April ABC Challenge: Kersenvlaai (Dutch cherry pastry)

This is an interesting change on cherry pie -- the filling is baked into a casing of enriched bread dough instead of pie crust.  It's apparently very popular in the Netherlands.

I had to make a lot of changes to the original recipe in order to work with what I had.  For starters, I didn't have a vlaai pan, which is just a large, round pan about 1" deep.  I had an 11" pan that was 2" deep, so I worked with that.  The instructions I gave in the recipe are how I would do it next time.  What I actually did was roll out a large circle of dough and then let it relax for 10 minutes as instructed, then cut it into a 13" circle.  But when I loosened it from the board, it shrank dramatically and thickened.  I should have loosened it and THEN cut it.  I tried rolling it back out again, but the dough was very springy and wouldn't cooperate.  I globbed the whole mess back together and rolled it out again, and I'm afraid all that handling might have caused the bread to be tough.  Anyway, I think what I described below would be a better method.

The recipe called for a jar of dark sweet cherries in light syrup, which I couldn't find.  However, I had cherries in the freezer and sour cherry juice on hand, so I improvised.  It took a little doing, getting the right quantity, the right consistency, and the right sweetness.  The first go, it must have cooked down because I didn't end up with nearly enough.  I made a second batch, and while it was cooking I noticed an unfinished bottle of red wine on the counter that was too old to drink.  I thought that might be a tasty addition, so in it went.  I had also added cloves because I always wanted to try that with cherries.  (My hunch was right -- it's a good combination.)  I had a little leftover cream cheese, so of course I had to use that.  Then on half the pie I sprinkled chocolate chips to see how that would work out. 

Because the cherry juice was fairly sour (no sugar added), I skipped the lemon juice in the original recipe, but I had to guess at how much sugar to add.  (I erred on the side of less.)  I also had to use a lot more corn starch than I had expected.  In the future I would try to use a different thickener, like tapioca, which might have given a lighter results, but the corn starch work okay. 

The recipe for the filling is so drastically changed from the original that I haven't shown my changes.  Here's what I used:

For the filling

2 cups unsweetened sour cherry juice

1 cup red wine

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cup corn starch*

1/8 teaspoon cloves

350 grams (about 2 cups) previously frozen cherries, halved

3-4 ounces cream cheese or mascarpone

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the dough

300 grams flour

6 grams instant yeast

120 grams lukewarm milk

20 grams sugar

3 6 grams salt

30 grams unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

coarse sugar for sprinkling pie lattice

In a small dish, whisk together the corn starch with about 1/2 cup of the juice until thoroughly mixed.  Pour the remaining juice, the cornstarch mixture, and sugar into a pan and heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Lower heat and boil gently for 2 minutes.  Check consistency by cooling a small amount in a dish.  It should be about the consistency of semi-firm gelatin, or a loose jelly, thick enough to hold some shape, but not firm.  If it's still too thin, cool some of the mixture and add a teaspoon more cornstarch to it, whisk thoroughly, and add to the mixture in the pan.  (Never add cornstarch to a hot liquid or it will clump.)  Stir to fully incorporate and repeat the process of boiling for 2 minutes, then checking consistency.  Repeat until the right consistency is achieved.  Add the cloves and the cherries and stir to combine.  Set aside.  (This can be done in advance, and the mixture kept refrigerated.)

For the dough, dissolve the yeast in the milk and let prove. Whisk together the salt, sugar, and flour, then add the milk and egg and bring it together. When it starts forming a ball, add the butter.  Knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 425ºF.  Lightly butter an 11 x 2-inch round pan.  Roll the dough into a large circle about 3 mm/0.12-inch thick, about 15 inches in diameter, and fit it into the prepared pan.  Cover it and let relax for 10 minutes.  Carefully trim the side of the dough so that it is only 1" high all around; set the extra dough aside.  Spread the bottom of the pie with the cream cheese, then add the cherry filling and distribute evenly.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Make a lattice with the leftover dough and cover the pie decoratively; sprinkle the lattice with course sugar.  Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes. (Check after 15 minutes -- if it's browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 350.  I turned my oven down after 10 minutes.)  Leave to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then carefully lift it out with the help of a spatula or pie server. (The curved spatula that's used for woks worked well.)  Cool completely on a cooling rack.  This is typically served with a dollop of whipped cream.

