Overloaded Cumin Chocolate

It wasn't my intent for the chocolate to taste like cumin. It just so happened that the chocolate chunks were sitting beside cumin in the cupboard, even though both items were enclosed in cheap plastic bulk bags. Unfortunately, my friends and I found that out after the Double Bottom Chocolate Strawberry Pecan Pie was made. I searched online afterward and there are recipes that include chocolate and cumin. Just when you thought two ingredients don't mix together, someone has already tried it. For me, it was more harm done.

I did, however, added a pinch of cayenne pepper to the melted chocolate which supposedly enhanced the chocolate flavor. I couldn't tell the difference. It's probably something that I should experiment.

There were a few things wrong with this pie beside the cumin chocolate:
-it was overloaded,
-the crust shrunk, and
-the glaze didn't come out as I hoped.

I added 100g of strawberries this time and it turned out to be too much. As of result, I had to melt more chocolate to compensate for the additional strawberries.

My friend showed me the double boiler method for melting chocolate. It was easier than I thought and you could taste more chocolate too. The last time I made this pie, I added boiling water to the chocolate which diluted the flavor. Combining the strawberries and chocolate however, made the pie a little runny. This is likely due to the water content of the strawberries. Fortunately, it didn't soften the crust but thickening agent is required.

I also pricked the holes with a fork instead of cutting out the steam vents. The result was much better than the last time as it didn't pent up.

Unfortunately, the crust shrunk so much which didn't help the overloading problem. This could have been due to overworking the dough when I was kneading it. I think it's because I didn't let the crust relax in the fridge after rolling it out. After I quickly rolled the pie crust out, I immediately put the pie in the oven. By leaving the crust relax, the stretched gluten eventually loses its elastic bond and thus, breaking the network between the molecules.

I didn't use any thickening agent for the glaze this time. It just didn't turn out good so I'm taking that out for my next pie.

One For The Ladies

My friend Melissa bugged me for months to make her a chocolate strawberry pie. She got overly excited when she saw this pie from The Waitress, so she had to ask her pie-obsessive friend to make one: moi. Damn you Keri Russell. I wasn't enthusiastic about it 'cause I'm not a big fan of chocolate. When I saw this however, my eyes lit up and I was inspired to make a Double Bottom Chocolate Strawberry Pecan Pie! The colours match Valentine's Day so it had to look good. Ladies, this pie's for you! Near the end before I ruined it with the strawberry glaze, the pie looked pretty much what I envisioned.

I first crushed the pecans with my rolling pin and placed them evenly on the bottom dough liner. I didn't make the dough this time as I used one of my leftovers in my freezer. There were so many in my freezer!

I then sealed the pie with another dough liner, and hence the name 'Double Bottom'. To make sure that heat isn't contained inside the pie, I cut some steam vents like I normally would on any other double crust pies. I then baked the pie.

Baked at 425°F for 25 minutes

You can see that the pie inflated during this process but I was able to push it down with my finger. I wasn't expecting it to inflate, but I guess this means that I need to prick more holes. While the pie was baking, I turned my focus to chocolate.

Bernard Callebaut is one of my favorites and luckily, you can buy them in bulk for cheap now. I've never worked with chocolate before so I was nervous. After spending a day researching on ways to melt chocolate, I decided to go with the easiest way possible: cutting it into pieces and adding boiling water.

The white stuff that you see above is just a mixture of water, sugar, and corn starch. Next, the strawberries!

After cleaning and hulling the strawberries, I cut them in different sizes: one batch had bite-size to go into the chocolate and the others were halved as they were placed at the very top of the pie. To soften these strawberries, I cooked them in a pot at low heat.

I also prepared a strawberry glaze to enhance the strawberry flavour. It took a while because I don't have a masher for the strawberries so I used a wooden spoon instead. Never again will I do that. From here on, it's just a matter of adding everything together.

Nice!

Not so nice.

In case you're wondering why there is pink puke, it's because of corn starch. It was bright red before I added the corn starch.

Finally it's over. I got my friends to try it (including Melissa) and although this pie was meant for the ladies, it was actually a bunch of dudes who ate most of it. At least Melissa got her wish.

I was surprised at how this pie turned out. Not only did it look good (minus the glaze), but it was delicious! The chocolate was sweet on its own, but the pecans help offset it. What a difference they make! The crust wasn't soggy. I just wish there was more strawberry flavour. For my next pie, I'll probably add more strawberries and cut down on the chocolate.

