Showing posts with label Pies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pies. Show all posts
Oh how my mom loved cheesecake. Next to carrot cake and coconut cream pie it was one of her favorite things to eat. One time she asked me if I had a recipe for a simple and easy no bake cheesecake.
I was only too happy to oblige by sharing this easy No Bake Cheesecake recipe with her! I never did get to make it for her in person, but I like to think that she did make it for herself from time to time.
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
That is one thing (amongst many things) that always impressed me about my mother. Although she lived on her own for many, many years, she always did cook a meal for herself almost every day.
If funny now, here I am almost mirroring her situation and living on my own, all alone for the first time in my life! I am gaining an even deeper appreciation for her life and how she lived it. Life does have a way of surprising you!
Before we know it the hot temperatures of summer will be upon us. Another month and we will be complaining that it is far too hot and muggy.
That is when desserts such as this simple one will come in very handy. Desserts where all you have to do is stir a few things together and stick them in the refrigerator to set up!
Quick and easy recipes such as this one are nice to have up your sleeve when you having company over and you want to feed them something tasty without having to break into a sweat!
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE NO BAKE CHEESECAKE
Just a few simple things and you, too, can make this lush dessert pie/cake!
- 1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
- 16 ounces (500g) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature (2 large packages)
- 14 ounce can (397g) tin of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
- 1/3 cup (40g) full fat dairy sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
To serve (Optional):
- 1 tin of fruit pie filling
- whipped cream
I recognize that in the UK a ready made graham cracker crust will not be readily available. And actually in all truth I much prefer a home made one myself. They are a lot sturdier.
If you want to make your own homemade crust you will need:
6 TBS butter, melted (86g)
1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs (in the UK 135g Digestives, made into fine crumbs)
1/4 cup fine granulated sugar (50g)
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
Just combine all of the ingredients together with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened and press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie tin, pressing them in evenly. You can chill this for a bit if you like in order for it to set.
I find the homemade crust sets a lot firmer than the store made ones.
Don't use half fat or low fat ingredients for this cheesecake. In for a penny in for a pound. I cannot vouch for whether they will work well or not.
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
When I am talking about sweetened condensed milk here I am talking about what is called condensed milk in the UK. It is thick and very sweet and not to be confused with evaporated milk which is very thin and comes in a much bigger tin!
It does call for sour cream. Again use full fat. It is the sour cream which helps this to thicken and set up. Do NOT be tempted to leave it out. You need the acid from it.
I always enjoy cherry pie filling with my cheesecake. But you can top it with whatever you like. At the Big Scoop they top their cheesecake with whipped cream.
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
HOW TO MAKE NO BAKE CHEESECAKE
The most difficult part of this quick and easy recipe is waiting for it to set up in the refrigerator. I recommend at least three hours for it to do so, and in reality the longer you leave it the better.
Overnight is really good if you can wait that long!
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
Using an electric mixer (hand or stand) beat the cream cheese together until smooth and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk until everything is smooth and well amalgamated. Stir in the sour cream.
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust, smoothing the top. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
Longer is better. Overnight is ideal! (If you can wait that long!)
Cut into wedges to serve along with your favorite fruit filling spooned over top, whipped cream, etc. I love chilled cherry pie filling myself!
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
If you are fond of easy desserts that don't require a whole lot of cooking you might enjoy these ones below:
EASY LEMON REFRIGERATOR DESSERT - If you can use a hand mixer, then you can make this and your family will be so impressed with the end result, they will think you slaved all day! It boasts a base of shortbread fingers, lightly soaked and then topped with a lush lemon filling. I like to spoon jam over top to serve.
EASY BLACKBERRY & LEMON DESSERT - All you need for these are a few simple things. Berries, water, sugar, Greek Yogurt, cream, lemon curd and some crisp meringues. Easy peasy. Not a lot of sugar either. Only 2 TBS, which is quite reasonable.
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
LUSH AND CREAMY LEMON MOUSSE - As simple as folding prepared lemon curd into softly whipped cream . . . that's it! How much easier could you get than that!
LEMON CREAM PIE - This is an all time family favorite and very much requested any time of the year. We all love LOVE this one!
.JPG "No Bake Cheesecake")
So there you have it. A quick and easy dessert for the weekend. I put mine together early this morning and was able to enjoy it by early afternoon. When something goes together as quickly as this, its not a very big hardship to take 15 minutes to put it together.
Your family will surely thank you for your efforts. No need to tell them how very easy it was to make! It can be our little secret!