Conclusion:  I'm not sure what I think of this.  I'm having a hard time envisioning it as a dessert -- it seems more like a breakfast food or snack to me.  Partially it's the bread, and partially it's that I didn't make mine very sweet.  Also, this is not a rich dessert -- there's nearly no fat.  (And yet I didn't much like adding whipped cream.)  And I can't imagine how one could eat this with a fork because the bread is too firm.  It just makes sense to pick it up and eat it like pizza.  The dish seems too casual for a real sit-down dessert.  

Do I like this better than traditional cherry pie?  No, I don't think so, although I'd really like to try a "real" one, by someone who knows what he or she is doing.  I might think differently.  My bread was slightly overcooked, probably due to the dark pan I used, so it was a bit tough.  (It got much tougher after a day or so -- this is not a recipe that keeps well.)  Besides, it's so much easier and faster to make pie crust than bread dough.  I'd also like to try macerating the cherries in wine, kirsch, or cherry brandy before using.

I liked the addition of the red wine, and the cloves, but I did not like the chocolate.  I don't know why -- it seems like a no-brainer.  Also, I wish I'd had more cream cheese -- what I'd put in wasn't detectable for flavor or creaminess as far as I could tell.  I'd double the amount next time, though I'd have to cut down on the cherry filling or make the pie higher.  And I think I'd like this much better if the bread had been a little more crumbly; perhaps adding more butter would help. 

Original recipe:  ‘Kersenvlaai’: A Very Cherry Pie with Bread Dough via Weekend Bakery

February ABC challenge: Custard Rum-raisin Cinnamon Rolls

I'm always up for a good cinnamon roll.  This recipe sounded interesting because they're filled with a custard instead of a butter/sugar mixture.  (Although you do sprinkle the filling with brown sugar.  Why not just mix that into the custard???)  I thought they might be something like pain aux raisin, but no, not nearly that rich and sweet and buttery.

I reduced the recipe to a quarter the quantity (yield 4), rum soaked the raisins, and made a few other minor tweaks, mostly to accommodate the reduced recipe.  My changes are noted in strikeout and italics.  Here's what I used:

Crème Pâtissière
64g (2.25 oz) full fat milk
2.5g sugar
quarter piece vanilla pod
5g (scant 2 teaspoons) cornstarch
12g (1 tablespoon) sugar
13g egg yolk (close to one whole)
5g (1 teaspoon) butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the milk gently in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, sugar and the egg yolk until well blended. Slowly whisk 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then add the mixture back to the milk in the saucepan and whisk again. Whisk slowly while bringing the milk mixture to a boil, picking up speed as the mixture thickens. Boil and whisk the mixture for one minute. Remove from the heat, add the butter, cinnamon, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Place the saucepan on a cool surface and leave it to stand for a minute, then transfer the crème to a bowl and cover with clingfilm. When cool, refrigerate until needed. 

Dough
225g (1.8 cup) AP flour (or pastry flour)
4g (¾ teaspoon) salt
3g (1 teaspoon) instant yeast (or 1.4 teaspoon active dry)
75g (2.6 oz) milk at room temperature
57g (2 oz) water
13g (2¾ teaspoon) salted butter, softened
12g (1 tablespoon) sugar
ground seeds from 2 cardamom pods (scant 1/8 teaspoon of seeds)
25g (2 tablespoons) golden raisins, macerated in dark rum until plump
12g (1 tablespoon) soft brown sugar
25g (3 teaspoons) icing sugar plus water for glaze (and salt)
 
In a bowl, combine the dough ingredients and knead for about 15 minutes, until the dough is silky and bouncy. Cover and leave for 1 hour at room temperature. 

Roll the dough into a long rope about 18 inches, then roll out the rope into a thin rectangle about 6 x 20 inches. Loosen the prepared cinnamon pastry cream by whisking briefly. Spread an even layer onto the dough rectangle, then sprinkle the brown sugar and raisins on top. Roll up the dough starting at the short end. Cut into 4 equal slices (about 1.5 inches thick) and place the slices, cut side up, in a nonstick or greased baking pan. Leave to proof for 60 to 75 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 392ºF. Bake the proofed buns in the oven for 22 to 25 minutes. Leave to cool slightly. Prepare the glaze by mixing icing sugar and water to form a smooth paste and brush on top of the buns.

