TBB: Luscious Apple Pie

This time, I didn't follow the recipe as I should to make a flaky pie crust and as a result my crust wasn't flaky.  The weather was so hot plus I got a bit bored of making and eating pies! When I saw this on schedule, I was like 'Oh no.. not pie again!" So I just mix in the cream cheese and butter into the flour etc and when they got into dough, I asked my helper to just shape into round and place in the fridge for me. I'm not sure how long she took to shape into round, because when I rolled it, I can't find anymore butter or cream cheese pieces I last saw in the dough.. Maybe the hot weather melted both quickly.  

Straining apple juices

microwave juices into caramel 

cider looking like aspic after cooled

mixed altogether, caramel & cider

''

into the pie..  

Baked. 

The pie crust was a bit too thick. I didn't want to waste any crust so I just quickly rolled it to to fit the top of the crust and and seems like it is still doughy inside after 50 mins in the oven.  I should have let it stayed in the oven for 1hr instead.  The apple slices wasn't mushy and was still a bit crunchy in fact.  So I think I should have cooked it longer.

Overall, it is a great pie.. if I had done all the steps right, it would have been awesome apple pie. I like the flavor and esp. the cinnamon flavor - I opted the max cinnamon flavor in the pie. :) 

But like I said, I was kind of pie-out to begin with.  Now after 4 days, this pie is still sitting in my fridge and nobody is eating it except my helper.  See that 3/4 left over.. she managed to eat another 2/3 by herself and I think I would have to throw away the rest soon!  Good thing to have someone who can eat and not gain weight in the family. 

TBB: Perfect Peach Galette

I used frozen peach because there wasn't any peaches yet in stock.  I used 2 packets and they weigh 590g. I wished I had used 3 packets instead. Note to self: Next time used more peaches..the more the merrier..lol!  

Drained the juices. 

Microwaved the syrup juice for 6-7 mins.

Oh no..all hardened like candy.. Rose said not to worry..but I am still bothered by it. So I cut the caramel into tiny pieces..lol!  

Peaches look a lot but after baked..they shrink!  

I rolled the dough to 16" on the same baking paper that I am going to bake with. Easier for me imo...cos I rolled it the night before to 14" and then back in the fridge. The next day just before baking, I rolled it to 16" and then assembled and baked.   

Then wrapped it up like a big dumpling. 

I realised that there's a lot of pastry..and at this point I knew I wanted to have more peaches. But the pastry too thin and too soft to move it. 

I had extra pastry from the mulblueberry pie I made so I cut them up into hearts and put them all over.  Sprinkled 1 tsp of sugar all over too.

All baked. 

I managed to get a slice of photo before I left the house. 

That plate is a free plate - can't remember from where. I think Namiko Chan must be the designer.

And if you are wondering, I like to snack on popcorns..those are lightly salted popcorns :)  

There, another photo of the slice pie with the mulblueberry pie. 

Very yummy pie and pairs perfectly well with ice-cream. However, like I said I wished it had more peaches, at least 2x more imo.  Will definitely make this pie again. 

TBB: MulBlueberry (ElderBlueberry) Pie

I can't find any Elderberries.. in fact I have not seen elderberries before. I was all prepared to just use cranberries and canned gooseberries but when I saw mulberries on sale at the supermarket, I decided to try with mulberries.  My first time tasting mulberries. They didn't taste very good raw though.  I think mulberries have to be cooked to taste good...cos it tasted great in the pie.   

I also made the Peach Galette at the same time, since it's the same pastry, might as well do 2 together - more time efficient. Also I could share the pies with everyone during our district fellowship meeting too. :)   I didn't get a single slice photo, so you can have a sneak peak at my slice peach pie...(ps: I wish it had more peaches.. so fellow bakers who like more fruits, do add more peaches when you make it).  

I mixed the  mulberries and a bit of frozen cranberries I had leftover from ...the cranberries upside-down cake, I think?  

After I cooked it down, I realised it seems dry after cooled, so I added another box (200g?) of frozen blueberries in it.. I was hoping to have blueberries intact.

Roll the pastry etc..  

Baked 

It is not easy to take a good pic under 5 seconds!! 

I didn't even manage to take any good photos. 

Surprisingly mulberry tasted very well with blueberries. I think the mulberries impart a very red color - not so much the cranberries? I really don't know. Somehow I can't see any blueberries..and the tartness from the mulberries makes you think the blueberries are cranberries.  When in fact I only put a handful of cranberries.  Mulberries were crunchy before but after baking, it became soft and not so raw-tasting.

We ate the pie with vanilla ice-cream. Everyone liked the pie. Probably it paired very well the the ice-cream.  And everyone came to my pie counter first for dessert instead of eating the main dishes. lol!  The pies were the centre of attraction.   

My daughter who ate a slice without the ice-cream said it was a bit on the tart side.  

TBB: BlueRhu Pie

I finally got my Rose's Pie plate! Yay! :)  I really like the design and I had no problem releasing the pie from the plate. Some people commented saying that they had difficulty, I didn't have any. You can see from the pictures below that the crust on the sides automatically lift off by itself when cooked. 

I've never tasted Rhubarb so I am very keen to taste it.
I hunt high and low for rhubarb and managed to find 2 stores that had stock.

I made order for one store but saw another store had theirs in early so I bought it. So expensive at $12 for 3 stalks! Anyway, since I was eager to try, I paid for it anyway.  

My daughter said we have tasted Rhubarb before in Australia.. I can't remember though..(sign of me getting old....)

Many thanks to Catherine who taught me to remove the stringy part of the rhubarb like celery. Otherwise, I won't know how or what to do.  

