Pie

Blueberry Pie

August 24, 2011

This past weekend Adam and I went down to the states for a few days. The end of summer is nearing, and I have only a couple weeks before school starts again. So, we’re trying to cram in as much as possible these next few weekends! Including … going to VEGAS this weekend! So so excited. We’ve both been a few times before, but this time we’re going together! 🙂

We (read: I) have already scoped out all the yummy restaurants I want to eat at!! I was a little sad to find out that Restaurant Week in Vegas starts the day we leave! However, we will be able to have lunch before we go at one of the participating restaurants. It’s sort of the like the dine-out Vancouver, where restaurants prepare set course meals for different price points, 20$ for breakfast, 30$ for lunch, and 50$ for dinner, all about three of four course meals.

We’re definitely going to hit up Mon Ami Gabi, after passing by it several times before and lots of reccomendations, LAVO for dinner one night at the Palazzo (maybe we’ll spot a celeb!), and our Restaurant Week lunch at Todd English’s Olives at the Bellagio. Let’s hope all that walking counteracts the delicious food we’re going to eat 😉

Have you been to Vegas?? Anything we should check out? Or restaurants to visit??

On to the pie. Adam and I also went berry picking this past weekend, for Blackberries at a field near my house, and then picked up some blueberries on the way home. We also stopped for a little breakfast at a cafe in my hometown, and to catch up on some news.

My mom also happened to buy us a large flat of blueberries. Our freezer is overflowing with berries! I already wanted to make some sort of pie with the blueberries, so the more the merrier.

I have also wanted to try out a lattice topped pie! I did this one rather quickly, but I think it turned out pretty good! Next time I’ll take a few more minutes to make sure they are all the same width etc.

I ended up making a mini one for us, and gave the larger pie to my mom to bring home. She said it was the best pie they ever ate! (I’m sure she’s a little bias haha) but I gotta say, it was pretty #$%@ good! I used whole wheat flour, and it was still really flaky crust!! And the filling was soooooo goooooooood!!!! If you have blueberries lying around, make this now! Summer calls for pie.

Mini Pieeeee!

 

Bakeaholic’s Blueberry Pie with Lattice Crust

{filling from Dorie Greenspan Baking from My Home to Yours slightly adapted}

  • 5 Cups Blueberries
  • 3/4 cup raw organic sugar (or regular)
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • Squirt of lemon Juice
  • 1/4 or 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 egg, for egg wash

Whole Wheat Pie Dough {as I have used before here}

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 16 tbsp. ( 2 sticks ) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 6 tbsp. very cold water

Directions:

  1. Combine the flour, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix briefly to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and mix on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas.  Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together.
  2. Shape the dough into a ball, cut in half, and wrap both pieces in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Can leave it overnight.
Method:
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Put the berries in a large bowl and gently stir in the sugar, flour, zest and juice; let sit for about 5 minutes. Taste the filling and add more sugar and/or lemon juice, if needed.
  3. Remove one of the balls of dough from the fridge. Lightly butter/spray a 9-inch pie dish. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Now, I usually fold the dough in half, and then in half again so you get a triangle point, and then center that point in the middle of the pie dish, and unfold it so it covers the entire plate. You can also roll it onto your rolling pin, and unroll it over your pie dish. Gently press it into the dish and trip off the edges.
  4. Pour the blueberry filling into the pie dish evenly. Set aside.
  5. Remove the second dough ball from the fridge, and roll out as you did the first. This time, cut long even strips out of the dough using a pie cutter, or pizza cutter. I have seen many how-to lattice pie top instructions, you can follow them here,  here, here and here.
  6. You can use a regular pie crust if you don’t want to do the lattice as well. Once you are finished, trim the sides and crimp it with your fingers or a fork. Brush the top crust with the egg wash (1 egg beaten), then sprinkle the crust with a little sugar.
  7. Bake the pie for 25-30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 30 minutes or so (total baking time is about an hour) or until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the slits. If the crust seems to be browning too quickly, make a loose foil tent for the pie ( I did this )
  8. Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool and settle for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Muffins

