I need to use chocolate chips or chop the chocolate because the blocks didnt melt. I must say, this pie is GOOEY. And decadent and delicious. Cut small wedges to prevent from sugar-shock. Whipped cream is also necessary to cut the sweetness a bit. I didn't flavor it at all. As far as the gooey factor, I guess I must not have baked it long enough. Be sure to bake for the full length of time- covering with foil as necessary to prevent over browning.

Chocolate Cream Pie

I was asked to make dessert for dinner this past Shabbat and after shooting down a request for chocolate chip cookies (too typical!) I immediately decided to make chocolate cream pie. (The decision for what to make for dessert has never been easier!) I flipped through some books and settled on the recipe from Martha Stewart's latest on pies and tarts. (My love affair for pies has returned... stay tuned!) I've long been wanting to try out cream pies and brush up on some custard making skills and it seemed there was no better time to make one than for that Friday night. I must say, the pie was a big hit; almost all of it was devoured as dessert, and the last piece was breakfast for one of the guys. Watching the custard thicken on the stove was fun and I'm really glad my first try was a success- here's to more cream pies! I used soy milk, to keep it parve, and I was really happy to finally find out that soy milk works for these pies. I used chocolate biscuits here because chocolate wafers are non-existent on Israeli supermarket shelves and I didnt have time to make my own.They need slightly more butter than regular chocolate wafers, but otherwise, they make a fine substitute. I also didnt use sweetener to sweeten the cream; I find that non-dairy whipping cream is flavored enough already. Do as you please, but if you've never before made a cream pie, make one this weekend!

Plum Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

This is the dessert that I made for Shabbat last weekend- a hazelnut frangipane tart topped with fresh plums. I love the way it turned out. The filling so clearly tasted of hazelnuts while not being too sweet. This is one recipe I'm keeping secret, but here are the pictures anyway. Til next time....

Nectarine Lattice Pie

I realize it's been a while since I last posted.. but there are good reasons for that, I assure you. One is I finally moved to my new apartment!!!!! Yes, I am sitting on my new bed, enjoying GOOD wireless internet (poo poo poo) in my new neighborhood. :) And secondly, my dad's here for the week, so between unpacking and spending time with him, (and sorting out ANNOYING army stuff) this Nectarine Lattice Pie, which I made a couple of weeks back when I went to visit L and J, got pushed to the back burner. This recipe was adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking. The original recipe is for a Nectarine Blackberry Pie but since blackberries cost an arm and a leg and it is peak season for nectarines, that's exactly what they got. (For those of you who think the concept of nectarine pie is bizarre, just think about peach pie, minus the fuzz.) I really enjoy making pies and this was no exception, especially since this one gave me a chance to improve my lattice making skills.  A scoop of ice cream on a hot Shabbat afternoon wouldn't be amiss here whether you choose to serve the pie hot or cold.

Rustic Apricot Galette

It's apricot season here in Israel and every time I walk through the shuk, I stare longingly at the containers of them lining each fruit stand. Sadly, they are still too expensive to justify buying. And so, I continue walking through, apricot-less. To my total surprise and excitement, our terrific cook B ordered PLENTY of apricots for our final Shabbat at SFW! Going through them and washing them to serve, there were of course some fruits that were blemished and too soft to be deemed edible. I happily set those aside to bake with. I headed back to my room, apricots (mishmish, in Hebrew) in tow to begin the research process. After flipping through a number of books (all of my pie books came up empty!) I was hit with inspiration and ran to pick up Regan Daly's In the Sweet Kitchen. There in the section for Pies and Tarts was a recipe for a Rustic Apricot Galette.  Ahhh, perfection. Rustic, simple and beautiful (I can hardly look at the pictures, the fruit is stunningly bright!), just the thing to highlight this perfect fruit. A couple of summers ago I made the plum variation but my pie skills were seriously lacking then and well, it wasn't entirely successful. This was the chance to redeem myself and it was quite nice to see how well my pie making skills have developed. This open faced pie came together so quickly. I chilled it in the fridge the night before and baked it the next morning although I wouldnt repeat that because although the chilling step is IMPERATIVE a lot of liquid somehow seeped out of the galette making a bit of a mess. Lesson learned. Anyway, the heat of the oven did wonders for this and the apricots tasted tart  and sweet and delicious, like the best apricot preserves in a simple filling. If there are apricots to be found near you, make this in celebration of the season's bounty.

