Willy Wonka Pumpkin Pie

Why Willy Wonka pumpkin pie? Well, because while Mile High Pumpkin Pie is probably a snappier-sounding choice, it's also something that a marketer would come up with. (And my tolerance for marketing copy is quite low at the moment.)
Plus, when I was whipping up the meringue for this pie, all I could picture is the scene from Willy Wonka (the original one) in which Mike TV's mom scoops white cream out of a ginormous red mushroom.


This pie came about thanks to the following:
1. Horrifying, canyon-like cracks in a pumpkin pie that really needed to look as good as it tasted (it was for a party).
2. A browse through the November issue of Martha Stewart Living.

As soon as I'd finished baking the pumpkin pie, I realized it was doomed to be the dessert equivalent of a kid that gets picked last for dodge ball. I had to find a way to cover up the cracks that stretched from end to end. (I had made the pie from a special recipe, so there was no way that I was going to be ok with it getting shelved until party goers were only coming back for seconds.) Maybe craft a grapevine out of pie dough and drape it sinuously over the cracks? No, too obvious. Plus, my pie dough sculpting skills leave a lot to be desired.

Unlike with cakes, there isn't much you can do when a pumpkin pie cracks, particularly if the cracks seem to have a goal of spanning the full diameter of the once-smooth top. Then I remembered: Didn't the November issue of Living feature some crazy meringue pumpkin pie? Something that looked like it would grace the table at Willy Wonka's Thanksgiving celebration? (Ok, so he was British in the original movie and likely didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but let's just assume for the sake of this story that he's more of an international figure.)

Long story longer: The meringue topping turned my ugly duckling pie into something that ended up being at least a conversation piece at the party. The kids were freaking out, and the adults were like, "Geez, how many egg whites were harmed in the making of that pie?"

One more thing: While the visual focus obviously is the meringue, this is one incredibly good pumpkin pie, cracked top aside. It doesn't usually crack, too - this was the first time - so I highly recommend this pie for your upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations, with or without the meringue topping.

Pie Dough(Note: Makes enough for 2 pumpkin pies)

2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, chilled
3 T. margarine or chilled vegetable shortening
1/4 c. ice water

In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt. Cut the chilled butter and margarine/shortening into 1 T. bits and add to the flour. With a pastry cutter, work flour and shortening together until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the ice water little by little, pressing the pastry together into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap.
Chill for at least 1 hour (Seriously. Do it. The secret to light, flaky pastry is to keep the mixture cool, add as little water as possible, and mix only as much as necessary.)
Remove from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, or until dough is pliable. Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to a 12-inch disk about 1/8-inch thick. Fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of pie pan. Unfold dough.
Press dough into pan, trim edge, and flute or otherwise decorate edges. Refrigerate pie shell for 40 minutes and then freeze for 20 minutes (sometimes I skip the freezing step and it still turns out fine).

Pumpkin Pie (makes enough for one pie)
2 c. (16 oz.) plain canned pumpkin puree
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
2 t. ground ginger
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. heavy cream
2/3 c. milk
4 large eggs

Adjust oven rack to lower and middle positions and heat oven to 375. Press doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside dough shell; evenly distribute 1 c. ceramic or metal pie weights over foil. Partially bake pie shell on a middle rack until dough dries out, about 17 minutes.
Carefully remove foil and weights.
Meanwhile, process pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, and salt in a food processor fitted with steel blade for 1 minute. Transfer pumpkin mixture to a 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan; bring it to a sputtering simmer over medium-high heat. Cook pumpkin, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.
As soon as pie shell comes out of oven, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Whisk heavy cream and milk into pumpkin and bring to a bare simmer. Process eggs in food processor until whites and yolks are mixed, about 5 seconds. With motor running, slowly pour about half of hot pumpkin mixture through feed tube. Stop machine and scrape in remaining pumpkin. Process 30 seconds longer.
Immediately pour warm filling into hot pie shell. (Ladle any excess filling into pie after it has baked for 5 minutes or so--by this time filling will have settled.) Bake pie on lower rack until filling is puffed, dry-looking, and lightly cracked (but not sooo cracked, ugh!) edges, and center wiggles like Jello when pie is gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour.

Meringue Topping
2 c. granulated sugar
8 large egg whites, room temperature

Just before serving the pie, make the meringue. Combine sugar and egg whites in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water (alternatively: use a double boiler and then transfer the egg/sugar mixture to the mixer bowl later). Whisk until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
Transfer bowl to mixer, and whisk on medium speed for 3 minutes. Raise speed to high, and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes more.
Dollop meringue onto pie and spread using a swirling motion, creating peaks and valleys in the meringue.
Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from the surface of meringue.
Move flame back and forth until meringue starts to brown.
If you don't have a kitchen torch, just heat your oven's broiler and bake pie on top rack until meringue starts to brown - 2 to 4 minutes (watch it carefully).