Zucchini Banana Muffins

August 17, 2011

I can’t decide at which point a muffin becomes a cupcake. Lots of times someone will call it a muffin, but really that’s just an excuse to not feel bad while eating a ‘muffin’ topped with delicious frosting. Like those GIANT ‘muffins’ from Costco, that are the size of a small cake. Seriosuly. Somehow calling it a muffin feels healthier and we can justify eating a ‘muffin’ for breakfast at 9 am. Not that I’ve done that or anything… (PS. warmed up chocolate costco muffins = dessert)

So these are muffins or cupcakes, whatever you need to tell yourself so you can eat them. And you should, cause they’re good. Damn good.

I made these this week to send along with Adam and my brother (they work together, in case you didn’t know. They’re cool like that.) They went to the Island for a few days to do some work so I thought, being the good sister & girlfriend that I am that I would make something for them to bring along. Actually, I just wanted an excuse to use the large zucchini and browned bananas in my house and make this recipe again.

Zucchini and banana are the perfect combination. Growing up I would wait impatiently for my Nonna to bake zucchini bread. I wonder now how popular this kind of dessert was among my non-Italian friends. It was a staple growing up, along with nutella on French bread. Or nutella straight out of the bottle with a spoon, after sneaking it from the ktichen cupboard. My Nonna’s zucchini bread was always perfectly baked and moist. I love zucchini in all forms, but baked into a loaf or muffins (cupcakes?) is always a treat.

I made this recipe as a bundt cake last year and remembered how good it was.  I was given the thumbs up by Adam and the boys, so if grown journeymen say it’s good, it’s gotta be true.

I am FINALLY finished summer classes. And what a long summer it has been. Although, the weather has been less than stellar here in Vancouver. It’s finally starting to look and feel like summer, just in time for the fall. I get two and half weeks off before classes start again! Adam and I are heading to the states this weekend, near Seattle. And next week were going to Sin City! VEGAS baby. Third time, cannot wait!!!

— These can be made without the icing and they are just as delicious!! —

Zucchini & Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting (let’s be serious, they’re totally cupcakes)

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup organic raw cane sugar ( can use  regular)
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups raw zucchini, grated
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cream cheese
2-3 cups icing sugar (depending on consistency)

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grate zucchini and set aside.  Mash bananas and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and sugar.
4. Slowly add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, & vanilla extract.  Thoroughly combine.
5. Add zucchini and bananas until well blended.
6. Pour 1/4 cup into lined muffin tins, about 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in pans on wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely.

To make frosting:

In mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together. Slowly add icing sugar until you reach the right consistency.

You can use a spoon or knife, or small metal spatula to frost the tops, or use a piping bag with round tip.

*Optional* You can top it with a banana chip if you like =)

I just love the flecks of zucchini and banana. Yum.

Cupcakes

Peace, Love & Peanut Butter Cupcakes

August 12, 2011

 

The blog world is a wonderful incredible thing. It brings hundreds of thousands of people together from all over the world. Different backgrounds, religions, views, nationalities, and stories. As my mom would say there are people from “all walks of life” surrounding us. Everyone has a story to tell.

I started this blog in the fall of 2008. After some time of looking online at many other blogging baking and cooking websites I decided I wanted a piece of the internet real estate. At the time I was obsessed with the Shopaholic book series, and thus Bakeaholic was born.

I had been interested in baking and cooking from a young age. My mom and dad would let me help in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure I was putting roasts in the oven when I was 14 years old, so dinner could be ready by the time my full-time working parents were home and we could all enjoy dinner together.