Lemon Chiffon Pie in Gingersnap Crust

I've been baking a lot lately, but things have been crazy and I am just now finding the time to post. The girls' banquet or sob fest was last night and most of them are leaving in the next couple of days so my time is freeing up for a bit before I move. Crazy! Two weekends ago, when I went to A for Shabbat, I brought over this Lemon Chiffon Pie. Something mousse-like was requested and I immediately went for lemon. I figured a chiffon pie would be perfect and indeed, made with a homemade gingersnap crust, it was. In my humble opinion, gingersnap and lemon are perfectly complementary and everyone else agreed. Light and refreshing, it's the perfect summertime dessert. However, there are a couple of technical things I'd do differently. The recipe for the chiffon pie comes from the book Pie by Ken Haedrich. He calls for one envelope of gelatin and not knowing what the Israeli equivalent was, I used 2 teaspoons. I think it was too much as the end product was a but too... jiggly for my liking. I loved the texture of it when it was still mousse-like, not all the way set. I think the next time I make this, and there will be a next time (even if I only make the filling as a dessert) I'd cut the gelatin back to the vicinity of a teaspoon, a teaspoon and a quarter. Otherwise, I have no complaints. All my eaters were happy. My roommate ate the leftovers of this pie all the way to the last crumb.

Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy

The picture you see here may look like a pie, but really, it's something a bit simpler to put together with a much cooler name. It's a pandowdy. A pandowdy essentially is a bottomcrust-less pie, so instead of going through the work of making and rolling out two pie crusts, you only have the inconvenience (if you can call making pies incovenient! Shame on you!) of making one. Naturally, I still had some rhubarb leftover and some apples that were neglected from dinner so I threw this together one night. The recipe comes from Rustic Fruit Desserts and it really couldn't be easier, especially if you have ready made pie crusts (only the homemade kind!) in the freezer. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is really welcome here, so if you have that, this will make a wonderful Shabbat dessert. Or whenever you just feel like having a nice plate of comforting pandowdy. Or two. With ice cream. I won't tell.

Chocolate Crusted Pumpkin Tart

Thumbing through my brand new copy of Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts, this chocolate crusted pumpkin tart immediately jumped right out at me. (The recipe is actually calls for a spiderweb design, making this perfect for Halloween. Since it is neither October nor do I nor my tasters celebrate Halloween anyway, I omitted the piping work.) Although pumpkin is traditionally an American fall dessert, courtesy of Thanksgiving, here in Israel, I do as I please, especially as fresh pumpkin is abounding in the shuk. I had the canned stuff at home and some leftover sour cream and so finally got to work making this. I made the spiced chocolate dough the night before in my mixer-- such quick work!! It chilled overnight until I was ready for it. The pumpkin filling comes together so easily- simply whisk up a bunch of things in a bowl and strain. A word on straining-- it is imperative to get a smooth satiny filling. Do not skip this step! The resulting tart, in my humble opinion, is pretty attractive. The contrast of the dark chocolate and orange really is beautiful to behold, or maybe that's just the baker in me. Again, there were some girls who felt like the spices in the tart were too strong. On the other hand, I had a couple who loved it and one who actually ate most of the tart over a few days because she really loved it. This all could be because I baked this in a 9 inch tart instead of a ten inch tart and so the crust to filling ratio was high, making the spices more apparent, so do as I say not as I do and go for the ten inch tart or feel free to dial back the spices in the crust and filling as you wish. One more thing- be sure to chill the tart before serving. Due to the dairy in the filling, the baked tart can come off as a bit slimy and the time in the fridge will firm it up for you.

Rhubarb Crumble Pie

It was obvious to me that the leftover rhubarb would go not into a cake or muffin but into another pie. (I have a thing for pies. I just never get bored of making them.) This time around, finding inspiration for a rhubarb pie wasn't difficult- I just turned to my brand new copy of the beautiful Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts. (Just as an aside, this book has mouthwatering recipes with stunning photos accompanying it. I'm hoping to make the chocolate-pumpkin tart next week....) In the "Rustic" chapter of the book is nestled a recipe for Rhubarb Crumble Pie. Rhubarb. Crumble. Pie. Three things I love in one glass pie plate. All I'm going to say about this pie is that I left it out for the girls during sign in and when I came to check on it later, all that was left was a tiny bit of pie crust. I guess the girls can't resist a seasonal pie, either. There's nothing difficult about this pie- make the crumble while the dough chills and make the filling while the completed pie shell is chilling. Ice cream wouldn't be amiss here, but I'd understand if you just wanted all rhubarb, all the time.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Spring has finally arrived! I'm not sure it's made up it's mind that it wants to stay, as the weather keeps changing back and forth, but it certainly is here! You know what that means... more fruit-centric desserts. It's no secret that I much prefer making fruit based delights over the heavier chocolate or butter laden ones and now that the season is changing and the best that nature has to offer has arrived, there is simply no reason not to. When I went to the shuk last week, I noticed that the rhubarb was back and I couldn't resist buying a bundle. Sadly, strawberries are on their way out, but there are still some to be had at a bargain. Once I scooped up a bundle of rhubarb, I quickly snatched up a kilo of strawberries and headed home, pie very much on the brain. Strawberry and rhubarb is a classic combination; the sweetness of the berries mellows out the tartness of the rhubarb resulting in pie heaven. Even though it's my idea of heaven, I wasn't sure how the girls would take it, some having never heard of rhubarb before. I decided I didn't care- the pie was going to get made! I opened my copy of Luscious Berry Desserts to find a simple, straightforward recipe and got to work. I omitted the lemon juice as I didn't have it on hand, but be sure to add the cinnamon. It's just a slight amount and although you might think it has no place in a pie like this, it works. In the end, I needn't have worried because the pie tasted delicious and the girls loved it. My roommate, who had never before had rhubarb, kept going back to the pie, concluding that it was amazing. I'm sure you all have your own tried and true recipes for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie but might this post encourage you to get into the kitchen and start baking? I hope so. Happy Spring!

