Hey everyone, guess what!? It’s finally suuuuummerrrrr!! It is Hot! I’m a little dissapointed that It was so cloudy for our Whistler getaway, (which also included a leaky condo, a cracked water pipe and a last minute transfer to the Chateau Fairmont…but that’s another story.) I hope everyone else is also enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

Sometimes the hot weather deters me from wanting to bake. Although I love baking, standing in a hot kitchen all day isn’t exactly what you want to be doing. Instead I’d rather head down to the beach, or walk my dog or just lay out in the backyard working on my tan – which, thanks to the weather, has been quite lack luster. But I still have so many things I keep seeing all over the web that I want to try and bake, or cook. I do cook a lot – and I mean a lot, I just don’t showcase it on here. I think if I had more time, and wasn’t working 6 days a week I might be able to. But I love to cook for my mom and brother, and my boyfriend Adam. I’ll be conquering one of my fears in cooking and baking this wekeend – dough! I’ve been wanting to make it for a while now, and I think I’ll try it with Pizza this weekend! And possibly cinnamon buns. I’ve been putting it off, and it’s been on my top 10 list of things I would like to make. If you have any pizza recipes – or dough recipes please share them!

Anywyas, the pie. I had eaten key lime pie one day after my shift at work, and I was really surprised at how much I liked it. I honestly don’t think I had ever eaten it before, at least not that I had remembered. Which doesn’t say very much about the pie now does it. I had made up my mind that I didn’t like key lime pie, so now I decided to set out and make one myself. I had found several versions online and in baking books but they all varied quite a lot. Some were made with only evaporated milk, some with heavy cream, some with egg yolks and some without, most frozen and some baked and refrigerated. I knew I didn’t want to make one that was frozen, because the one I had eaten was creamy and mousse-like. I decided to mix a few recipes together to create my own take on it. I had found this one originally by A Cooking Bird and it looked quite promising, and then also used Paula Deans as well as a reference and for the crust.

Just a side note, Paula dean now has bakeware at Michaeals! I bought the cutest little cupcake liners, only $1.95 each! Compared to the designer ones which are anywhere form $4-6, and was lucky enough to get a whole bunch of recipe cards and a little recipe holder box for my birthday from Adam :} Which also held an even smaller little blue box inside =)  As well, his mom ( who also bought me all the different sized springform-pans before ) bought me the most perfect birthday present! She bought me something  I had always wanted – a glass cake pedastal with a glass lid! I was so excited when I opened up the large present to see it. It can also be turned upside down to use as a punch bowl! Along with that she also got me a super cute teatowel that has little cupcakes and “cute as a cupcake” on it, and a cook book I had been swooning over - Hello, Cupcake! Perfect for my new endevaur! Now I can tote my creations around in a luxury stand, which is what I’m sure she had in mind for all the confections I may bring over in the future…hehe. Needless to say I was pretty spoiled-sweet =) – not rotten.

Back to the pie, I went to two different market’s, well one and a Thrifty Foods, to find Key Limes but sadly the Florida import hasn’t made its way to the West Coast yet. So I had to make it with regular limes, which I’m sure are pretty much the same but hey, what’s in a name. So this is simply Lime Pie. It’s tart and sweet and deliciously creamy. You could eat it plain, with cream or ice cream even. If you’re still a Key Lime Pie virgin, like I was I suggest darting out and buying some limes, key or regular, to try it out yourself! It’s refreshingly sweet for this hot summer weather.

Key Lime Pie

hey, if you got key limes use ‘em!

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• loose 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup medium shredded coconut

Filling:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Add coconut and mix. Press the mixture firmly into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch spring form pan. Bake for 8 minutes and let the crust cool completely before spreading the pie filling over it.

Turn oven down to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together the evaporated milk, egg yolks, lime juice, cream and zest until blended. Add in the sugar and continue mixing.

Once it is fully combined, carefully pour the filling into the cooled pie crust. Return the baking pan to the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly, then transfer to the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours or longer.

Once your ready to eat, you can top it with whipped cream if you like!

This Easter I was lucky enough to go to two easter dinners. And, both were different and unique. On Sunday I feasted on a traditional Italian dinner of Lasagna, Lamb, Smelt, Salad, Fried Artichoke hearts, Shrimp, Fennel etc. and delicious Italian desserts such as Torta Di Riso and Zuppa Inglese. On Saturday, I went to my boyfriends parents house for a turkey dinner! I love love love turkey dinners. It felt like christmas all over again, and the stormy weather made it feel even more like winter than spring! Even so, I felt like I wanted to make a truly spring-like dessert, and I had decided a week or so ago that it would be something with lemons. I think a lemon dessert is the epitome of spring, its tangy and sweet and usually on top of a delicious crust, be it graham or pastry.