That was one thing my dad insisted on. Every night we ate dinner as a family. Sometimes dad would cook, he was Italian and an amazing cook (having worked in and owned restaurants in the past), and sometimes mom would cook (with dad watching over her shoulder to make sure she was ‘doing it right’ haha) You could say he was a perfectionist when it came to food, much like myself. Most nights my mom would be home after my dad, so he would be the one in the kitchen. It was always a joke that my brother, two years older than I, would be served first. This goes back to an Italian tradition where the boy is the ‘king of the family.’ I guess since he was the first grandson born on that side of the family, and a boy, he was treated like a little prince, and my Nonna made sure of it haha. Even if I were sitting at the table first, his plate would be put at his spot, and then mine. It was a running joke for us. How I miss family dinners.

I can remember every smell of the dishes he would make, pastas (an Italian staple, often 3 times a week), homemade french fries, Pork chops in mushroom soup, french toast, steak with crab and shrimp. Don’t forget the bearnaise sauce. Then there were the nights my mom would work late, maybe once a week. We had the same meals almost every time. A mini pizza with a big salad, a large salad with Tuna fish, or grilled cheese and tomato soup. And a fruit salad for dessert. I knew if mom was working a late shift, we were sure to have one of those meals.

My dad would always make enough dinner to “feed an army” as my mom put it. It’s true, we could have invited another family over at a moments notice and still have leftovers for the next day. And we often did. My dad was ‘giving to a fault,’ again, as my mom says. He would give up anything and everything for anyone if they were in need. He loved his family first and foremost, and held his friends dear. He would always want to host a dinner, BBQ or family function. He was the anchor to our family. I wish he were here to see my blog, to read it and see how far I’ve come from making cookies. He always wanted ‘something sweet,’ and he would ask my mom to pick up a treat at the store while getting groceries.

This past week another blogger, Jennifer Perillo, lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. Just like my father (pictured above). Like us, in an instant he was gone, without being able to say goodbye. It was my sixteenth birthday when he passed away seven years ago, at the age of just 45. Unfortunately I know what she and her daughters must be going through. I would never wish that feeling upon anyone, it is a heartbreaking and horrible experience. On her blog this week, she posted a recipe for Creamy Peanut Butter Pie. She urged the bloggers out there to make it in memory of her husband, his favourite, and share it with those you love. Because we never know what tomorrow will bring.

I thought this was a perfect oppourtunity to make these cupcakes. I had been wanting to make peanut butter cupcakes for a while, and tomorrow we are attending a family reunion (on my mother’s side) with over 70 family members attending. Some we have not seen in many years. I am very much looking forward to re-connecting with everyone, and remembering onceagain how important family is to all of us.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and hopefully you are able to share it with those you love. Maybe over a slice of pie, or a cupcake. I think my dad would have definitely like these cupcakes.

Creamy Peanut Butter ‘pie’ Cupcakes

Devil’s Food Cupcakes 
Recipe from Martha Stewarts CUPCAKES 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup hot water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
  3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
    quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe by Bakeaholic
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup butter, slightly softened
  • 3-4 cups icing sugar (more/less depending on consistency)
  • 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tbs. pure vanilla
  • splash of milk (I used almond milk due to allergy, can use soy, rice, coconut etc.)
Directions:
  1. In stand mixer, using paddle attachment, cream buter until light and fluffy. Add Vanilla and mix once more.
  2. Add peanut butter, and mix again until combined.
  3. Add Icing sugar one cup at a time, alternating with a splash of milk until desired consistency reached. You want it stiff, but still creamy and soft so you can run a knife through it.
  4. Continue mixing until you have a frosting consistency.
  5. You can pipe it with an icing bag onto the cupcakes, or use the back of a spoon or a knife/spatula to frost cupcakes.
Everyone said the frosting was absolutely delicious! It is so creamy, fluffy and light~
Optional: Pour 1/2 cup of chocolate cookie crumbs into a bowl, and dip tops of cupcakes into it for a ‘pie’ like taste.

Update: The Food Network has compiled a list of Bloggers around the world taking part in this event ‘A Pie For Mikey.’ I am happy to be included on the list.’

Also seen on Better Recipes, and Tastespotting has also dedicated the front page to pies.