No Bake Cheesecake
Yield: 8
Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 15 M
This is a delicious no bake dessert that goes together in 15 minutes. The hardest part of this is waiting for it to chill and set up! It can also be done in individual jars with crumbs on the bottom and fruit filling on top for a quick and easy single serving dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
- 16 ounces (500g) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature (2 large packages)
- 14 ounce can (397g) tin of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
- 1/3 cup (40g) full fat dairy sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
To serve (Optional):
- 1 tin of fruit pie filling
- whipped cream
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer (hand or stand) beat the cream cheese together until smooth and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- Slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk until everything is smooth and well amalgamated. Stir in the sour cream.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust, smoothing the top.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Longer is better.
- Cut into wedges to serve along with your favorite fruit filling spooned over top.
Thank you so much for visiting! Do come again!
I had some pastry leftover in the freezer from baking my Tourtiere last weekend for my father's birthday. I decided that I wanted to bake a pie for this weekend.
I didn't want to bake just any pie however I wanted to bake something which is typically Canadian and from my French Canadian Heritage.
My father is French Canadian. We travelled through Quebec off and on through the years and spent summer holidays at my Grandmaman's.
I can remember on one occasion my Aunts and Uncles buying puff pastry and eating it in bowls with rich caramel and loads of sweet cream. The Québécois love anything with caramel. Or at least my Québécois family do.
I also had experienced sugar pie bought at a rest stop in Quebec during the years I was married and raising a family. We drove through Quebec many times. Taste memories are the best kinds.
I went looking for a recipe to make a sugar pie, but then I spied this recipe for a Québécois Sugar Cream Pie in a baking book of mine. The Redpath Canadian Bake Book.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Everything I have baked from it has been exemplary. If you are looking for a good baking book, you can't go wrong!
My photographs for this pie are not near as nice as the one is in the book. It pictures a lovely pie with a golden crust decorated with a Fleur de Lis, which is the flower of Quebec. Very pretty.
I just cut heart shapes out of my top crust to vent it.
One thing which really appealed to me with this pie was its ease of preparation. As you all know I can be a tad bit lazy when it comes to cooking sometimes, and if something promised to be easy AND delicious, I am all for it!
WHAT YOU NEED TO BAKE QUÉBECOIS SUGAR CREAM PIE
Ordinary kitchen staple ingredients. Nothing outrageous here! I like that.
For the pastry:
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (76g)
1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
This is the best pastry. I use this butter lard pastry for all my pies, sweet and savory, if I can.
For the Filling:
- 2 cups (480ml) whipping cream (35%)
- 1 cup (180g) lightly packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup (47g) plain all purpose flour
HOW TO MAKE THE PASTRY
You may want to make the pastry the day before, which will speed up the process even more.
- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Or overnight.)
If you chill the pie crust overnight, take it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour prior to baking.
HOW TO MAKE THE FILLING
- Make the filling while the pastry is chilling. Whisk the brown sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and add the butter.
- Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring every five minutes, until needed.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIE
You will need to blind bake the bottom crust for 10 to 15 minutes. This is not hard to do.
- Preheat oven to 375*F/ gas mark 5/ 190*C.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pastry discs into a 12 inch circle. Use this to line a 9 inch pie plate. Trim and flute.
- Line with baking paper or foil and some baking beans. Blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*C/gas mark 4/ 180*C.
- While the crust is blind baking, roll the remaining pastry out 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut a 9-inch circle out. Cut some holes out in the center for venting the pie.
- Remove the baking beans from the pie. Pour in the filling. Top with the 9 inch pastry circle. Don't worry you just lay it gently on top. There is no need to seal the pie crust edges.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before cutting into thin slices to serve. Delicious!
Trust me when I say that the most difficult part of this pie is waiting for it to cool down enough so that you can cut it into slices. This is one of the tastiest pies you could ever want to bake and eat.
Your family will think you have slaved over a hot stove all day to make it. You needn't tell them just how easy it was. That can be out tasty little secret!
If you only bake one dessert this weekend, let it be this pie! 😋😋😋
Québécois Sugar Cream Pie
Yield: 8 - 10 servings
Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 1 H & 35 M
This is an authentic French Canadian recipe which features a deliciously creamy brown sugar custard filling.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (280g)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup butter (76g)
- 1/3 cup lard (or white vegetable shortening) (74g)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water
For the filling:
- 2 cups (480ml) whipping cream (35%)
- 1 cup (180g) lightly packed soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/3 cup (47g) plain all purpose flour
Instructions
- To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. (Use a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.)
- Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Shape into a ball and cut in two pieces. Form each piece into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Make the filling while the pastry is chilling. Whisk the brown sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and add the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring every five minutes, until needed.
- Preheat oven to 375*F/ gas mark 5/ 190*C.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pastry discs into a 12 inch circle. Use this to line a 9 inch pie plate. Trim and flute.
- Line with baking paper or foil and some baking beans. Blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350*C/gas mark 4/ 180*C.
- While the crust is blind baking, roll the remaining pastry out 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut a 9-inch circle out. Cut some holes out in the center for venting the pie.
- Remove the baking beans from the pie. Pour in the filling. Top with the 9 inch pastry circle. Don't worry you just lay it gently on top. There is no need to seal the pie crust edges.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before cutting into thin slices to serve. Delicious!
- Reduce the oven
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Next to fish and chips, the one thing everyone in my family really loves is pie. We are pie aficionados! We will pretty much eat anything in a crust, be it savory or be it sweet, and we all have our favorites!
My mother always made beautiful pies. That is one thing which we could be sure of having after any kind of a roast dinner, some sort of pot pie. Beef, pork, chicken, turkey. She made them all and we loved them.
Everything I know about making tasty pies I learned from my mother.
I remember one time, when I was about 14, (so so so long ago now!) my mother had to go away for a few days. She left meals for us to eat, and of course I was in charge of heating them up. One of the things she left was a pot pie she had made.
I can remember heating it up to perfection and then doling it out to everyone. They all thought I had saved the largest piece for myself. Perhaps I did, I can't remember, but I do remember at the time protesting that I hadn't.
I probably doth protest too much. Knowing my love for pie, I probably did save the largest piece for myself!! To this day everyone accuses me of such. But who can blame me. Pie after all is pie!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN PIE
This pie has a lovely butter and shortening pastry. Its rich and flaky and goes very well with the filling. Of course, next to the crust, the most important part of any pie is the filling, and this chicken pie is filled with a lovely rich and delicious filling that is very simple to make!
For the filling:
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 parsnip, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 large handful of mushrooms, finely sliced
- 2 TBS flour
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp summer savory
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups (350ml) of chicken stock
- 1/4 cup (60ml) of double cream
- 3 chicken breast fillets, poached and broken into chunks (you could use the equivalent amount of cooked turkey if you wanted to.)
This chicken pie does not have a bottom crust, but don't worry, you won't miss it. The filling is ample and delicious enough to make up for its lack.
For the pastry:
- 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS vegetable shortening
- 2 TBS cold water
- 1 egg beaten together with 2 TBS water (to glaze)
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PIE
You will want to begin by making the pastry first so that it can rest while you make the filling. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub together the butter and vegetable shortening and then add this mixture to the flour/salt in the bowl. Rub the fat into the flour with the tips of your fingers, lifting it up as you go. This helps to aerate the flour somewhat.
Rub in lightly until the mixture looks crumbly. Don't over mix.
You then need to add the cold water all at once, stirring it in with a fork. Blend it in quickly until the mixture clings together in a ball, leaving the sides of the bowl clean.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple times, lightly, to make a smooth fairly stiff dough. Leave it to rest, covered, for at least 10 minutes before using.
The filling look like it uses a lot of ingredients, but trust me when I tell you, despite its length, it is very simple to make and oh-so-tasty!
You begin by melting the butter for the filling in a large skillet. Add all of the vegetables to the skillet. Cook and stir them until the onion softens and turns translucent and the vegetables begin to just soften.
Sprinkle the flour over top of the vegetables. Whisk in the chicken stock. Cook and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the seasoning and herbs.
Fold in the chicken. Pour this mixture into a pie dish large enough to hold it. My dish was an oval 9-inch pie dish. A round one would work just as well. Or any casserole dish large enough to hold the filling.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a size large enough to cover the pie dish amply with a bit of an edge.
Brush the edge of the pie dish with some of the beaten egg/water mixture. This will help the pastry to adhere. Place the pastry on top.
Trim, flute and press the edges. I always cut several slits in the top of the pie to vent, or (if you have one) you can add a pie bird.
Brush the top with beaten egg. Place onto a baking sheet.
Pop the baking sheet into a preheated oven, 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Spoon this pie out hot to enjoy with your favorite sides! Many people like to serve mashed potatoes with a pie like this and why not! The gravy lends itself beautifully to being enjoyed with a nice pile of hot mash.
Its also good with boiled potatoes or rice, or even chips. At the end of the day, its just plain good eating. Enjoy!!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons