Bake 2.14: Mini Pork Pies

This episodes technical was a fun one for me. Mini pork pies with hot water pastry. This was my first foray into hot water pastry and I am a fan for sure. This recipe was curtesy of Paul Hollywood and I followed the one here: https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/mini-pork-pies/

Now a few notes. Mine are not pretty, but tasted good. I would have failed the technical because my first batch of pastry was not good, however, baking at home means you get to try again! We shall call them extended technical bakes.

On the ingredients side, streaky bacon is what most American's consider to be normal bacon, this is important because we need the fat for the filling. Plain flour is your normal all purpose flour. Some folks use butter only but the lard is much better, and even my normal grocery store had it so I bet yours will too.

On the preparation side. After my first batch of pastry failed, I did some research and realized it was too cold and also a little dry (but that is normal in our Colorado climate). So for round 2 I did 350 grams flour plus some for the board and it was the right consistency. I waited until it was kneadable but then skipped the 30-40 minute rest in the recipe. It needs a couple minutes tops, do not wait 30-40 minutes or you will not be able to roll the dough!

If you are a good baking Brit you may have small pudding moulds but I don't. Fancy that a jumbo muffin tin is the same size! Worked perfect and they popped right out due to the buttering of the pan and the amount of fat in the pastry. 

YUM! 

Bake 2.15: Banana Pudding Meringue Pie

For this pie we went with the totally out of season banana. I wanted to punch up the banana flavor so steeped the milk for the custard with bananas before making the custard. With a cookie crust that isn't too sweet and a fluffy Italian meringue it is a treat!

Ingredients

Crust
55 Nilla Wafers (yes, count them out, if you get a regular sized box of them you will have a handful left for snacking or decorating the top of your pie, as you will see we had none for decoration because they promptly went into the toddlers mouth)
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter

Custard

2 ripe bananas (+2 more for assembly - so 4 total bananas, unless they are small, if they are small use 5 total, 2 1/2 for custard and 2 1/2 for assembly)

4 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks - save 4 of the whites for the meringue

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Meringue 

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

First prep your custard, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan. Once melted add two bananas cut into 1 inch slices. Cook the bananas for 3-4 minutes until just browned. Add the milk, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 30-40 minutes. 

While that sits, make the crust. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Pulse the cookies in a food processor, or smash them with a rolling pin inside a gallon bag. Pulse or mix in the flour, sugar, salt. Add the melted butter and mix until it comes together. Spray your pie plate with non stick spray and dump the crust mix in. Press it into the bottom and up the sides. I like to use a measuring cup so it is even, and to help it not stick, spray the back of the measuring cup with the non stick cooking spray. Works like a charm. Bake for 10 minutes until just fragrant. Allow to cool.

Then finish that custard! Whisk your egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a large saucepan. Strain the milk into the mixture, removing the banana and tossing those. I learned in this process that if you smush the bananas at all then your custard will come out an unappetizing greyish color, do not smush on the bananas! Cook the mixture until it resembles pudding, target 180 degrees, whisking continuously. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the vanilla. 

Place the custard in a bowl or dish and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the surface of the custard so you don't get a weird skin on top. Place in the fridge to chill completely.

Next the meringue! Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan until it reaches 240 degrees. While that is heating, beat the egg whites on medium in a stand mixer. Once foamy, add the cream of tartar. Continue whipping the egg whites until you have stiff peaks. If the eggs finish before the sugar is heated all the way up, don't turn them completely off, set them to the lowest mixer setting so they keep moving while they wait their turn. Once the sugar is up to temp, set the mixer to medium and slowly slowly stream the sugar in. Once it is all in, turn the mixer to high and whip until the volume you desire.

Now assembly time! Line the bottom of the cooled crust with two sliced bananas. If you are not going to be serving the pie directly, dip the banana slices in lemon juice or orange juice to prevent them from browning. Top with the custard, smooth it out. Then top with the meringue. You can leave that all white and fluffy or use a torch or the broiler to toast the top. Serious YUM!

Bake 2.13: Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie

For the 'family sharing pie' challenge I stepped up the classic chicken pot pie with a double crust flavored with thyme, and a thicker gravy filling that would allow for the double crust. I am not a huge gravy fan so this was my kind of chicken pot pie!

Ingredients

Crust

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes and chilled

1/2 cup vegetable shortening chilled (I did not chill mine enough, this is important!)