 

My dough seemed a bit stiff right off, so I added about another 0.5 ounce of water.  Perhaps it was supposed to be stiff, as the dough became difficult to manage once it was rolled up.  The log was soft and flattened out, then squished terribly when I cut the slices.  Raisins and custard were popping out everywhere, but I just reformed the rolls.

Conclusion:  These were nice, but nothing special.  The custard disappeared into the bread and wasn't noticeable other than adding a taste of vanilla, and it did add a nice moistness.  (I would double the custard.  Since I used a different method of adding vanilla, I don't know how strong the original recipe would have been.)  They were only mildly sweet (which tends to make you eat more!), the cinnamon was barely detectable, and the cardamom not at all.  In fact, they were a little bland and uninteresting.

Recipe:  Sunday morning cinnamon buns… deluxe via Weekend Bakery

January ABC challenge: Rondos (Dutch almond pastries)

 
The new year starts the Avid Baker's Challenge with a new challenge source:  The Weekend Bakery.  This blog is created by two folks from the Netherlands, so their recipes are originally in Dutch but also posted in English.  They are primarily artisan bread bakers, but do a lot of other baked items as well. 

So we're off on our first Dutch pastry, and just like Brittany, oops, I did it again:  I made the frangipane for this recipe, but didn't measure out what was called for when assembling the rondos. (I'm so used to recipes giving exact amounts, not leaving you with extra.)  So, I don't know if my final rondos have too much or not enough.  I used about 2/3 of the quantity made, and thought I was putting in a generous dollop.  (I mean, my rondos ended up domed instead of flat.)  I really need to pay better attention.  I'm getting cocky.

I made one quarter the recipe called for, but otherwise stuck pretty much to the directions.  The only significant change was that I considerably reduced the quantity of sugar in the dough to less than half the amount called for.

Here's what I used (yield 2):

For frangipane filling:

13g butter
13g (1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
¼ egg (13-14g)
zest of 1/8 a lemon
17.5g finely ground almonds

For the pastry:
50g pastry flour (of which 1 teaspoon was corn starch)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
37.5g cold salted butter, in cubes
25 g 9g (2 teaspoons) soft white or light brown granulated sugar 

For assemply:
35g to 50g frangipane
2 almonds
egg wash for brushing tops (beaten with some water or cream)
  

Slowly melt the butter over low heat and then let it cool. In a small bowl, beat together with a whisk the sugar, egg, and lemon zest until creamy. Slowly add the melted butter while continuing to beat. Add the almond flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the butter cubes and rub it into the flour. Add the sugar and quickly combine to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough into four equal balls and pat down to make a slight disc. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Roll out each of the dough discs to a small circle, about 1/8th inch thick, or to the approximate diameter of whatever baking ring or tin you're using.  (I used 2.75" and 3" round cookie cutters.)  Cut the dough to fit, two for each tin.  Place the rings (I lightly greased the inside of them) on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and fit one round of dough in the bottom of each.  Dab a generous blob of the frangipane on top of the dough rounds inside the rings (you will not likely use all of it), then carefully top with the second rounds. Softly press the tops and bottoms together, keeping the tops flat.  Brush each rondo with the egg wash. Place an almond in the middle of each rondo and press in lightly. Give the tops a second brush with the egg wash.  Bake the rondos for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately remove the baking rings.  Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. 

The original recipe contains an option for filling with almond paste.  These could also be made in a muffin tin or tart tins.  Here is a video that shows how that would work.

I found the original directions for these rather tedious and in that sense difficult to follow.  She goes so far as to tell us to remove the frangipane from the refrigerator before using.  I like to be able to skim a recipe and quickly and easily see what I need to do next without having to read through a lot of text like it's a novel.  These really aren't difficult at all, but they seemed so while making them.

One concern I had was that the frangipane might stick to the rings and the pastries would then be difficult to remove.  That's why I greased the rings, and also pressed the top dough down along the edges to try to prevent any leakage.  It probably wasn't necessary -- no one seemed to have a problem with that, though when making these in a muffin tin, one is directed to fully encase and seal in the filling.