Boston Cream Pie: Ode to a Fair City

Yes, it's been forever since the last post. (Deepest apologies to my 3 followers.) And this post is a bit of a rebellious one, as I've dared to deviate from the recipes of Death by Chocolate in order to pay homage to my recent trip to Boston. That fair city is now officially on my list of Top 5 Cities of All Time. If Boston were a man, I'd be head over heels (a girl's dream: sophisticated, well-educated, gorgeous).
But back to baking. While in Boston, I spent 45 minutes dragging my poor friend around the North End in a focused hunt for a slice of Boston Cream Pie. (Learning in the process that Boston Cream Pie is actually cake, not pie. I believe it was called pie because when it was first concocted in the 19th century, it was baked in a pie pan.)
I finally settled for a slice from Bova's Bakery (which, it should be noted, is famous for Italian bread. Not Boston Cream Pie.). Their version looked like something you'd find in Barbie's kitchen. And its taste reflected its appearance: plastic. As I've never had Boston Cream Pie, I wasn't sure whether Bova's version was just bad, or whether it was truly what Boston Cream Pie is meant to taste like. Bova's was a white, flavorless sponge cake sandwiching a cream filling - of cheap donut ilk - and topped with a glassy layer of what appeared to be chocolate glaze. In a word: gross.
Not ready to give up on Boston Cream Pie just yet, I decided to make my own using a recipe from my beloved The Best Recipe cookbook, which has only failed me once (don't try the brownies). So I spent the better part of this afternoon whipping up my first-ever Boston Cream Pie.
I'm happy to report that the homemade version is much better than the plastic pretender at Bova's.
I must admit, though: I could never give Boston Cream Pie 5 stars. When it comes to desserts, I'm a bit high-maintenance. I need flavor - deep valleys of flavor (intense chocolate that's worth its weight in Tums). And texture - steep pinnacles of texture (fluffy meringue counterbalancing a crispy crust).
Boston Cream Pie is a nice cake. The sponge cake is good, but it's sponge cake, you know? The cream filling is creamy, but it doesn't really have a lot of flavor (I'm tempted to advise that you double the rum). And the chocolate glaze, when done well, is good. But overall, the cake is just a nice cake, with all the flavors and textures blending together into a mellow dessert. I probably wouldn't make it again unless someone asked me to.
However, for those of you who also have been dying to try a true Boston Cream Pie, with this recipe you can skip visit to Bova's on your trip to Bean Town, and enjoy a decent version from the comfort of your own kitchen.

Start with Foolproof Sponge Cake:

• 1/2 c. plain cake flour


• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour


• 1 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. salt


• 3 T. milk


• 2 T. unsalted butter


• 1/2 t. vanilla


• 5 large eggs, room temperature


• 3/4 c. sugar
  
  Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans and cover the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and add vanilla; cover and keep warm.
  Separate three of the eggs, placing whites in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and reserving three yolks plus remaining two whole eggs in another mixing bowl. Beat the three whites on low speed until whites are foamy. Increase mixer speed to medium and gradually add 6 T of the sugar; continue to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. (Do not overbeat.) If using standing mixer, transfer egg whites to a large bowl and add yolk/whole-egg mixture to mixing bowl.
  Beat yolk/whole-egg mixture with remaining 6 T sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes. Add beaten eggs to whites.
  Sprinkle flour mixture over beaten eggs and whites; fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour and whites and whole eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 additional strokes.
  Immediately pour batter into prepared baking pans; bake until cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched (about 16 minutes for 9-inch pans; 20 minutes for 8-inch pans).
  Immediately run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake. Invert cakes onto cooling racks and cool to room temperature.

Pastry Cream

• 2 c. milk
  
• 6 large egg yolks
  
• 1/2 c. sugar
  
• 1/4 t. salt
  
• 1/4 c. cornstarch, sifted
  
• 1 t. vanilla
  
• 1 T. rum
  
• 2 T. unsalted butter (optional according to The Best Recipe, though I definitely don't consider it as such)
  
  Heat milk in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan until mixture is thick and lemon-colored, about 3-4 minutes. Add cornstarch; whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in hot milk. Cook milk mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping pan bottom and sides as you stir, until mixture thickens to a thick pudding consistency and loses all traces of raw starch flavor (blech) - about 10 minutes.
  Off heat, stir in vanilla, rum, and butter (if using) and transfer to another container to cool to room temp, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of mix to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate pastry cream until firm. (Can be refrigerated overnight.)
  To ensure that pastry cream does not thin out, do not whisk once it has set.

Rich Chocolate Glaze

• 1 c. heavy cream
  
• 1/4 c. light corn syrup
  
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  
• 1/2 t. vanilla
  
  Bring cream and corn syrup to a full simmer over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Off heat, add chocolate; cover and let stand for 8 minutes. (If chocolate has not completely melted, return saucepan to low heat; stir constantly until melted.) Add vanilla; stir very gently until mixture is smooth. Cool until tepid so that a spoonful drizzled back into pan mounds slightly. (Glaze can be refrigerated to spped up cooling process, stirring every few minutes to ensure even cooling.)
  While glaze is cooling, place one cake layer on a cardboard round on cooling rack set over waxed paper. Carefully spoon pastry cream over cake and spread evenly up to cake edge. Place the second layer on top, making sure layers line up properly.
  Pour glaze over middle of top layer and let flow down cake sides. Use a metal spatula, if necessary, to completely coat cake. Use a small needle to puncture air bubbles. Let sit until glaze fully sets, about 1 hour. Cut and serve.