Pie #13: STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE OASIS PIE
"After Joe orders this one and Jenna tells him that it’s just a pie: “Just a pie! It’s downright expert. A thing’a beauty … how each flavor opens itself, one by one, like a chapter in a book. First, the flavor of an exotic spice hits ya … Just a hint of it … and then you get flooded with chocolate, dark and bittersweet like an old love affair …” – Joe"
"After Joe orders this one and Jenna tells him that it’s just a pie: “Just a pie! It’s downright expert. A thing’a beauty … how each flavor opens itself, one by one, like a chapter in a book. First, the flavor of an exotic spice hits ya … Just a hint of it … and then you get flooded with chocolate, dark and bittersweet like an old love affair …” – Joe"
Take a gooooood look at this pie. This is not the pie that Joe raves over in The Waitress. This is not the pie that could win Jenna a way out of her abusive relationship. Let's talk about the many failures of this pie... For one, this is a store-bought cookie crust. I should probably be ashamed of myself, but I'm really not. I don't have a food processor and hate the feel of butter on my fingers. Julia, I'm sorry. See that thick, ridiculous chocolate mousse? It took two egg whites folded in, a pint of whipped heavy cream, tears, a whole packet of gelatin, and 40 hours to reach that consistency. When I tried my first slice to celebrate the end of finals, it was still in oozey-pudding stage.
The strawberries were also treated with a heavy hand of gelatin, resulting in a weird, grainy texture. My first time using gelatin -- I had no idea what I was doing. (As a side note, I have a horrific track record with thickeners. I overwhipped my cream the first time, I didn't make a slurry when I first used corn starch, etc. etc.)
But the most important, ridiculous, disgusting thing about this pie is that this was the sole remaining piece that I had to pry away from encroaching family members. Also shockingly, it was delicious. I used a mixture of dark chocolate (65%) and this chai and ginger chocolate I bought for my mom. I steeped some black tea and cardamom into the whipped cream, and it provided the perfect balance of spice and chocolate.
Mark this as a lesson: if you bake it, they will eat it. Deliciousness exceeds technical failures!
The strawberries were also treated with a heavy hand of gelatin, resulting in a weird, grainy texture. My first time using gelatin -- I had no idea what I was doing. (As a side note, I have a horrific track record with thickeners. I overwhipped my cream the first time, I didn't make a slurry when I first used corn starch, etc. etc.)
But the most important, ridiculous, disgusting thing about this pie is that this was the sole remaining piece that I had to pry away from encroaching family members. Also shockingly, it was delicious. I used a mixture of dark chocolate (65%) and this chai and ginger chocolate I bought for my mom. I steeped some black tea and cardamom into the whipped cream, and it provided the perfect balance of spice and chocolate.
Mark this as a lesson: if you bake it, they will eat it. Deliciousness exceeds technical failures!
Dissolve the gelatin before you combine it with other ingredients to get rid of the grainy texture!
ReplyDeleteI always put off making pies too because I think I need a food processor to make the crust, but do you think that stopped people 40 years ago from making pies..? We got remind our selves that we don't need all this huge equipment to make delicious baked goods. Keep up the good work and don't let anything stop you from doing your best! :)
ReplyDeleterecipe please???
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a recipe as well!!!
ReplyDeleteyou don't like the feeling of butter in your fingers? Why on Earth are you baking all these pies then?
ReplyDelete