My Pies

[mindem]

I'm just showing off a little. Our town has a pie baking contest that I enter every 4th of July. This year my Strawberry Rhubarb pie took first place in double-crust and my Ambassador Black Bottom pie took second place in the cream/custard pie category. The contest is a good fundraiser for our local library.



One of my pastry roses.



Ambassador Black Bottom Pie

[livetohike]

1. Congratulations! They look delicious! I love

rhubarb .

[elleng]

2. Congratulations!

Strawberry Rhubarb is my favorite pie, and as it's rarely around, I'd 'walk a mile' for yours!

[mindem]

3. Thanks

The way I sample while creating I'm going to have a gut that is about a mile around.

[SkyDaddy7]

51. WOW!

Your pies look wonderful!! …Just curious, are the flowers on the top of one of them the same as the crust? Tasty!

[mindem]

57. Yes,

the flowers are made from the same crust as the pie and sculpted with pretty much the same technique as fondant flowers.

[cilla4progress]

4. Beautiful!

Congratulations! Yum!

[Squinch]

5. Those look georgeous! I'd feel awful eating them, but even the rosettes look delicious.

You have a talent I wish I had.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

6. Wow!!!

The pastry roses are gorgeous and the black bottom pie looks amazing! Congratulations...do you share recipes?

[Laffy Kat]

7. Whoa! Those are beautiful!

They look too pretty to eat (but I would, anyway). Congrats!

[csziggy]

8. Congratulations on your prizes!

Your pies look wonderful - I think I gained weight just looking at the photos.

No wonder - I looked up the black bottom pie and the recipe I found, while sounding delicious shocked me: " Calories per serving: 4095" (https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/ambassador-black-bottom-pie/772073)

[mindem]

31. It's a pretty rich pie

The base recipe I used came from the Augusta Kohrs recipe collection. I did some work for the National Park Service to contemporize her handwritten recipe collection, some of the recipes were written in old German and were quite a challenge to decipher. It's always a challenge to work with recipes from the 1800's because they list only the ingredients and no method. Eventually, the recipes and photography I did will be published by the Park Service. In the meanwhile, I have a nice collection of old dessert recipes to use for my cottage baking business.

[csziggy]

36. Wow - what a great job!

I know I ran into an old recipe from about 1834-40 by one of my g? grandmothers.

No name for the recipe, not even what it was supposed to be. DUers and a local friend helped me figure it out and it makes some mean pecan cookies. (My original thread on the recipe: https://www.democraticunderground.com/115738449)

The entries in the book are between 1812 and about 1842. This recipe was in the book:

2 or 3 tea cups of sugar
1 or 2 of butter and
1 of pecans
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon of perlash *
3 tea cups flour
brandy to your taste.

*(Pearl ash or potassium carbonate was an early raising agent but when added to fats could make soapy tasting baked goods. Substitute baking powder.)

It sounds as though it would be some sort of cake. I'm thinking of trying it when I get home, using baking powder.


I worked with it and got this:

Modern adaptation:
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup (two sticks) salted butter
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or brandy or Irish Mist
2 cups chopped pecans
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended. Stir in pecans. Add 1 cup flour and baking soda, mix until just blended. Add rest of flour, mix until just blended; scrape sides of bowl, blend.

Drop by teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove to rakes to cool completely. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Notes: I used salted butter since that is what my husband brought home. I was going to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt but with the salted butter I omitted it.

The original recipe called for "brandy to your taste" but I used vanilla extract with my first try. While the cookies were OK, they needed something. The second time I used Irish Mist and they were much more interesting. Since then I have made it with a tablespoon of brandy and that was really good.

[mindem]

37. Booze can really help a flavor profile

I used real rum for the Black Bottom Pie instead of rum flavoring and it put the custard over the top. Potash or perlash was used quite a bit in German recipes as a leavening agent. Some of the recipes I worked on called for heartsbane, it felt like reading the instructions for a potion vs. a recipe.

[mindem]

39. Here are some Kieler Braune Kuchen

Last edited Mon Jul 9, 2018, 10:20 AM - Edit history (1)

I worked out that called for both perlash and heartsbane. It's quite a process because the finished dough calls for being aged at room temperature for a week or more. They taste great though.

[Scarsdale]

46. By the way,

speaking of the brandy, is that for the pie, or the baker?? I gave a friend a little do-dad that said "I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food"

[mindem]

47. Both

Good cooks always sample as they go. In fact, it may be necessary to taste more than one type of brandy, rum, whiskey to ensure the perfect fusion of flavors. Just sayin'.

[BobTheSubgenius]

49. I didn't know, so I had to look it up, because......

...that calorie count seemed incredibly high. Two days RDA of calories in one piece of pie?

I don't know the serving size, but let's assume 100 grams. A different source gave a calorie count of just under 300. It gave the same number for a slice of cheesecake.

I LOVE the sound of that pie, and hearty congratulations on an amazing showing! Those kinds of contests bring out some pretty fine competition, so you were up against good bakers and still did incredibly well!

[mindem]

55. I've figured the calorie count

at around 360.

[BobTheSubgenius]

62. That seems both reasonable...

...and totally worth it!

[badhair77]

9. You definitely have a gift.

They are beautiful and they look delicious. Thanks also for supporting your local library. Budgets are tight everywhere.

[JDC]

10. Those look amazing!!

Congrats!

[Saviolo]

11. Can't get enough strawberry rhubarb!

And those little pastry roses are lovely and look delicious. It's still rhubarb season here, so we might make another video in addition to the apple rhubarb compote I posted earlier.

[NBachers]

12. You are an artist.

[CousinIT]

13. Wow! Look delicious but too beautiful to eat!

And for a great cause too. Strawberry-rhubarb - mmmmmm...

[TNNurse]

14. They look great,

but the test is in the taste. I would give them a try. I am sure they are as good as they look.

[calimary]

15. In total awe...

That’s not a pie. That’s a work of art!

[montana_hazeleyes]

16. Oh, they are gorgeous.

Love the pastry roses. It's easy to see why they won.

[sprinkleeninow]

17. I'd like to place an order for one of each. Thank you. 😋

[japple]

18. Congratulations to you and kudos on your beautiful creations. You've really

done it up right. Wish I could sample just a tiny sliver of each!

Two thumbs up!

[pansypoo53219]

19. ok. i ain't winning any awards for presentation. at least mine are tasty.

1/2 assed crust works.

[BadGimp]

20. mmmmm PIE!

[mindem]

30. The Eyes

How can you turn down giving treats when they give you those eyes.

[democrank]

21. Congratulations!

Such artistic creations and I bet they're delicious.

[paleotn]

22. That's fantastic....

I bet they taste as good as they look.

[peequod]

23. Call me crazy, but I feel if we can still make pies like these beauties, mindem,

I feel there is hope for this great nation. Thank you for your artistry on a sunny summer’s afternoon.

[mindem]

34. I'm pretty old fashioned

I think if we started to bring back things like pie and ice cream socials people would get along a little better.

[peequod]

41. That takes the idea farther, I like it

[Honeycombe8]

24. Oh, yum! You're an artist!

I've never understood the interest that many have in baking & cooking. I have no interest in it at all. It's torture to me to have to cook something. But I sure like to partake in the goodies that others make!

[pruple]

25. Now you've made me hungry!

Beautiful pies

[panader0]

26. You are a culinary artist!

Recommended.

[intheozone]

27. Yum Yum, almost too pretty to eat. nt

[samnsara]

28. wow!!

[Ohiogal]

29. Those are gorgeous!

You are very talented, mindem!:

[handmade34]

32. yummmmm!

[KT2000]

33. OMG!!

Gorgeous! The rosettes on the strawberry/rhubarb are beautiful. Congrats! My favorite is S/R.

[sweetroxie]

35. Wihen can I come over?

nt

[Lochloosa]

38. And not one recipe....

[Maraya1969]

40. I am so impressed!!! They look incredible!

Congratulations so much.

[emmadoggy]

42. YUM!!! Congrats!!

[Oppaloopa]

43. How many WW points? lol

[bucolic_frolic]

44. Well they wouldn't be my choice of pie, but it sure is civic-minded!!

[Scarsdale]

45. Congratulations!

Great talent for baking.

[Brainstormy]

48. Amazing! n/t

[sellitman]

50. I would interrupt my low card diet to eat those.

In a NY minute.

[denbot]

52. Nom nom nom nom!

Mrs denbot and I think they are the most beautiful pies we’ve ever seen.

[Bayard]

53. You are invited to my house for dinner.

Bring dessert.....

[eppur_se_muova]

54. Well, now you should expect company to drop by ....

[mindem]

58. He would be welcomed with open arms.

In fact, I'd be inspired to create a signature pie for the occasion.

[lillypaddle]

56. Dayum! Those are beautiful

and look delicious. Congrats! Pass me a piece of each, please!

[niyad]

59. yummmmmmmm. you did save us some, yes???

[SpankMe]

60. Pie is one of the greatest substanaces known to man

Yours look amazing!

[Vinca]

61. I love the rosette idea. I never thought of that.

Pies are one of my favorite things to make, but I've never made one quite as pretty as yours. Sometimes I cut out apple shapes to put on apple pies, but that's about the extent of it. They never last long enough to appreciate the artwork anyway. LOL.

[area51]

63. They're so beautiful

that I'd hate to cut into them to eat them.

[elleng]

64. Happy to see this beautiful, delicious thread is still active!

SAD to say I saw (and bought) one yesterday, at a 'community' sale (@ my doctor's office/group), and it was AWFUL! SHOULD have known, the crust LOOKED bad/boring, but as strawberry rhubarb pies are rather rare, I couldn't resist. Will continue to look.

[blue-wave]

65. They look so delish!!!!

Congratulations!!

[Hortensis]

66. That strawberry-rhubarb especially has been awaking cravings

for days now. I haven't gotten into baking, but you reminded me that learning to throw together a great strawberry-rhubarb crisp has been on my list since my last piece of pie (last summer). Most recipes I looked at then apparently had a problem with excess liquid, according to reviews.

Just beautiful, Mindem.

[Beacool]

67. They look gorgeous.

I bet that they taste great.