This crust however, is a different story. I had decided on a recipe early on, thinking I would try something new, as I had made the Tarte Au Citron by Dorie before, I thought I would give something else a go. The ‘You Could Be in Paris’ Lemon Tart seemed promising, and looked even better. I was all ready to go, with a little distraction helper in the kitchen, and readied all the ingredients like a pro. I thought “this tart is going to be perfect!” I was right, ish.

You see, I had read all the ingredients and set them out on the counter, I began first with the crust, of course, and continued on my way. As I was making the crust I thought, how simple! I should tell you, I have never been a crust maker, not pies or tarts. For some reason It always turns out hard, even when I try to work it as little as possible. Now, this tart shell was appealing to me because I had never used melted butter, instead of cold butter to make the pastry. This intrigued me because I thought how could you possibly over work it. Well, you see I’m sure you can’t, but, you can however add about a cup too much of sugar, thus leaving you with a hardened tart shell.

Now I’m usually pretty careful when it comes to ingredients, but to no fault but my own, I didn’t realize all the ingredients were lumped into one, no differentiating between crust and filling. So, I measured out all my sugar and plopped it into the crust. When really, there was only supposed to be a 1/4 cup in the crust, and reserved the 1 cup for the filling. I did think to myself as I baked it “my, thats a shiny crust!” Oh well. It was delicious all the same, the filling was just tangy enough and smooth and creamy. I would recommend it if you love lemon, as I do, and you can even pretend you were in Paris.

I also had a smaller tart pan, so I moulded the rest of the dough into my tiny muffin tin and made mini ones. They were an excellent pre-dinner appy.

‘You Could Be In Paris’ Lemon Tart

from Luscious Lemon Desserts via Not so humble pie
serves 10

For The Crust:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tbs. lemon zest

For the Filling:

• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 350°F and position a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Crust:

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Stir in one tablespoon of the lemon zest and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl or your food processor. Pour the butter into the bowl in a fine stream, mixing with a fork until well blended and it holds together when pinched. If using a food processor, blend the ingredients and then pour the butter into the feed tube and blend for roughly a minute.
2. Empty the mixture into an 11″ tart pan with a removable bottom and press it with your fingertips to evenly line the sides and bottom.
3. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until it is a light golden brown. Allow the crust to cool on a wire rack while making the filling.

Filling:

1. Process the remaining one cup of sugar with the remaining one tablespoon of lemon zest in your food processor for about 2-3 minutes, until the zest is finely ground.
2. Pour the sugar into a bowl and add the eggs, lemon juice and whisk until smooth.
3. Beat the 1/2 cup of heavy cream to soft peaks and then whisk the cream into the sugar/egg mixture until just blended. Pour this mixture into your still warm crust and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the filling is just set in the center.
4. Allow the tart to cool completely.
5. Just before serving, dust generously with powdered sugar, cut into wedges and enjoy.

Enter distraction.

Today is Good Friday. Being catholic, this means no meat. So far I’ve managed to eat no meat. I also have managed to have a diet today which includes granola for breakfast, a cafe latte and Panettone  for lunch with my Nonna, and a snack of Pizzelles, of course. Perhaps I should throw a few veggies in there somewhere..

Anyways, Pizzelles have a long history for me. Ever since I could remember each and every Christmas Eve, again a meatless day for Catholics in which we feast on Seafood, (and I mean feast) I would look forward to eating about 20 Pizzelles while I waited for dinner to be served. My Nonna made them without fail each year and I always thought they were a magical cookies. They are so flat and delicate, with a beautiful imprint on both sides. I had never made them myself before, because you see, you need a special Pizzelle maker to produce them.

As I was having coffee and Panettone with her today, I asked if I could borrow it so I could make this intricate cookie for Easter this weekend. We had been reminiscing about how when she was my age (21) she would had just had my dad. They lived in Italy at the time, and immigrated to Canada when my father was 1. He turned 2 a day after they arrived in Vancouver. I’m sure he would have eaten these by the pile-full as well. She had told me that she never actually had one until now herself, as she and her friend would make them together, and she would borrow her friends maker when she wanted. She just got one for herself, as they were quite expensive before and so I was lucky enough to be able to borrow it for the day. This is my first time ever making them, It seems funny now that I am older that I’m able to do things like this, as I always thought it was so exciting when my Nonna made them, and now I’m the one able to make them. Perhaps I’ll have to get her opinion, just to make sure they’re as authentic as hers.