Shaker Lemon Pie

I really wanted to have this pie baked and posted in time for Pi Day (last week) but it just didnt work out that way, so I'm posting this now. At a recent visit to Rami Levi, I picked up some lemons. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with them (and I still have a few of them left to use!) but I finally settled on this Shaker Lemon Pie because it's a pie and because I wanted to try my hand again at baking with the full fruit. This pie is credited to the Shakers, a thrifty bunch that tried to avoid wastefulness in their cooking, hence the use of the whole lemon here. I was intrigued by this concept but knew that the girls would not take too well to having peel in their dessert. Although most recipes that you can find for this pie are the same, I opted to use Rose Levy Beranbaum's version from The Pie and Pastry Bible. Being without a mandoline, I sliced the lemons as thinly as I could and macerated them for a good 18 hours before baking. I opted for a butter/shortening crust instead of her suggested cream cheese crust with no harm done. Once the lemons were finished macerating, assembly was pretty easy- just whisk together some eggs and add to the lemons to form a custard and bake. So how did it turn out? Pretty deliciously, I think. The sugar mellows out the lemons to produce a lemon-bar like custard filling. Yum. And the peel? Had a nice zing, but without the usual bitterness that the pith contributes. I was a big fan. The girls? They loved the flavor but unanimously decided I should make this again without the peel. I tried to explain that that would defeat the whole purpose of this pie but to no avail. I'm still happy I tried it and this would be a great dessert to make for lemon lovers with more sophisticated palates and open minds. This pie requires advanced preparation so plan accordingly.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This past Shabbat, I returned to Bar Ilan (ahhhh) to visit my dear friend, S. She recently spent Shabbat by me (the one where I cooked!) making this past weekend my turn. She asked me to bring challot (Mommy's challot) and dessert. Although I didnt have a lot of time, I knew exactly what I wanted to make! Obviously a pie! (I'm on a bit of a pie kick- can you tell?) But not just any pie! The weekend before, I was at my sister's and she served a chocolate chip cookie pie. Bingo! Her pie looked quite cake like and was baked in a store bought shell. I wanted something really more cookie like and in a homemade shell. In my first or second year, I made a pie like this from Carole Walter's book and it really was a cookie in a pie shell. I went in a slightly different direction, using the Tollhouse Pie from the Baked cookbook, after seeing rave reviews on blog throughout the internet. Described as a "cross between a pecan pie and a chocolate chip cookie", this pie is made with whiskey, which I swapped for vanilla, and does indeed turn out with a nice gooey texture, although you probably can't tell that from the matte looking surface of the pie. The chocolate chips sink to the bottom forming a nice chocolatey layer. I used their pie crust recipe and chilled it thoroughly baking. The filling was done before the bottom of the crust had much color so I turned off the top heating element to cook the bottom more. The result was a home run of a pie- not a crumb left in sight. S commented that she usually hates pie crust but that she loved this. She actually kept raving about it, which she said was a pretty good indicator of how she liked it. The sentiment was echoed by everyone who tasted it. In lieu of a microwave, as the Baked authors suggest, I just heated this pie up on the hot plate well before dessert time and it was perfect. Ice cream is a must, but you'll love it without it, too.

Brownie Pie with Peanut Butter Crust

Chocolate and peanut butter... making its second appearance in a pie in the last month. All I gotta say is that people here love chocolate and peanut butter and I looooove making pie. So making this pie for our weekly meeting was a no-brainer. Well actually it was a brainer, because the original recipe for this (which comes from Pie by Ken Haedrich) did not call for a peanut butter crust. I happened to have some leftover dough from the Peanut Butter and Jelly bars. Not wanting to waste, I thought it would work perfectly as a pie crust. Work perfectly? Certainly did and definitely elevated this brownie pie to new heights. Moving on to the brownie pie itself..... The filling comes together much like the typical brownie, except for the fact that the eggs are beaten for four minutes until fluffy, giving the filling extra lift in the oven. The nice crunch meringue like crust totally belied the ooey gooey chocolately filling inside. I threw in a handful of chocolate chips for good measure and would swap in some cocoa for flour next time to make this pie even more chocolatey. This pie won raves all around and after the meeting was over, it didnt last long in my room when the girls found it. Apparently I outdid myself with this one. Try it, even with a regular pastry crust, you wont be disappointed. Vanilla ice cream, anyone?