Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (331 page)
SERVES 8
You can use
FOOLPROOF
,
ALL-BUTTER
, or
CLASSIC DOUBLE-CRUST PIE DOUGH
for this pie. This recipe was developed using fresh blueberries, but unthawed frozen blueberries will work as well. In step 3, cook half the frozen berries over medium-high heat, without mashing, until reduced to 1¹⁄
4
cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Use the large holes of a box grater to shred the apple. Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. For more information on fitting pie dough, see
“FITTING PIE DOUGH”
. For more information on assembling double-crust pies, see
“ASSEMBLING DOUBLE-CRUST PIES”
.
1 | |
30 | ounces (6 cups) blueberries |
1 | Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and shredded |
³⁄ | cup (5¹⁄ |
2 | tablespoons instant tapioca, ground |
2 | teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice |
Pinch salt | |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¹⁄ |
1 | large egg white, lightly beaten |
1.
Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
2.
Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Using 1¹⁄
4
-inch round cookie cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut 6 more rounds from dough, 1¹⁄
2
inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Transfer dough to parchment paper–lined baking sheet; cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3.
Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring often and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1¹⁄
2
cups, about 8 minutes; let cool slightly.
4.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees.
5.
Place shredded apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl and stir in cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, sugar, tapioca, lemon zest and juice, and salt until combined. Spread mixture into dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter over top.
6.
Loosely roll remaining dough round around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto filling. Trim overhang to ¹⁄
2
inch beyond lip of pie plate. Pinch edges of top and bottom crusts firmly together. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush surface with beaten egg white.
7.
Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 4 hours. Serve.
PIE STORAGE
Because of their high dairy content, leftover custard- and cream-filled pies (including pumpkin) must be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator. They will generally last for a day or two stored this way. Whipped cream–topped pies do not store well, because the whipped cream breaks down and begins to weep after a short period of time. If you’re planning on serving only a few slices from a whipped cream-topped pie, top each slice individually with whipped cream and save the rest of the pie for later.
Double-crust and lattice-topped fruit pies such as apple, peach, blueberry, and cherry can safely be stored at room temperature because of their high sugar content and acidity, which retard the growth of bacteria. To find out if fruit pies fare better when refrigerated or stored at room temperature, we held a baking marathon, then stored pies both ways. In all cases, refrigeration turned the crisp crusts on fruit pies gummy. This occurs as a result of retrogradation, or the process by which the structure of the starch changes and becomes stale. So when it comes to fruit pies, room temperature is the way to go. Wrapped well in foil and stored at room temperature, pies made with cooked fruit will last up to two days.
Note that pies made with fresh, uncooked fruit such as strawberries are a different story. These delicate pies often contain gelatin and should be stored in the refrigerator for up to one day.
Using 1¹⁄
4
-inch cookie cutter (or spice jar lid), cut 1 round from center of dough, then 6 more rounds, 1¹⁄
2
inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Great cherry pie is typically made with sour cherries because their soft, juicy flesh and bright, punchy flavor isn’t dulled by oven heat or sugar. But cherry season is cruelly short and chances are the cherries that are available are the sweet variety. Sweet cherries have mellower flavors and meaty, firm flesh—traits that make them ideal for eating straight off the stem but don’t translate well to baking. Our challenge was obvious: develop a recipe for sweet cherry pie with all the intense, jammy flavor and softened but still intact fruit texture of the best sour cherry pie. To mimic the bright, tart flavor of a sour cherry pie filling, we supplemented sweet cherries with chopped plums, which are tart and helped tame the cherries’ sweet flavor. To fix the texture problem, we cut the cherries in half to expose their sturdy flesh. This step encouraged the cherries to soften and give up their juices. A splash of bourbon and lemon juice also offset the sweetness and added flavorful depth. To keep the filling juicy, rather than dry, we switched out the typical lattice pie crust in favor of a traditional top crust, which prevented any moisture from evaporating.
SERVES 8
You can use
FOOLPROOF
,
ALL-BUTTER
, or
CLASSIC DOUBLE-CRUST PIE DOUGH
for this pie. Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. You can substitute 2 pounds frozen sweet cherries for the fresh cherries. If you are using frozen fruit, measure it frozen, but let it thaw before filling the pie. If not, you run the risk of partially cooked fruit and undissolved tapioca. For more information on fitting pie dough, see
“FITTING PIE DOUGH”
. For more information on assembling double-crust pies, see
”ASSEMBLING DOUBLE-CRUST PIES”
.
1 | |
2 | red plums, halved and pitted |
2 | pounds pitted sweet cherries, halved |
¹⁄ | cup (3¹⁄ |
1 | tablespoon lemon juice |
2 | teaspoons bourbon (optional) |
2 | tablespoons instant tapioca, ground |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¹⁄ |
1 | large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water |
1.
Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper–lined baking sheet; cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Process plums and 1 cup halved cherries in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as necessary. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Stir in remaining halved cherries, sugar, lemon juice, bourbon, if using, tapioca, salt, and cinnamon, if using, into puree; let stand for 15 minutes.
3.
Spread cherry mixture with its juices into dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter over top. Loosely roll remaining dough round around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto filling. Trim overhang to ¹⁄
2
inch beyond lip of pie plate. Pinch edges of top and bottom crusts firmly together. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Cut eight 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush surface with beaten egg mixture. Freeze pie for 20 minutes.
4.
Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake until crust is light golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, rotate baking sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 4 hours. Serve.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Fresh peach pies are often soupy or overly sweet, with a bottom crust that is soggy or undercooked. We wanted to create a filling that was juicy but not swimming in liquid, its flavors neither muscled out by spices nor overwhelmed by thickeners, and the crust had to be well browned on the bottom. We peeled and sliced the peaches and found that all they needed in the way of flavor was sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of salt. To thicken the juices, we used a little cornstarch, but it didn’t solve the problem. A lattice-top pie crust was our solution—while it requires a bit more work than making a regular double-crust pie, we found that it’s worth the effort. Not only is it pretty and very traditional on peach pies, but it serves an important purpose: The structure of a lattice top allows for maximum evaporation while the pie cooks—the juices released by the fruit cook down slowly while baking so the filling isn’t soupy. For easy assembly, we rolled and cut the dough, then froze it so the strips were firm and easy to handle.
See “WEAVING A LATTICE TOP” illustrations that follow recipe.