Lemon meringue pie

 

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tbsp granulated sugar

3/4 tsp of salt

10 tbsp of unsalted butter (pea sized and chilled)

4 to 6 tbsp if ice water

Filling

6 large egg yolks(use the whites in the meringue)

1 1/3 cups of water

1 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of cornstarch

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp of unsalted butter

Meringue

6 large egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 granulated sugar

1/8 tsp of salt

Instructions

Pie Crust

 In a deep medium size mixed bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt. Cut the butter into pea size pieces then add to the flower mixture. Working quickly use your hands to mix the mixture together. So as not to warm the butter. 

Drizzle a few tablespoons of water on the mixture and toss to moisten. Continue adding the remaining water until the dose sticks together and stay stuck when pressed between two fingers. It's OK if the dough is still crumbly and messy.

Turn the mixture out onto a clean surface. Use your hands to press the dough together. Gently fold the dough over and onto itself, repeating this three times until it's come together and a cohesive mass. Rap dough in about a 4 inch wide disc shape with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 min. I do it overnight.

To roll out the dough let the dough set at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes or until it's slightly pliable. Roll the dough out on a flat work service between 2 baking paper sheets. I roll to 1/8 of an inch. 

Gently roll up and around the rolling pin, then unroll and drape over a 9 inch pie plate. Gently pressed into the pie plate, being careful to avoid stretching it to fit. Use scissors or knife or your fingers to trim the excess doe, leaving a 1 inch overhang if you choose. Fold the overhang under itself and crimp or flute, pierce the base of the dough with a fork.

Blind bake the pie shell in the oven at 400°F. Bake for 15 minutes or until just beginning to brown and no longer raw.

Filling

While the pastry case is cooling. Set oven temperature to 300°F

Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Whisk the water, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. The mixture will be thin and cloudy, then eventually begin thickening and bubbling after about six minutes. Once thickened, give it a whisk and reduce heat to low.

Add the egg yolks in a very slow stream, a few large spoonfuls of warm lemon mixture into the egg yolks while stirring. Then also in a very low stream with the egg yolk mixture into the sauce pan. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook until the mixture is thick and big bubbles begin bursting at the surface. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter. Spread filling into the warm, partially baked crust. Set aside as you prepare the meringue. Work on the meringue as soon as you fill the pie with the filling that way, it is still warm and adheres to the filling preventing separation. Cool in fridge.

Meringue

To make the meringue. Set oven to 300°F. 

Use a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed for one minute, then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about four minutes. Add the sugar and salt, then continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about two more minutes. Spread meringue on top of filling. Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to the edges so that it touches the crust this helps prevent the meringue from weeping.

Bake pie on the lowest oven rack for 15 minutes. If the meringue is burning too quickly tend a piece of foil over as best you can without the foil touching the meringue. When pie is done removed from oven place on a wire rack and allow to cool at room temperature for one hour before placing in the refrigerator to chill. Chill for four hours before slicing and serving.

Storing the Pie

Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator. Lemon meringue pie taste best on day one because it doesn't keep very well. No matter how hard you try to prevent it the meringue will wilt and separate overtime. Best to enjoy it right away.

Halloween Monster Rice Crispy Treats!!

Let’s do Monsters!!!

Monster Krispie Treats

Ingredients

6 cups rice krispie cereal 

1 pkg of mini marshmallows

3 tbsp of butter

1 cup each of bright green, orange and purple melts

6 tsp of shortening 

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Assorted candy eyes

Assorted sprinkles and sugars of same colors

Directions

Coat 13x9  baking pan with baking spay. If you line with wax paper you will find it much cleaner to take the treats out. 

In a bowl melt butter then combine marshmallows and butter and melt in microwave in 15 sec intervals.

 Be very carful not to go over. Do this until it is smooth, mixing in between intervals. 

When smooth, poor over cereal and gently fold together until cereal is coated.

 Press into the pan to even out. Chill for 1 hr. 

Take the treats out by pulling on the wax paper and set onto cutting board. Peel off the paper then into 12 bars. 

In separate microwave bowls, combine each candy melt color with 2 tsp of shortening. Do one color at a time in 15 sec intervals like before. Stir until smooth. Spoon color over treat covering 1/2 -3/4 of the treat. Let the excess drip back into the bowl. Melt the chocolate as well the same way and transfer to a pastry bag when not so hot of course, with a small round tip.Cover tops with sanding sugar or sprinkles for hair and such. Decorate treats with mouths, eyebrows and eyelashes. Have fun with it. Add the candy eyes 👀

Martha Stewarts Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

I would personally call this a cake and not a pound cake. 

It is so light and fluffy.

Ingredients

For the Glaze

Zest of a Meyer lemon

2 3/4 cup of confectioners sugar

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

For the Cake

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

Plus more for pans 

4 cups of sifted flour, plus more for pans

1 teaspoon of salt

4 teaspoons of baking powder

2 3/4 cup of sugar

8 eggs, room temp

1 cup of milk, room temp

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-by-5-by-3-inch (or larger) loaf pans and set aside.

Step 2
Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder two times and set aside.

Step 3
With an electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy.

Step 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Stir only until thoroughly blended. Gently fold in the zest.

Step 5
Pour batter into the prepared pans, making sure to divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Level tops with an offset spatula. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan about 10 minutes; then remove to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

If done in the pampered chef personal brownie 

pan then do 15 min baking.

If done in a mini loaf pan that do 20 min baking

Step 6
Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk all glaze ingredients to combine. If necessary, add additional confectioners' sugar to desired consistency.


Step 7
Pour glaze on top of cakes and serve.

Creme Brûlée

There is something wonderful about home made desserts. Even better when you have your own and don’t have to share it. That is where my cocottes come into play.

The recipe is simple

Ina Garten from Food Network graces us with it.

Level Intermediate

Servings 5-6

Total time 2 hrs

Prep time 15 min

Bake time 45 min

Ingredients

1 large egg

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar, plus 1 tblsp for each serving

3 cups of heavy creme

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tblsp orange liqueur (recommended Grand Mariner)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

   
   

   Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

   
   

   

   
   

   To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

   
   

   

   
   

   Bon Appetit