Conclusion:  These were extremely tasty, like a good shortbread, and very rich (over 2 tablespoons of butter each.)  I expected them to be more cake-like, based on the original photos, and considerably less dense.  I would have liked a stronger almond flavor and less lemon.  It seems these often have almond extract added to the filling, which I would do in the future, and perhaps eliminate the zest (just for my own taste preference.)  Cardamom would also be a nice addition.

Original recipe:  Homemade Rondos via Weekend Bakery

Prune and Chocolate Rugelach

I messed up.  I was in a hurry, doing 3 things at once, and I mixed the ingredients wrong.  Instead of measuring out the required portion of the fudge sauce, I dumped the whole lot in, which was about a cup.  I wondered why there was so much filling!  Obviously these would have been much tangier and less chocolaty had I done it properly.  You would have gotten more of the rich pastry relative to the filling, and I might have been able to squeeze in more chocolate nibs if I'd had less filling (though I'm not so sure that would have been a good idea.)

For starters, I'd say the original recipe was sloppy.  Who are these people on paid sites would are such poor recipe writers???  Anyway, I made only half the recipe, and I changed the shape.  Rugelach, in my experience, are not sliced logs -- they're rolled crescents.  So that's what I made.  The instructions also called to mix cold butter and cold cream cheese into a chunky mass.  I didn't see why I would want chunks of either in the dough.  All other recipes I looked at called for both to be soft so they would mix together homogeneously, so that's what I did.  Another change I would make for a future version would be to macerate the fruit overnight in the booze, or just leave the booze out entirely and use water.  It wasn't noticeable.  (You certainly don't need Slivovitz.)  I've written the recipe here as it should be, not as I did it.

Here's what I used, with my changes in strikeout and italics (yield 2 dozen cookies):

For the fudge sauce (makes about 1 cup):
3 ounces (3/8 cup) water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the dough, prune jam, and assembly:
1 cup prunes
1/8 cup Slivovitz [Food 52's note: We substituted brandy]
1 stick butter, cut in chunks and kept cold room temperature 
4.5 ounces cream cheese, cut in chunks and kept cold room temperature
Generous pinch kosher fine salt
1 3/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/6 cup water
1/6 cup fudge sauce (from above)
4 ounces cocoa nibs (or less) or chopped nuts
Melted, cooled butter, for coating cookies
Granulated sugar, for coating rolling cookies

The night before, place the prunes in a small bowl and pour over the Slivovitz, brandy, or whatever liquid you are using.  Mix to coat, cover, and leave to plump.  

In a small pot, bring water, sugar, and heavy cream to a boil. Reduce to simmer and whisk in cocoa powder. Simmer on low until sauce has a fudge consistency, which may take 10 to 20 minutes. (Mine got thick quickly and I had to add quite a bit of water to thin it out to a fudge sauce consistency.) 

For the dough, combine butter and cream cheese in stand mixer. In a separate bowl, sift salt and flour. Add to the butter and cream cheese mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Divide dough into two equal rounds, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour. Meanwhile, in a small pot, combine the macerated prunes and water. Bring to a boil, then cook on low heat for several minutes, stirring often, until prunes are soft. Place in food processor and blend until paste-like. Add the chocolate fudge sauce and combine. 

Preheat the oven to 350° F. On a sugared surface, roll out one chilled dough round into a 9-10" circle about 1/8-inch thick. Spread half of the chocolate-prune jam over it, then sprinkle with half the cocoa nibs (or your desired amount). Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges.  Roll up each wedge, starting from the wide end, making sure the sugar is coating the pastry.  Place on a greased sheet tray, tip down, about 2 inches apart. Repeat with the second dough round. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  (Watch that the bottoms don't get too dark.)  Remove cookies from the baking sheet promptly and cool on a wire rack.

I rolled these out on granulated sugar so I didn't have to fuss with brushing them with melted butter and dipping in sugar after they were rolled.  It worked fine, but the sugar browned a lot on the bottom.  It could easily burn.  Using an insulated cookie sheet would prevent that problem.

On an aside, for some reason my chocolate nibs, bought specially for this recipe from a bulk supplier, tasted of banana, and this was detectable in the cookies.  It didn't "go" with the other flavors.  I love the texture of the nibs, but I'll reserve the remainder of this purchase for something more banana friendly.  Nuts would work fine here.