March 14 is a special day for us nerds and pie lovers but unfortunately, I won't be in town to celebrate. Happy Pi Day everyone!

Damn Soggy Bottom!

This was my fourth week making a berry pie. I'm trying to get the berries soft without making the filling runny, and preventing the bottom crust from getting soggy. This have proved to be a difficult task.

Yes, I added raspberries this time.

You can see from the picture above that the bottom crust was overwhelmed by the berry juice.

The one adjustment that I've made since last week, is that I blind baked the bottom crust a little longer, hoping that it would get crispier. I also left a little bit of excess dough on the edges compared to last week.

Blind baked at 250°F for 15 minutes

I put the cold filling in minutes after the crust was taken out of the oven. After finishing the lattice top, the pie was ready to be baked at my parents' place.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Again, I couldn't tuck in the strips as the bottom crust hardened at this point.

Baked at 425°F for 28 minutes

It tasted really good. The berries were soft but the filling was not runny; the top crust was crispy; but the bottom crust was soggy.

Looking back, I think I put the filling in too soon. The bottom crust should have been left at room temperature longer, after the blind baking process, to allow the crust to harden. Putting in the filling quickly may have allowed the juice to seep in the soft warm crust. Another adjustment I'll make in my next berry pie include patching up areas where it got forked during blind baking, to ensure juice does not seep in.

I may have to perfect this pie at another time. I've been asked several times by my friend (and now a co-worker), to make a double bottom chocolate strawberry pecan pie. I've never worked with any of these ingredients, so it'll be interesting how it comes out. I may have to travel to the Land of Chocolate.

Blind baking

One of my co-workers left this week. Since he was a fan of this blog, I wanted him to try my pies before he left. I made an apple and a blueberry pie again since there are quite a few people in my group. The pies were prepared a day before being put in the oven.

I'm still trying to perfect the berry pie although this time, I was using only blueberries. I'm too cheap to buy raspberries.

Last week, I screwed up the blind baking process so I made sure not do that again for this week. I punched some holes at the bottom and on the sides of the crust with a fork.

I then added a sheet of parchment paper on the dough filled with dry rice.

I then baked it at 250°F for 10 minutes.

There were no air pockets. I expected the crust to shrink but it didn't. I put the fillings in the pie and left it in the fridge while I rolled the upper crust and cut it into strips. Once I took the pie out from the fridge, I realized that the bottom crust was too brittle for the upper crust to be tucked in underneath.

Strips of were not tucked in underneath the bottom crust

I baked both the apple pie and blueberry pie the following morning at the same time at 425°F for 25 minutes, although they weren't on top of each other this time.

Why didn't I think of this last week?

The pies switched place after 13 minutes because I wasn't sure if the centre of my oven was hotter than other areas. I turned the temperature down to 375°F, and the blueberry pie started bubbling already. I let it bubbled for a little longer before taking it out as I wanted it to be a little bit more runny than last week.

Baked at 425°F for 25 minutes and then 375°F for only 4 more minutes

As you can see, the egg white was enough to hold the strips together; tucking was not necessary. The pie tasted good but it wasn't tart compared to my last berry pie. The blueberries were soft as I wanted them to be, but they were a little runny as it soften the bottom crust.

The top crust was crispy but I couldn't tell if the bottom crust was as I quickly finished my slice; I had a meeting to attend to! One thing that I'm certain though is that the juice seemed to have seeped into the bottom crust. It could have been due to the blind baking process where I had to use a fork to punch holes on the bottom crust. The juice could have seeped in the bottom crust overnight in the fridge. Or I could have left the pie in the oven for too long. So many possibilities!

Baked at 425°F for 25 minutes then 375°F for 20 minutes

The apple pie didn't turn out too well either as it was runny as well. Normally, the apple pie doesn't get runny when baked at 425°F for 25 minutes then 375°F for 20 minutes using Gala apples. Putting the pie in the fridge for a day may have weaken the outer membrane of the apple slices, and thus releasing more juice when baked. I supposed an apple pie that is prepared a day prior to must be baked shorter than usual.

As for the berry pie, I'll have to suck it up and pay a little extra for the raspberries. They make a big difference on the pie that's worth the cost. As for my other adjustments to toughen the bottom crust, I'll have to think about it later. It's 3:00 in the morning right now and I'm tired. I'm going to bed.