Summer Treats

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Kiesha

It’s been so long since I’ve posted that I’m not sure I still remember how to do it. Sorry I’ve been missing so long. I’ve been baking, just not posting. I’m going to rectify that today with a few desserts that are perfect for July or any time you’re craving something sweet.

First up are Fourth of July Cupcakes. These are just plain ol’ vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting; the secret is the tri-colored batter! All you have to do is divide your batter in halves or thirds and mix in some food coloring. I of course went with red, white and blue, but you could do whatever colors you like.

I created the two-toned frosting by filling two small piping bags with red and white frosting respectively and then forced them into one larger piping bag with a large tip. Squeeze frosting out until you see both colors, then pipe away!

The second dessert is a tart treat and perfect for a warm summer afternoon barbecue– Key Lime Pie! Though technically, I just used regular limes, so I guess it’s a Lime Pie. Either way, it’s incredibly tasty and incredibly easy. You can find the recipe I used here.

This pie is so easy to put together and holds up nicely in the refrigerator. I recommend making it the night before you want to eat it and waiting until a few hours before consuming to make and apply the whipped cream topping. It’s so delicious! Creamy and lightly tart with a really wonderfully simple graham cracker crust.

I’ve been baking so many things out of a new cookbook and I will post about it soon. I just have to make a few more things because I’ve been eating them before I can even take a picture!

My 30th Birthday Party

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Kiesha

Yes, it’s true. I’m finally finally 30! I’ve been waiting since I was about 12 to turn 30 and I’m pumped that I’ve finally made it.

To celebrate, I threw myself a county fair themed birthday party. It was basically an excuse to do a ton of baking and make a dessert table. I also organized a few games of skill and a 1981 trivia contest.

I won’t bore you with the details, but I will bore you with lots of photos* from the day. Here we go!

The dessert table

Whiskey Apple Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (this was the hit – not even crumbs left!)

Vegan Blueberry Pie

Vegan Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Vegan Ice Cream Conecakes

“Caramel Apple” Cakepops

* Some of these photos were taken by my sister-in-law Megan Duffy, but I can’t remember which are which. Obviously, any with me IN them were taken by her.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Kiesha

This weekend was definitely a Jerseylicious weekend. We spent Saturday with friends and Sunday with family. As the food front was covered in spades with our family, I decided to bring dessert to the friends’ gathering.

Lately I have been trying to bake things that I’ve never made before. It’s my goal for the rest of the year to make a lot of stuff that is off my beaten path. So I decided to bake a pie that was neither apple nor pumpkin. I’d bake a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

I’m not the biggest fan of strawberries. I love the flavor, but the texture always bothers me. I tend to find those little seeds in my teeth for days. And rhubarb? I can’t say that before Saturday I ever ate it in my life. It certainly doesn’t look like something that would be good in a pie.

Nevertheless, I busted out Martha Stewart’s Pate Brise recipe from her Baking Handbook and found a fairly simple filling recipe over at Epicurious.

I also cut out hearts out of pie crust dough for the top of my pie, although the next time I do this, I’m going to buy a smaller heart cookie cutter. These hearts looked like I’d spooned biscuit dough on top of my pie and they sorta resembled hearts…

Epicurious recommends baking the pie for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and then lowering the temperature to 350 and baking for another hour and 20 minutes. I pulled my pie out 20 minutes early, because it had reached that point between smelling good and emitting smoke. I think I made the right decision, as the crust was a beautiful golden brown and the filling solidified within two hours.

And talk about solidifying! This was quite possibly the easiest chunky fruit pie I’ve ever sliced up. No oozing, no falling apart, just clean, smooth slices. Beautiful!

Everyone loved this pie. Even I liked this pie! The texture was good, chunky, but still solid and the flavor was great. Not too sweet, not too sour, but somewhere right in the middle. And I think it was my best pie crust to date.

I’ve also got to say I’m pretty pumped with my photos from this pie. I was working with less than ideal sunlight, but after a little Photoshopping, they came out looking pretty snazzy.

Happy Pi Day!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Kiesha

Today, March 14 is National Pi Day. So naturally, I had to bake a pie.

I chose a Lemony Pear Pie from “Bubby’s Homemade Pies”. This pie tastes really great, but it is sort of a ‘wet’ pie. I cut into it and out came the lemon and pear juices, making it really difficult to serve pretty slices (hence why there are no pictures of sliced pie).