Conclusion:  These needed something. Or maybe less of something.  I'm not sure if less filling would make the difference needed, or if mixing it to the proper ratio would help, or if they just needed a little more salt.  As rugelach go, I've had better.  The filling was tasty, just seemed a little flat.  The prunes could be changed out with another tart fruit, such as apricots or tart cherries.  I think they would also benefit from some lemon zest.  But it's unfair to judge when I didn't make it right.

Recipe:  Prune and Chocolate Rugelach via Food 52.

Mushroom, Spinach, and Rosemary Crostada

I was looking for a hearty appetizer to bring to a friend's Christmas cookie party.  I wanted it to be somewhat healthy, since no doubt we'd be filling up on cookies and mulled wine.

This crostata took some preparation time, about an hour, but was otherwise very easy.  I was disappointed to not come home with any leftovers. The pie crust I used was slightly more than half whole wheat, made with butter.  I also added the cayenne.

Here's what I used:

dough for a single-crust pie, chilled for about an hour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium onion, minced

4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 box frozen spinach (10 oz), thawed, drained, squeezed dry in a towel, and chopped

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly-ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup dry French vermouth (see note)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves

Heat butter and oil in a skillet set over a medium-high flame. After the butter melts and foam subsides, add the onions, mushrooms, spinach and rosemary. Season with salt,  pepper, and cayenne. Cover the pan and cook until the onions and mushrooms are soft — about 2 minutes. Then uncover, and toss the ingredients about with a spoon or spatula until the mushrooms have rendered their juices — about 5 minutes. Add the vermouth; stir. When the vermouth has boiled away, remove the pan from the heat. In a medium bowl, add the two cheeses and the rosemary and stir to combine.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch diameter circle, then place onto a buttered, rimless baking sheet. Spread the cheese mixture on the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Spoon the mushroom mixture atop the cheese, then fold the 2-inch border of dough over the filling, making pleats every 2 inches or so. Gently pinch the pleats to seal.  Bake the tart on the lower-middle shelf at 400 degrees until the pastry browns, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then slide the tart onto a platter or wooden board. Dust with freshly-grated Parmesan. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Note:  I couldn't taste the vermouth.  Now granted, I didn't use the fancy French vermouth... I used a cheapo $3.99 bottle of Italian vermouth I got at Trader Joe's that had very little flavor (while packing an 18% alcoholic punch).  The next time I made it, I was liberal with the vermouth, and it still didn't make any difference.  So I say use whatever you've got:  vermouth, dry sherry, white wine, broth... maybe even beer!  Water in a pinch.

Conclusion:  This was delicious and very easy to put together.  I made it again immediately for myself.  I would, however, err on the side of less rosemary, as it was somewhat strong.  The added cayenne gave just a hint of heat.  Lemon zest might also be a nice addition to brighten the flavors.  Don't skimp on the cheese.

Original recipe:  Mushroom, Spinach & Rosemary Tart via A Garden for the House

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

This turned out to be a great little cookie.  I was pleased that it wasn't a hard gingersnap, as gingerbread made with butter tends to be.  But I would definitely decorate them with something else next time, as the sugar pearls were just way too sweet for my taste.  They tasted iced.

Since our brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added back into it, I never see the point of using brown sugar (which is more expensive) when molasses is already in the recipe, so I changed that out.  Otherwise, I prepared the recipe as written.

Here's what I used (yield 36 cookies):

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown white sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips
5 tablespoons Swedish pearl sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease lightly.  Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and cocoa.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until light and creamy.  Add the molasses and beat until combined.  Beat in the dry ingredients, then stir in the chips.  Scoop the dough a tablespoon at a time; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll the top portion of each dough ball in pearl sugar.  Place the unbaked cookies 1½" apart, sugar side up, onto the prepared baking sheets.  Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until their surface begins to crack. (I baked them for only 10.  They were still VERY soft and puffed, and just beginning to crack.)  Remove from the oven, cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Conclusion:  These were good, easy -- something I would make again, but with a different topping.  (Either that or eliminate the ½ cup of sugar in the recipe.)  Perhaps real chocolate or colored jimmies, or LIGHTLY dusted powdered sugar.  I didn't notice the chocolate chips much -- chocolate lovers will want to use more chips.  These were never crunchy, and after a few days they mellowed to a tough-chewy.  Very nice.