1/2 cup ice water

Filling

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup whole milk

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 large egg, beaten, to wash the top.

Make the crust! Pulse the flour, thyme, salt in the bowl of your food processor, or chop the thyme super small and mix in a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening and pulse, or cut in with a pastry cutter or forks. You want it to be crumbly. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time (I put water and ice in my handy pyrex measuring cup and then scoop the tablespoons out of that). Pulse or mix after each addition and stop adding water when the dough begins to clump. I used a full 1/2 cup. 

Pour onto a clean and floured counter. Fold a few times to ensure it is incorporated, then divide in half - one being slightly bigger- and wrap each half in plastic, after shaping into a flat round disc. Pop in the fridge while you make the filling (or up to 4 days ahead of time).

In a large skillet with a touch of oil, sauté the chicken, carrot, and celery until cooked through. You can boil them - that is more 'traditional' for pot pie but I like the added flavor of the browned bits. Set those items aside in a bowl. Add the butter and garlic to the skillet, melt down the butter until slightly browned. If you want to include onion, add it here, 1 chopped small onion and you want to cook it in the butter until translucent. Whisk in the flour, salt, black pepper, and thyme. Heat until fragrant. Whisk in the chicken broth and milk. Cook, whisking, until no lumps remain, then simmer until thick. I let it go about 10 minutes. Remember, it will thicken as it cools, but you also want it thicker than normal for the double crust!

Preheat the oven to  425 degrees. 

To assemble, flour the counter and roll the first slightly larger disc to be a few inches wider than the pie plate. Gently place in pie plate, leaving overhang for when the top is added. Mix the chicken, gravy, peas, and corn and add to the pie. You can also just add them all into the pie crust and have a more layered look. Roll the 'top' and place over the top of the pie. Cut the overhang and crimp as you desire. 

Beat the egg and wash the top of the pie. Add a few vents to allow the steam to escape and you are ready to bake! Bake for 30-34 minutes. The crust will be golden brown. If the crust is browning too quickly, use foil to protect the edges. Be sure to let it cool because lava is not edible. SO YUM, and makes great leftovers!

Bonus: Classic Banana Bread

Banana bread is a staple in our home. It is easy to make and goodness knows we often have bananas that don't get eaten and I toss those in the freezer for later. This recipe is so easy and can be adjusted to accommodate what you have on hand, add blueberries, Yes! Crumble topping, Yes! Nuts. if you must. Chocolate, Yes! (I will include options below the recipe for your adjustment pleasures)

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups very ripe mashed bananas (usually 3-4 depending on size, I keep browned bananas in the freezer and then microwave to soften. I am so lazy that once I can take the peel off, I add the butter to the bowl with the bananas and microwave them together, smush them all up and let them cool a bit before using them)

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1/4 plain yogurt or sour cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan, either butter/flour or baking spray. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar and baking soda in a bowl. In another bowl mix the bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt/or sour cream, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir until just barely combined. If adding any 'mix ins' then add those when there are still a few streaks of flour left. No overmixing! Pour into the loaf pan and spread evenly. If using a crumble, add that now. You can also top with a few spoons of turbinado or coarse sugar. Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with foil to protect it. 

*If adding nuts, use about 1 cup of toasted nuts of your choice 

*If adding chocolate, use 1/2 cup of grated chocolate or mini chips

*If adding blueberries or other such things with a higher moisture content, use 1 to 1 1/2 cups, tossed in 1 tablespoon of flour before adding to the mixture.

*If topping with a crumble: Stir together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup oats, 1 T flour and a pinch of salt with 2 tablespoons of butter and then crumble on top of the batter before baking.

YUM YUM YUM

Happy New Year! Buche De Noel

 Given that 2020 was a reputable dumpster fire I determined that a proper difficult bake would be a good way to celebrate ringing in 2021. We watch Andy and Anderson each year because they are downright HILARIOUS  and even though they changed a bunch of the festivities I figured why not celebrate by spending hours baking a log. 

I have never made a rolled cake, I find them concerning and fickle. Watching too many baking shows clearly has me biased that they could just as well crack as roll and that all the filling most definitely will squidge out. Good news is there was no squidging and it was delicious. 

I followed this recipe: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/buche-de-noel

While it wasn't rated as high, after reading the comments I took the risk. The comments are worth the read. 

Here is the final cake! YUM!