Lemon Meringue Pie

Recently I've become totally obsessed with baking, and over the last few weeks I've watched every single episode of the Great British Bake Off! Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are very inspiring indeed. This is Mary Berry's Lemon Meringue Pie which was very successful and a big hit with my guests. The recipe called for using only 4 egg whites for the topping, but I used six egg whites and just made a big mountain of meringue! Who doesn't love meringue?
The dough recipe actually made more pastry than I needed, so I saved half of it and made a traditional egg custard tart the next day.

Pastry Base:
 1 3/4 C flour, plus some extra to dust
 1 1/4 sticks butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 C confectioners' sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 TBsp

Lemon Filling:
zest and juice of 6 lemons 
1/2 C corn starch
2 C water
1 1/4 C superfine sugar (or blitz granulated sugar for a few seconds in a food processor)
6 egg yolks

Topping:
6 egg whites
1 C superfine sugar
2 level tsp corn starch

(You need a 11" fluted removable-bottom tart pan.

 

Bela Restaurant, Northampton, Massachusetts

 

I recently ate at Bela in Northampton. It came with great reviews, and my friends have been raving about it for years. I had a vegetable medley with seitan. The vegetables were super fresh and steaming hot, and the portion was very generous. Next time I visit though, I will try one of their daily specials that sounded a bit spicy, as this dish wasn't really spiced at all. The jewel of the evening was Bela's famous key lime pie. This was absolutely scrumptious, and so delicious in fact that I had to put my fork down between bites to make sure I didn't inhale it in one go! Next time I go I might skip supper and have two portions of pie instead.

68 Masonic Street,

Northampton, MA 01060

413-585-8011

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, part 2

I have become totally obsessed with strawberry rhubarb pies this summer. I think I've made about six or so! They're quick to make, super tasty, and a hit with everyone.

This recipe was given to me by a good friend who has been testing and tweaking it for years. I don't think you can get any better than this!

Filling:

2 C rhubarb, washed and cut into 1 1/2" chunks

2 C (about 1 lb) strawberries, washed and halved

2 T minute tapioca

2 eggs, well-beaten

3 T flour

1 1/2 C light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pastry  (Fannie Farmer recipe):

2 C flour, sifted

2/3 C butter, chilled, grated
1/4 C ice water, or more as needed

1/4 tsp salt

Butter/sugar glaze:

1 T butter, melted

1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed with 1/2 tsp sugar 

Mix the chopped fruit gently together in a large bowl, and add the other filling ingredients. Set aside while you make the pastry.

Make the pastry (or use store-bought, but it's so quick to make from scratch why bother?):

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the grated butter, then rub it in until you have a breadcrumb texture. Add add the ice water bit by bit, to make a dough. 

Pull it together so that it makes a ball, and then cut in half. Roll the first ball out so that it's slightly larger than your pie dish. Carefully lie the pastry in a ten inch pie dish taking care not to stretch it, and allow to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

After the pastry has chilled pour in the fruit mixture and top off with the second half of the rolled-out pastry. If I have any extra little bits of pastry I like to decorate the top of the pie, before adding a few little steam vents and crimping the sides!

Brush on the melted butter, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees, and then reduce the heat to 350 and cook for another 30 minutes until the pie has browned. If the pastry begins to brown too quickly you can always add a little foil to protect it.

This pie is superb with vanilla ice-cream or with a big dollop of whipped cream. In fact I've had it with ice-cream and whipped cream together, and that might just be the best of both worlds! Let me know what you think!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

There's nothing quite like a strawberry rhubarb pie. It's not quite as sophisticated as the French raspberry tart, or as traditional as American apple pie, but there's something so fresh and rustic about this combination, that it really deserves a special status.
A good friend of mine gave me his personal recipe, which he has fine-tuned for several years. Unfortunately I was sworn to total secrecy, so I'm not able to share the recipe with you, but here are some photos to help you taste the flavors and hopefully share a little of the joy that I experienced!

Cottage Cheese Pie

This is adapted from a Fannie Farmer recipe. It has the texture and taste of cheesecake, but it’s super healthy and quite low in calories. I only use a 1/3 cup of sugar, so it’s quite sharp and zingy!

One graham cracker pie shell

Filling:

1 lb cottage cheese (2 cups)

1/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c light cream

3 eggs, well beaten

2 T melted butter

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press the cottage cheese through a fine sieve, and then add the rest of theingredients. Mix well, and pour into the prepared pie shell. Bake for an hour and allow to cool before serving.

I like to serve this pie with a twist of lemon, and I think I nice big dollop of whipped cream would go with it beautifully! I must try serving it with fresh raspberries in the summer, that would be heavenly!

Let me know if you like it.

Maine Pies

This was our first four berry pie in the old-fashioned "Moody's" diner  in Waldoboro. I forget the exact combination of berries, but it was delicious. It was almost jewel like, with this amazing ruby red juice oozing out from under the pastry. It was served warm with a nice scoop of vanilla ice-cream. 
Our second pie sampling was a super fresh blueberry pie from Giant Stairs Seafood Grille. This pie was busting with fruit and had just come out of the oven a few hours before.

Four berry pie, Moody's Diner, Waldoboro, Maine 04572 (207) 832-7785

Maine blueberry pie, Giant Stairs Seafood Grille, 2118 Harpswell Island Road, Bailey Island, Maine 04004  (207) 833-5000