Recipe:  Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies via King Arthur Flour

Cafe Pasqual's Pumpkin Pie... sort of

(Update:  a closer attempt at the restaurant's pie can be found here.)

 

Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite foods in the world, especially cold for breakfast.  It is not uncommon for me to consume a whole pie by myself in two days.  For this reason, though, I tend to cut back on the sugar and the cream -- when you're putting away that much pie, you need to take it down a notch.

My all time favorite pumpkin pie was from New Frontiers, a small, organic grocery store.  When they were purchased by Whole Foods, we were told WF would keep the old recipes.  And they did, for a while.  But when I went the next Thanksgiving to get a slice of this seasonal pie, it wasn't available.  And now, I guess, that recipe is lost forever.

My second favorite pumpkin pie is from Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but a slice of that will set you back $12.

The two are very similar in that they are very dense and not very sweet.  I've always wondered how they get that dense texture.  I thought perhaps the pumpkin puree was cooked down a bit.  Cafe Pasqual's has a cookbook out, and they have a recipe for pumpkin pie in it, so I gave it a try (or at least what I thought was their recipe.  See my second, more successful attempt here.)

This is good, but it's not what they serve in the restaurant.  For one, it's considerably more sweet.  And there was a lot of liquid in it -- not that dense, thick texture I love.  I guess they're not giving away their secrets.

Here's what I used:

1 pre-baked whole wheat pie crust, fitted into a 9.5-inch* pie dish (recipe below)

4 large eggs

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, 100% pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon 1 tablespoon ground ginger**

1/4  teaspoon ground clove

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 scant teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2  teaspoon fine sea salt

1 scant teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup heavy cream

Prebake the pie crust and cool crust completely. While crust is cooling, preheat oven to 400 degrees and begin to prepare the filling.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk.  Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine.  Next mix in the maple syrup and molasses, followed by the sour cream, spices, salt, vanilla extract and finally the heavy cream, mixing with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into baked pie shell crust and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, until center is almost set and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  If the crust edges are browning too quickly, fit a ring of foil around the rim. Let pie cool completely on a rack before serving.   Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust (for 1 crust pie)

1¼ cup all purpose whole wheat flour (use pastry flour if desired)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 cubes

1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into roughly 1/2-inch cubes

3-4 tablespoons ice water

1 egg

1 tablespoon of water

In large bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt.  Add cold butter and shortening cubes to flour mixture and, with a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut in fat until mixture forms clumps about the size of tiny peas (clumps will be uneven.)  Quickly sprinkle ice water 1 tablespoon at a time over all of the flour mixture, tossing lightly with a spoon until you can form the dough into a ball.  (Don’t overwork dough.)  Flatten the ball into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest refrigerated for an hour or longer. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Take the pie disk out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften a bit.  Roll into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick.  Fit dough into the bottom of the pie dish and dedecoratively crimp edges.  Line the shell with a piece of crumpled parchment paper or foil, then fill the pie shell with a layer of dried beans or other pie weights. Bake for about 15 minutes or just until crust starts to brown. While crust is baking, in small bowl whisk together the egg and tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Remove crust from the oven, take pie weights out and brush the egg wash mixture all over crust (this will seal the crust preventing wet filling from making it soggy.)  Bake for another 8-10 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

*The mix fit perfectly in a 9.5-inch pie pan that was 1.5 inches deep.

Conclusion:  This was a little too sweet for my taste, but it's fine if you're having just one piece for dessert.  The sweetness was very tolerable, not candy-like -- I suppose because it came from the maple syrup.  It also had a strong ginger taste, which at first I thought was too strong, but the next day thought it was okay.  I would, however, like to try it again with the Libby's (my third favorite pie) spice mix and perhaps only 2 teaspoons of ginger.

Recipe:   The Best Pumpkin Pie!!! via Jessica Collins TV***, adapted from David's Perfect Pumpkin Pie via Cooking with Cafe Pasqual's: Recipes from Santa Fe's Renowned Corner Cafe .   (1/20 update:  the original link to Jessica Collins TV no longer works, but her current recipe--- without reference to Cafe Pasqual's--- can be found here.)

 

**Cafe Pasqual's recipe contains 1 tablespoon of ginger.  Jessica Collins' recipe contains only 1/2 teaspoon.

***Kudos to The Wayback Machine for helping me find Collins' original post from November 22, 2010 after her site was taken down.