I also challenged Danae over at The Busty Baker to bake a pie as well, and you can read about her experience here.

Happy Pi Day, everyone! Stay tuned later this week for St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes!

Back to School: The Brooklyn Baker goes to the Institute of Culinary Education

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Kiesha

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been all about pies lately. Sometimes I like to kill time on various culinary schools’ websites, thinking about becoming a pastry chef. While I don’t think I’ll ever do this (unless I win the lottery), I did notice that the Institute of Culinary Education offers recreational class, and it’s right in Manhattan.

I was looking at their list of classes a few weeks ago and found the Superb Spring Pies class. It was held on a Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and was $100. So I immediately signed up, and then made my way there last Sunday.

The recreational classes are held in empty classrooms right next to classrooms that are in use for actual students. Our class was held in a chocolate room which held two large stainless steel tables and more mixing bowls, professional-quality KitchenAid mixers and induction burners than I’ve ever seen in my life. I was in heaven.

The class accommodated ten people and began with all of us sitting around one of the tables and listening to the Chef Instructor go over the recipes and techniques we would be using. Each person could pick one of about twelve different pie recipes to create. I settled on Lemon Cream Meringue Pie, as I’ve never made one before.

We each paired up with another student and set to work making our pies. I finally learned how to make a decent pie crust without using a machine. At home I always use my hand held pastry blender, but in the class, we did it using only fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour. It came out amazing, much better than any pie crust I’ve ever made before.

While our pie crusts chilled, we started on our various fillings. Mine was a lemon-infused milk and cornstarch mixture with lemon juice.

Let me just say that induction burners are a wonderful thing. They heat up in a millisecond.

Finally we assembled our pies and baked them (or baked the crust and then filled it with the cooled filling, as in my case) and put them all out to be admired. Here’s mine:

As you can see, my crust sort of went south on me. I apparently left too much crust on the edges. I tried to do a fluted pie crust, but since there was too much crust, it wouldn’t hold up in the oven and instead, sort of dripped down the sides. So, other than the ugly crust edges, I think it turned out pretty cute. I used a pastry bag to apply the meringue and then got to use a torch to brown the meringue.

Here’s a sampling of some of my classmates’ pies:

Each pie then had one piece cut out of it so that we could sample each one. Man, were they good. The chocolate tarts were so rich you could only eat a bite, and the crumb-topped apple pie was still warm, which made it soooo delicious.

We each got to take home the rest of our pies, which my husband was delighted about. We polished off the rest of the pie by Tuesday.

I’m already checking out the schedule of classes for the rest of the summer and have found some that I’m very interested in (cakes and summer fruit pies!). If you’re in the New York area and are at all interested in baking and/or cooking, I would really recommend taking a class at ICE. Well worth the money and so much fun.

Bakery Review: Pies ‘n’ Thighs

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Kiesha

Pies ‘n’ Thighs
166 S. 4th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 529-6090

I’ve been on a bit of a pie kick lately. I’ve been baking a lot of pies, thinking about pies and even took a pie baking class at the Institute of Culinary Education (more on that in a later post). So in my pursuit to master all things pie, I’ve been trying to hit up some pie shops in my borough.

Last Friday, a friend’s band, The Kyle Sowashes from Columbus, Ohio, came out to play a set at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg. Before we went out to see the show, my husband and I decided to hit up Pies ‘n’ Thighs, a restaurant we’d been hearing and reading a lot about lately.

We both decided to order the fried chicken box, which consisted of three pieces of fried chicken, a big ‘ol biscuit and one of about eleven possible sides. We both went with macaroni and cheese.

The dinner was fantastic. The chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, and arrived piping hot. The biscuit was dense and old-fashioned with a delicious saltiness. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and decorated with a splash of hot sauce (which I ate around…I’m not a big fan of hot).

All this came to $11. Best fried chicken deal in town.

Then came pie time. I was super excited, and out of the six or so pies we had to choose from, I selected a slice of Key Lime and my husband got Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Out came the pies.

After that showpiece of a dinner, I was disappointed with the pie. It just didn’t look that good. The presentation was just lacking. The pie tasted fine (although I wish the lime flavor had been amped up; I prefer tartness in my citrus baked goods to sweet), but it was just so anticlimactic. When ‘pies’ is the first word in the name of your restaurant, I feel like the pies should be real showstoppers.