These little lace cookies are delicious on their own, but you can also use them to make waffles cones, or tubes for Cannoli’s. To do this you need to bend them as soon as they are off the press, as they begin to harden up quite quickly. Alternatively, you can also add cocoa to them to make chocolate ones. But, I say why mess with the original. I’ve also seen them used as the cookies for ice cream sandwiches.

However you choose to make it, I suggest you try them if you have not already. It is difficult to make without a proper press, sorry to say, but if you happen to have one or are able to borrow one I highly recommend it. It takes little effort, and makes large batches.

I hope you all enjoy the long Easter weekend. For now, I’m finding refuge indoors for the day as the high winds and rain have kept us inside all day. A certain little furry friend is not so keen on walking in the storm.

Nonna’s Southern Italian Style Pizzelles

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 cups sugar (500 ml)
• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled (250 ml)
• 2 tsp. Vanilla (10 ml)
• 7 cups Flour (1.75 ml)
• 4 tbs. baking powder (20 ml)

Directions:

1. Beat eggs and sugar.
2. Add cooled butter, and vanilla extract.
3. Sift flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture.
4. The batter will have dough like consistency.
5. 1 inch round balls can be formed, if it is stiff enough.
6. Place dough onto middle of the grids, using a tablespoon if yours is a little more batter like, or place by hand 1 inch dough balls.
7. Press down the lid of the Pizzelle Press and wait a minute or two. You can check it to see if it is slightly browned, you don’t want it to be too dark. Once they are finished cooking, gently lift off to cool with a fork.

Makes about 60 Pizzelles.

Well It’s been one year. One whole year since I started my little baking blog! I actually have to wish it a Happy Belated Birthday, as the official first post ever was oct. 15. It was also for a pie, and it was for thanksgiving. A whole year of baking yummy things!! First I started this blog as something to do for fun, and of course I loved to bake and baked often enough that I could update it. But as I got further into the baking blogging world I became obsessed with everything to do with cooking and baking. I am actually addicted to baking blogs, I read them everyday and always look up recipes and visit tastespotting more than I’d like to admit. Which is deadly, because whenever I see the yummy baked goods it makes you very hungry!!

I haven’t been able to post a whole lot in the past little bit, back to school is always a busy time and now I’ve got a cold. But I have probably about 10 or so posts that I’ve taken pictures of but haven’t uploaded them yet. I dunno why, no time and sometimes just don’t really feel like it. I have lots of drafts for posts, and sometimes don’t even get to take pictures or what I bake.  But when I do I try to post it asap!

But over the past year I’ve loved being able to have something of my own to contribute to, to share with my friends and family and something to keep me busy when I have some free time! Thanks for everyone who reads this little blog and leaves comments and feedback =) I try to post as often as I can so thanks to those fellow bakers our there in blog world who follow my here and there posts!

Here’s another pie recipe, for chocolate pecan pie! It’s another one from the Dorie Greenspan collection and one of my favorite

pies!

Happy Birthday Blog Chocolate Pecan Pie!

Pecan Pie – Recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspans – Baking from My Home to Yours

I used the same pie crust I made for the Pumpkin Pie – Buttermilk Pie Crust which you can find here

Ingredients

• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups pecan pieces/halves
• chocolate shavings, or coaresly chopped, or chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F/ 220C.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup and brown sugar until smooth, then add the melted butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each egg into the mixture before adding the next.
3. Whisk everything until you get a smooth foamy mixture, then add vanilla, cinnamon and salt and beat everything in. Rap the bowl against the counter a few times to remove any bubbles from the batter, then stir in the pecans and chocolate. Pour the filling into the crust.
4. Place the baking pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are over, lower the heat to 325F/ 170C, place pieces of aluminum foil over the edges of the crust and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pie has puffed, is brown and doesn’t jiggle when tapped.

I love fall – automatically means pie season! Enjoy!

This weekend in Canada is Thanksgiving! Which means food, food and more food. And of course, Pie. It wouldn’t be thanksgiving without a pie for dessert. Even though you’re usually too full from all that food to even think about eating any more, but somehow everyone always manages to make room for dessert.

