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Blueberry Cream Pie in a Gingersnap Crust

2 Jul

Some good friends of mine had a baby recently.  Actually, a few good friends of mine have had babies recently, which is rather exciting. In addition to being able to visit and squeeze all the new babies (cheeks!  Thighs!  Chubby arm folds!), I am also able to test out some new recipes on my ravenous and more-than-a-little exhausted friends and their families.

Wait.  That came out wrong, like I am testing out recipes on unsuspecting new parents.  I don’t mean it that way.  I’ve been known to bring newly developed recipes to potlucks, brunches, and the occasional Thanksgiving dinner, so introducing new dishes to many people at a time is old hat to me.  I swear that I only do this sort of thing when I am positive that the recipe is a good one, and that I would never, ever spring a suspicious new dish on people.  Nobody wants to be served something revolting, and I certainly don’t want to serve anyone anything that might be categorized as such.

Which is why, when I wanted to come up with a new way to make a blueberry dessert, I decided that the best way to present the blueberries would be in a medium with which I am decidedly familiar: a pie.  Specifically, a pie lined with what has become my favorite crumb crust, made with spicy gingersnap cookies in lieu of graham crackers.  Topping the pie is a middle layer of cool vanilla custard, and on top of that is a full 3 cups of fresh, plump blueberries.  That doesn’t sound like an experiment that could ever go wrong, does it?  Of course not.  And it didn’t, as I heard from the pie’s recipients just a day after I dropped it off.  The last slice of pie had just been happily consumed, the new mother getting the honors of the last bite.  As it should be, I think.

Blueberry Cream Pie in a Gingersnap Crust Recipe

Gingersnap Crust

9 ounces gingersnap cookies

4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Arrange an oven rack to the middle position.

In the bowl of a food processor, process cookies until they are pulverized into small crumbs.  Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor, you can crush the cookies in a plastic bag, using a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer.  When cookies are crushed, slowly drizzle in melted butter, pulsing the food processor as you drizzle.  If not using a food processor, transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl and drizzle in the butter while stirring with a spatula.  Add pinch of salt and process or stir until crumbs start to cling together.

Pour the crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie pan.  Using a spoon or a small metal measuring cup, press the crumbs into the pan, covering the bottom, then pressing the crumbs evenly up the sides of the pan.  Bake the crust for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges of the crust are just beginning to color.  Remove crust from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Blueberry Cream Pie

¼ cup cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 cups milk

3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups fresh blueberries

In a medium saucepan set over medium low heat, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and pinch of salt.  Slowly pour in milk while steadily whisking, making sure the cornstarch mixture does not clump up. Whisk in the egg yolks.  Reduce heat to medium low and slowly whisk the mixture for 7 to 8 minutes, until it becomes quite thick.  Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in vanilla.

Pour the custard into the baked gingersnap crust.  Pile blueberries on top of custard.  Place pie in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, until custard has set and pie is thoroughly chilled.

Serves 6 to 8 people.

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Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake

28 Jun

We’re right on the cusp of greeting the arrival of sour cherries here in Portland.  This event is a monumental one in my book, because with the sour cherries comes a short but treasured period of sour cherry pies, sour cherry galettes, and, if the weather is cooperating, sour cherry and Meyer lemon whiskey sours.  The season for sour cherries is a cruelly short one, but I try to make the most of it.  In fact, I am going to let you in on a little secret.  Sometimes?  If I can summon the willpower?  I take to hoarding my ration of sour cherries.

It’s not as obsessive a plan as it may seem.  I, of course, share whatever I make when the initial sour cherry season comes around, but sometimes, if I am lucky, all my pie-making and galette-fashioning leaves me with not quite enough cherries to fill a new pastry, but certainly enough sour cherries to stick in the freezer and save for as long as I can.  Believe it or not, in between last sour cherry season and this year’s upcoming one, I was able to hold onto a good amount of cherries.  I’ve been making them into syrups, using them to fill the occasional tiny pastry, and last week, when I reached the end of my stash, I worked them into a new riff on that summertime favorite, pineapple upside down cake.  Only in this case I left out the pineapple all together and instead baked a cake atop a bed of sour cherries nestled in a bed of brown sugar and butter.

The result was fantastic, as I hoped it would be.  I used the last of the cherries, after all, so if the dessert was a flop, I would have been utterly crushed.  But it was not a flop.  It was a delight.  The sour cherries were the perfect foil for the rich brown sugar topping, and the cake underneath was sturdy enough to hold court against the cherry topping, but light enough to keep the dessert from feeling like a mid-day gut bomb.  Oh, don’t get me wrong—this is a sweet dessert indeed, but it’s a far cry from being a double-decker frosted offering (of which, of course, I am also quite fond).  It’s a perfect summer cake, and a worthy use of any sour cherries you might have on hand.  With a bit of luck, in a few short weeks I might just have some more cherries on my hands.