My husband’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie had a little more visual interest, with the decorative peanuts on top, but it still seemed lackluster. He enjoyed it, although I found that it tasted more like a piece of fudge than a pie. I was hoping for a silkier texture in the chocolate.

I have no doubt that we will go back to Pies ‘n’ Thighs in the future. I want more of that chicken, and the other side dishes (creamed spinach!). And I’m hoping that next time, an apple pie will be the on the menu, because as far as I’m concerned, you can’t accurately judge a pie maker until you’ve had their apple pie.

(I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I forgot to bring a camera, and just had my phone AND the lighting was pretty bad for photos.)

The Brooklyn Baker Bakes: Peach-Vanilla Bean Pie

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Kiesha

After I visited Bubby’s a while back, I bought their pie cookbook and went to work. I made the Ginger Honey Apple Pie and a pear crumble, so I decided it was time to tackle another fruit.

The Peach-Vanilla Bean Pie looked like a good place to start. In addition to the peaches and vanilla, it also contained an interesting mix of spices that included cinnamon and cardamom. The end result was a very spicy and peachy smelling pie.

I will say that the peaches were super evil to work with. I bought three pounds worth (which were ridiculously expensive at the grocery store – I need to find a farmer’s market right quick), and left them in their plastic bag overnight. The next day I pulled them out of the bag, and found that pretty much every peach now had at least one soft spot that hadn’t been there the day before. Two of the peaches were nothing but mush and had to be thrown out. Once I got them peeled, I had to try to slice them, which is also difficult due to the pits.

The kicker to all this is that I took one bite of my slice of pie and realized that I really do not like peaches. I haven’t had peaches in probably eight or ten years, but I don’t remember disliking them as much as I do. I really liked the way the pie smelled and I liked the crust and the pie goo, but once I bit into a peach, I had to slide my slice onto my husband’s plate.

He really enjoyed this pie and was heartbroken when I announced I was taking the rest into my co-workers. My co-workers also all enjoyed their slices, so I guess it was a hit. I’m not sure if I’ll be making it again, because I like eating the things I make just a little too much.

Bakery Review: Bubby’s Pie Co.

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Kiesha

Bubby’s Pie Co.
120 Hudson Street, New York, NY
(212) 219-0666

Bubby’s Pie Co. is a piece of the American South right smack in Tribeca. The unassuming dark storefront is accented by pastel Adirondack chairs that seem to invite the weary traveler to sit a spell and have a piece of pie.

Bubby’s is a full service restaurant, but as my husband and I had just polished off turkey sandwiches at 30 Rockefeller Center, we opted for just dessert. The staff had no problem seating us for just pie (it being four o’clock in the afternoon may have had something to do with that), and we quickly looked over our options on the menu.

The pies included Coconut Custard, Sour Cherry, Apple, Chocoalte Peanut Butter, Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream and Key Lime. Cakes included Devil’s Food Cake, Coconut and Red Velvet. Bubby’s also offers a variety of cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

I immediately chose the Mile High Apple Pie. Apple pie is my absolute favorite dessert and I knew I couldn’t pass it up. My husband chose the Devil’s Food Cake. At $7 a slice, it’s a little steep, but I knew it had to be worth it.

Making the pie a la mode, however, was not worth it. A scoop of ice cream was $3, so I skipped it. Vanilla ice cream does make everything better, except your financial situation, I guess.

Our desserts arrived, and my beautiful slice of pie came with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I certainly didn’t order ice cream, so I figured the apple pie must just come with ice cream. My husband didn’t get ice cream with his cake.

The pie was amazing. The apples were tender, but with still just a teeny tiny bit of crunch, just the way I like it. The filling was perfectly spiced – hints of cinnamon and clove, but nothing that overwhelmed that incredible taste of apple. And the crust was delicious as well, slightly crunchy with caramelized sugar. And did I mention the whole thing came out still warm? Amazing.

The ice cream was pretty good too. It’s hard to top homemade vanilla ice cream.

When the bill came, however, I realized that I had in fact been charged for the ice cream that I hadn’t ordered. I didn’t say anything, but packed that information away for future stops, which there will be. I must try the Lemon Meringue.