Traditionally Thanksgiving means pumpkin pie. But, nowadays pumpkin cheesecakes and other desserts are making their way into the spotlight as the holiday dessert. This year however, I wasn’t going to let pumpkin pie take the backseat to this new trend. My mom had gotten a pumpkin cheesecake for thanksgiving, but she knew I would be baking something else as well. I couldn’t not!I decided to bake two types of pies. Now usually we have a massive thanksgiving dinner, up to 30 people so three desserts would be acceptable, but this year there’s 12. And, it’s not three desserts, its four. I had planned on making a large pumpkin pie, and a pecan pie. But I noticed I only had two smaller pie dishes and one larger one and enough pie dough to make three crusts. So, why not make three pies?? Yup. Three. Two smaller pecan pies and a pumpkin pie, and then the non-homemade pumpkin cheesecake. It was necessary. So to all the Canadians Happy Thanksgiving! And make room for pie!

Good Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

Buttermilk Pie Crust (recipe from joy the baker)

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk

1.  Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.  Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

2.  Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3.  Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling.  With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets.  Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold.  Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

4.  Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes.    When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone).  Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour.  The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened.  Form the dough into two disks.  The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out.

5.  Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.  At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks.  For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie

- makes 6 to 8 servings -
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 9-inch single pie crust, partially baked and cooled
2 cups (canned) unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
Pumpkin Pie Spice – As much as you like depending on how spicy you like your pie!
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat and put the pie plate on it.
2. Put all of the filling ingredients in mixer, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together vigorously in a mixing bowl. Rap either the work bowl or mixing bowl against the counter to burst any surface bubbles, and pour the filling into the crust.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don’t want to create a slash in your masterpiece, tap the pan gently—if the custard doesn’t jiggle, or only jiggles a teensy bit in the very center, it’s done.) Transfer the pie to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Storing: Like most pies, this one is best served the day it is made. However, you can make the pie early in the day and keep it refrigerated until needed.

Happy Thanksgiving =)

Today is monday. And, I’m already tired! I went over to the island again on Saturday just for the night, as my friend who lives there had no power! And, since I had nothing better to do, I (being the excellent friend I am) decided to go over to the island so we could go see a movie, and she wouldn’t be alone in the dark! And of course, we saw Julie&Julia! What a good movie!! I loved it. It’s a movie, based on a book, based on a blog, based on another book. Got it? Good. So the movie’s based on Julia Child, who inspired Julie Powell to cook her way through Julia’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blog about it, and then the blog turned into a novel, which is now a movie! And it’s hilarious, not only is it about cooking and baking but the story is quite cute. I suggest all bloggers and cooks and bakers go see it! We were laughing so hard I almost cried! You’ll know when you see it. And now I have a huge craving to make beef bourguignon. Again, you’ll see.

Then last night we went to the Kings of Leon Concert in Vancouver! It was really really good. So I got home late, and went to work. And work tomorrow…. and then… I’m off to Vegas!! So excited. I turned 21 in June so I can finally go to Fabulous Las Vegas! I’m really excited and I’ll try and find some of the sweet cupcake shops i’ve heard so much about. For now, Tarts.

Last October I purchased about 1000 tart shells from Costco. And only now have I used them all up. Yup, 10 months. Needless to say I’ve made so many types of tarts and mini-quiches I’m happy to see them go. Although It did come in handy having so many at my disposal whenever I needed them. They come in useful when you need to whip up a quick dessert, or have pie filling left over. Or, when your mom tells you she wants something “sweet” after dinner. My dad would always tell my mom when she went grocery shopping to buy “something sweet.” I think I got my sweet tooth from him. In fact, I think all of my teeth are sweet tooths. It usually meant my mom would pick up some ice cream, or brownies or a cake if it were on sale. Yup, I definitely got it from my dad. Thanks dad.

So over the last couple weeks I’ve used the last of the tart shells up. I used the leftover filling in the Tarte Au Citron to make mini lemon tarts, and made quick mini-apple pie tarts after dinner one night, and the other day when my mom asked for something sweet, I whipped up some mini-chocolate cream pie’s.

So here’s a few recipes you can make if you’ve got as many tart shells as I have. Have fun!

Mini Apple Pie Tarts A La Mode – Recipe by Bakeaholic

Recipe for 12 mini tarts.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Apples, Cored and Diced into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Corn Syrup
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Brown Sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

1. Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
2. Mix together in a large bowl the apples, corn-syrup and lime juice.
3. Sprinkle with Cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and brown sugar.
4. Spoon into tart shells til just full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until tart shells are lightly browned and the filling looks carmalized.
5. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Little Lemon Tarts

Made with the filling from my Tarte Au Citron recipe.

Prepare filling as directed, and fill tart shell’s 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until center looks sugary and set. Allow to cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Serve with whipped cream.

Enjoy =)