Last Year: Lemon Cream and Strawberry Trifle

Also last year, I put my ration of sour cherries to good use in a classic sour cherry pie.

Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake Recipe

Inspired by a pineapple upside down cake recipe in The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 pound pitted sour cherries

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces

½ cup light brown sugar

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 large egg white, room temperature

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position.

Place pitted cherries in a colander and toss lightly to allow excess juices to drain slightly.  Drizzle with almond extract, toss lightly to combine, and set side.

In a 9-inch round cake pan, place 4 tablespoons of butter.  Place pan in the oven until the butter has melted, but not browned (this should take about 2 to 3 minutes).  Sprinkle the brown sugar into the pan, then gently pat the mixture until it evenly covers the bottom of the pan.  Place the cherries in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture, evenly covering the bottom of the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together on medium speed the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, along with the granulated sugar, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until the egg is fully incorporated.  Beat in the vanilla.

Beating on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk.  Add half of the remaining flour mixture, followed by the rest of the milk.  Add the last of the flour mixture, and beat until just combined.  The batter should be very thick.

Spoon the batter over the cherries, then gently smooth the top.  Gently tap the pan on top of the counter to settle the batter amongst the cherries.  Bake the cake in the center of the oven until a cake tester emerges with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan after about 20 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.  Place a serving platter on top of the pan, then flip both cake pan and plate over, inverting the cake onto the platter.  Allow the pan to rest upside down on top of the platter for 1 minute, releasing both the cake and the cherry topping without assistance.  Gently remove the pan, then allow the cake to cool for 2 hours before eating.

Serves 8 to 10 people.

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Strawberry Mango Crumble

21 Jun

I’ve been sitting here for what seems like an eternity, trying to figure out the perfect explanation for why this fruit crumble has risen to the top of my list of Greatest Summer Desserts.  After a lot of false starts and deleted sentences, I can only seem to explain my love by stating this: this is a crumble that tastes like fruit.  It does not taste of unbearable sweetness, it does not taste of leaden crumble topping, and it does not taste of overwhelming spices floating about in a pool of syrup.  It tastes like fruit.

It is odd that I find this attribute to be so remarkable?  I’ve made dozens of fruit crumbles, crisps, and cobblers in the past, but none of them have hooked me in the same manner.  Maybe it’s due to my newfound realization that most desserts are simply bogged down by far too much sugar, but when I took my first bite of this crumble and was struck by how much it tasted like fresh mangoes and ripe strawberries, it was almost as though a light went off in my head.  A fruit crumble that tastes like fruit?  This is a revelation.

Okay, it’s possible that I am overstating things.  Perhaps highlighting the fruit in a fruit dessert is not the most Nobel-worthy of actions, but you’ve got to get on board with what I am touting here.  Think mangoes and strawberries, spritzed with lemon juice, barely sweetened, and sprinkled with just a hint of spices.  Then crumble on a nutty, lightly spiced topping and bake everything together until it becomes juicy, crisp, and absolutely delightful.  You can add a petite scoop of ice cream (in this case, a frozen concoction of leftover lemon cream and a bit of unsweetened heavy cream that, good lord, made the fruit sing even more than before), or you can eat it as is.  Just make sure you do eat it because, trust me, this is a dessert you don’t want to miss.

Last Year: Spinach Basil Pesto with Lemon and Almonds

Strawberry Mango Crumble Recipe

Crumble Topping:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds or pecans, or a mixture of the two

pinch of salt

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of ground cardamom

pinch of ground ginger

6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Fruit:

12 ounces diced strawberries (about 2 cups total), pieces cut into 1-inch chunks

2 mangoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

juice of ½ a lemon

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

To prepare topping, in medium bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, nuts, pinch of salt, and spices.  Using a fork, stir together until ingredients are fully combined.  Drizzle in the melted butter, then stir until butter is evenly incorporated.  Set aside mixture to firm up just a bit.

In an 8” by 8” baking dish, combine strawberries, mangoes, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and pinches of cinnamon and cardamom.  Toss together and make sure that the fruit is evenly coated with the sugar and cornstarch.

Using your fingers, pinch off 1-inch to 2-inch pieces of crumble topping mixture and evenly scatter them over the fruit.  Bake crumble in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble topping is nicely browned.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving, lest you scorch yourself with the molten lava-like heat of the fruit.

Serves 6 to 8, depending on the generosity of your servings.

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