At $10 for a slice of apple pie a la mode, Bubby’s is a bit expensive. I’m more of a $5 and under per slice kind of girl, but for a once in a while mind-blowingly delicious pie experience, Bubby’s is at the top of the list.

And, as an aside, we happened to see Harvey Keitel sitting in the restaurant! I think he was being interviewed. It was pretty awesome.

Week Twenty-Three: Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Kiesha

(This week’s recipe came from “The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book”.)

I can’t believe it’s taken we twenty-three weeks to bake a pie! But summer is finally here, and fruits are in season, so pie time it was.

Apple pie is probably one of my top five foods. I would love for my last meal to be stuffed peppers, apple pie with Jeni’s Honey Vanilla Bean ice cream and Framboise with ginger ale. That sounds absolutely perfect.

A couple of months ago I was watching “The America’s Test Kitchen” show on PBS and they made a blueberry pie with a pie crust that included vodka! It was amazing! The reasoning was that too much water can make a pie crust tough. Vodka, on the other hand, mostly evaporates in heat, and therefore does not make the crust tough. And the alcohol completely evaporates, so you don’t end up with a boozy pie.

The recipe started with flour, sugar, salt being processed together in a food processor:

Next, shortening and butter were chilled and cut into small pieces and evenly distributed around the flour mixture. This was pulsed together until lumps formed:

The dough was then transferred to a bowl and the water and vodka were sprinkled over and smooshed together until the dough all came together. I got very nervous at this point, because the dough was incredibly wet. I was sure that I’d messed something up. The dough was divided into two pieces and each was wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for an hour:

In the meantime, I peeled, cored and chopped ten apples! Five Granny Smith and five Cameos went into the pie. Once the apples were sliced, they went into a large pot with sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. As it turned out, I should not have put the lemon juice in at this point. But I don’t think it affected the pie in the least:

The apples were set over medium heat for twenty minutes so that they could cook down. Normally you do not cook down the apples before putting them into a pie. The authors of this cookbook feel that if you don’t cook the apples, when the pie is baked the apples shrink, leaving a gap between the apples and the crust. If you cook the apples down, you can fit the crust on top of the already shrunken apples and you will not have the gap.

After twenty minutes, the apples were dumped out onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool to room temperature. If I had just dumped them into the pie, the heat of the apples would have melted the butter in the pie crust. Not a good idea.

While the apples were cooling, the bottom crust pie dough was rolled out and fitted to the pie pan. The top crust pie dough was rolled out and put on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Both were then put back in the fridge to chill again.

The cooled apples were drained of the liquid that had collected and one fourth cup was reserved. This was when I should have added the lemon juice. The apples were loaded into the prepared pie pan and the reserved liquid was sprinkled on top of the apples. Then the top crust pie dough was rolled on top of the apples. The crust was trimmed and crimped, air vents were cut and I was ready to go.

But wait. Something was missing. I looked at all the scraps of dough I had left over from trimming the edges and remembered a cookie cutter that I had…

Excellent. I’m so proud of both the apple cut out and the crimped edges. I’ve always just folded my pie crust edges over into a messy seal, but I knew I had to do something fancier for my first blog pie.

The pie was baked for about 55 minutes and came out looking a little something like this:

I cut into the pie once it had cooled down and loaded it up onto a plate:

One look inside the cut apple pie revealed just how many apples went into that bad boy:

Over the weekend I had purchased some ingredients to make ice cream, but got sidelined by that nasty allergic reaction I mentioned in my last post. So yesterday morning when I woke up, I decided I would make some vanilla ice cream to go with this pie. How can you not have apple pie a la mode?

Everything was going fine with the ice cream making until I went to get the milk. I needed one cup, so I grabbed our milk carton from the fridge and realized that I had maybe one fourth cup splishing around in the bottom of that carton. Yikes.

Then I remembered I had some leftover buttermilk in the back of the fridge, thought, “What the hey?” and added in enough to make one cup. It came out delicious! The buttermilk made the ice cream a little richer and cut down on some of the sweetness from the sugar. Yum:

Next week I’m making some Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams inspired cupcakes for a friend’s birthday party. Salty Caramel Cupcakes and Root Beer Float Cupcakes with Honey Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, here I come!

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