Pie and Pastry Bible (65 page)

(
with Cræme Fraîche Variation
)

T
his is my answer to coconut cream pie. I love the flavors but find it too sweet. Freezing the cream component (i.e., making ice cream) and decreasing the sugar in both crust and whipped cream was the solution. This simple classic is beautiful to behold, no doubt due to its ethereal blizzard of freshly grated coconut on top.

EQUIPMENT

A 9-inch pie pan

Make the dough (page 58). Roll, shape, transfer it to the pan, and prebake it (see pages 50-54).

MAKE THE ICE CREAM

Have a fine strainer suspended over a medium mixing bowl ready near the range.

In a small heavy nonreactive saucepan, place the sugar and vanilla bean and, using your fingers, rub the seeds into the sugar. Remove and reserve the pod. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the yolks, cream of coconut, and salt until well blended.

In another small saucepan (or a heatproof glass measure if using a microwave on high power), place the reserved vanilla pod, the cream, milk, and shredded coconut and scald.
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Let sit for 1 to 1½ hours.

Strain the milk mixture and squeeze the coconut to remove all the liquid. Discard the coconut.

Heat the milk. Stir a few tablespoons of the milk into the yolk mixture, then gradually add the remainder, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture over mediumlow heat, stirring constantly, to just below the boiling point (170° to 180°F.). Steam will begin to appear and the mixture will be slightly thicker than heavy cream. If a
finger is run across the back it will leave a well-defined track. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the strainer, scraping up the thickened cream that has settled on the bottom of the pan. Cool in an ice-water bath or the refrigerator until cold, at least 2 hours, or overnight.

SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
	VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
*If rolling, roll the dough ¼ inch thick and large enough to cut a 12-inch circle, using an expandable flan ring or cardboard template and sharp knife. Turn under the edge and crimp, but don’t flute the edges too far away from the edge of the pie pan, or it will droop. If possible, freeze overnight before baking.
†If Tahitian vanilla beans are unavailable, use 1½ ordinary (Madagascar) vanilla beans.
†If using sweetened coconut, omit.
Sweet Coconut Cookie Tart Crust (page 58), made with only 2 tablespoons sugar, for a 9-inch pie, prebaked, and cooled*	1 generous cup	10.75 ounces	307 grams
Coconut Ice Cream sugar	3 tablespoons	1.3 ounces	37.5 grams
1 Tahitian vanilla bean,† split lengthwise	•	•	•
4 large egg yolks	scant liquid cup	2.6 ounces	74 grams
cream of coconut	1 tablespoon	•	•
salt	a pinch	•	•
heavy cream	1½ liquid cups	12.25 ounces	348 grams
milk	½ liquid cup	4.25 ounces	121 grams
shredded sweetened coconut	1 rounded cup	3 ounces	85 grams
optional: Cocoribe	2 tablespoons	1.2 ounces	34 grams
Whipped Cream heavy cream	1 liquid cup	approx. 8.25 ounces	232 grams
superfine sugar†	1 tablespoon	0.5 ounce	12.5 grams
Cocoribe	1 tablespoon	0.6 ounces	17 grams
Garnish grated fresh coconut (see page 643)	1 cup	2.6 ounces	75 grams

Remove the vanilla pod and stir in the optional Cocoribe. Freeze in an ice cream maker.

Spread the ice cream into the pie crust and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Chill a bowl for the whipped cream.

About 30 minutes before serving, whip the cream with the sugar (if not using sweetened coconut) until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Add the Cocoribe and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the ice cream and sprinkle with the coconut. Allow the pie to sit for 30 minutes refrigerated before serving.

To serve, run a sponge or dish towel under hot water and apply it several times to the bottom and sides of pie plate to release the crust.

VARIATION

PIÑA COLADA ICE CREAM PIE
Replace the coconut ice cream with Pineapple Ice Cream (page 239), made with rum.

STORE

Frozen, up to 1 week.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

See page 223.

BRANDIED MINCEMEAT ICE CREAM PIE

I
developed this holiday pie for Breyers ice cream about twenty years ago. I have always loved mincemeat but found the taste to be too cloyingly sweet. Relieving that sweetness by swirling it through vanilla ice cream and setting it in a bittersweet chocolate wafer crust will convert many to the flavor of mincemeat. The candied fruit decoration on top is reminiscent of a Delia Robbia wreath, with fruit woven together to look like a garland—a very festive ending to Christmas dinner. The brandy and rum in some brands of mincemeat keep the ice cream a perfect creamy consistency even when made several days ahead.

EQUIPMENT

A 10-inch pie pan

Make the crust (page 68). Press it into the pan (see page 69) and freeze it.

In a large chilled bowl, stir together the softened ice cream and mincemeat until well blended but not melted.
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Spoon this mixture into the prepared pie shell. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 24 hours.

The optional garnish can be added any time after the ice cream has set firmly (at least 3 hours or more, depending on the temperature of your freezer). Cut the candied cherries in half and cut little slivers of angelica. Working quickly, place the cherries about 1 inch from the edge of the pie, alternating the colors. Place the angelica radiating out from the cherries like leaves. Scatter a few pecans in between the cherries. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and return the pie to the freezer.

Transfer the pie from the freezer to the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

To serve, run a towel under hot water and wring it out well, then run it along the sides and bottom of the pie plate to help release the crust. (Do this two or three times.)

STORE

Frozen, up to 1 week.

NOTE

For a 9-inch pie, you will need a Chocolate Crumb Crust for a 9-inch pie (page 67), 3 cups of vanilla ice cream, and ¾ cup of mincemeat.

BURNT ALMOND ICE CREAM TARTLETS

I
could never resist the Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream pop coated with bittersweet chocolate and chopped roasted almonds. At first, I was relieved when it disappeared from the East Coast market, because it had posed such a threat to my self-control. But I began to crave it and set out to duplicate it in the form of a tartlet. With a chocolate pastry crust holding the filling, these have a few advantages over their cousin on a stick. One is that you can hold a piece of it in your hand and not have it melt. Another advantage to this tartlet: The chocolate/ almond topping always stays slightly soft and chewy, even when frozen.

MAKES: EIGHT 4- BY ¾-INCH TARTLETS
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
	VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookie Tart Crust (page 61), baked in eight 4-inch flan rings, cooled, and frozen	1 recipe	1 pound	455 grams
coffee ice cream, preferably Häagen-Dazs, softened	2 cups	•	•
Topping slivered almonds	(2 cups) ¾ cup	(1 pound) 3 ounces	(458 grams) 85 gram
bittersweet chocolate, preferably Lindt Excellence or Valrhona Caracque	two 3-ounce bars	6 ounces	170 grams
heavy cream	¾ liquid cup	+ 2 tablespoons	7 ounces	203 grams

EQUIPMENT

Eight 4-inch flan rings and a cookie sheet large enough to hold them with at least an inch of space between each
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