I removed quite a lot because there was lots of stringy parts..no more red left! 

Next, macerate and then cook the BluRhu filling. 

Oh..the pastry..I figured, there is no need to take photos again because it's basically the same pastry we have been making. So I rolled the pastry onto my new pie plate. :) Wrapped it and let it relax in the fridge.

After fill with filling and roll another pastry above. 

I didn't want to do lattice design again..so I tried a different method..and

made a rose in the centre since I'm using Rose pie plate too. :) 

 Cover with foil around the sides. And bake for 30mins. 

Baked and out of oven. 

I think next time I should sugar the bottom crust before the rose on top..to make it look prettier. 

Couldn't wait to taste!  

So delicious! 

I love rhubarb! Taste so soft. Slightly tart but not as tart as cranberries.

It's so soft and translucent just like aloe vera to me! 

Usually I like more crust, but this time, I wished I had double the filing!

See the translucent rhubarb...hard to tell/see. 

Another slice the next day. The rhubarb on the tip..:)  

My family loves it. 

Esp. my husband, he kept saying it's very good for many times while eating! 

Even the next day, he said the same thing too.  LOL!

At least I found out I like rhubarb! :D

I packed some for my daughter to bring to her work place. Her colleagues are young people who work till 11pm almost every night and they can afford more calories..lol! They liked the pie. Only one didn't and said it tasted like vegetable..(I guess must be the rhubarb she was referring to..lol!). 

My helper helped me eat up the rest of the pie. She's not picky and often she says all my bakes are yummy except when you notice that she's not eating them..means they are not good..LOL!..like the Dattelkonfekt.  I'm glad to have a helper who can eat and not worry about getting fat. And she eats a lot of rice too. She says she has no energy if she doesn't eat rice. LOL! I think not just her.. most of us Asians are like that.. we must have our rice. :) 

TBB: Sour Cherry Pie Day

Super Delicious Sour Cherry Pie. 

This is like the 3rd fruit pie I have ever made!

This time, I made the pastry using Rose's hand method.  I followed instruction exactly. 

Before I was pretty confused when I read the instructions. However, when I saw Joe Pastry blog post and step by step photos, suddenly everything made sense! Yay! :D  

I have to say that this is now my favorite pie crust recipe! It's the very BEST imo - so flaky and delicious! This is what pie crust should be - All Butter (no shortening!)  

Put the cold butter and cheese breadcrumbs into the bag

And roll with rolling pin. This is very fun! 

Except I feel like I wasted a ziploc bag.. expensive you know..ziploc bag use for only 30mins. 

I added the cream and cider and still very dry. Maybe my cream is not very liquid but thicker. So I added 2 tsp of Vodka.. cos American Test Kitchen says so.... :)  

Wrapped the dough into 2 separately and placed in freezer.

Friday night after work, about 8pm, I made the cherry filling using 2 jars of Morello cherries. I tasted one when I opened the jar, it was a bit tart and the water/syrup that it was soaked in wasn't very sweet. 

So I reduced sugar by 25g and also added some Griottines (which I think is Morello cherries soak in kirsch liquor).  While I was cooking, I found it on the thick side and I wasn't sure how thick/liquid it should be for pie filling..since this is my first time making it and plus I didn't use frozen or fresh cherries.. Raymond & Tony suggested that I should add a bit more juice..which I did.. And in the end, I had more pie filling (weight) than stated on recipe..since I didn't weigh the cherries with juice...and some Griottines juice too.

After I turned on the aircon - to get ready to roll my pastry. 

When my son found out I turned on the aircon, he came in with all his toys to keep me company in our tiny kitchen space. Very difficult to walk around with him on the floor like this....

I rolled the pastry to 12".... I had a 12" cake board underneath..so I can flip over to the pie plate.

Flipped over to the pie plate..and place into fridge to rest. 

Next, I took out the other dough and roll into the required size. 

I used my multi pasta cutter which I bought for cake decorating purposes...not so much for making pasta..

This way I don't have to measure 3/4"..how many pieces.. very headache esp. my son is occupying almost the whole kitchen floor and singing very loudly..and I had to be careful not to dust flour on his head! 

After cutting the lattice strips, I placed into the fridge to rest again. 

By then, my son was lying on the kitchen floor relaxing. 

1 hour later, scooped the cherries into the pie and did the decorative lattice work..and then I realised that I have to rest the pie again for at least 45 mins! Wahhhh..  (I wanted the pie to be ready for Saturday's Pi Day.. 3.14.15 :) 

So in the meantime, I got my son ready for bedtime.

45 mins later, cut a round foil and placed it around the sides. 

Sugared the hearts only.. and into the oven it went!

Ta-Da!!!  All baked! 

I'm glad only a bit of the juices flow out. :) 

Since it was almost 2am when the pie was done, I took it to my bedroom (again!) for it to cool down...so the stupid lizards will not have any chance at all to get close...

Initially I was worried my pie would be too dry, however, when I cut into in the next day, it was juicy and perfect, just the way I like it. 

See..how flaky Rose's pie crust is! I love it!

I'm a crust person..so crust is most important to me. :) 

This is the best pie I have ever eaten and now my favorite pie to date.. I considered it better than apple pie now! The addition of Griottines gave it the extra oommph...esp when I bite into one and taste the liquor. LOL! I didn't know cherries can be so delicious as filling..!  I gave my friend 2 slices and she said it was very good, perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. 

I love it so much I think I'm going to make it again this weekend for our Church gathering. :)  Good thing/food is meant to be shared isn't it?