Impossible Pie. There are a huge number of versions of this old fashioned recipe floating around the web. All of them are delicious. All of them are easy to make. This is Lee Bailey's recipe, and I personally think that it is the best tasting Impossible Pie around!
For those of you who have been visiting my page for a long time, you will know that I used to cook for an American family on a huge country estate in the UK. It was an extremely beautiful environment to cook in.
Situated in the Garden of England the Estate was beautifully landscaped and of historical value. My then husband and myself were given a cottage to live in which was located on a small corner of the Estate.
Every day I got to work, cook and live in a beautiful place, using only the finest ingredients and equipment. It was a dream job in many ways.
It was not perfect. What job is. But I will always treasure the experience and the skills which I learned while I was working there. It was where I really got to hone my craft and I will always be grateful for that.
My boss, who was an American, had a huge library of cookery books, many of which she liked for me to cook from. She was especially fond of Junior League cookbooks, but she also had her favorite chef's. A lot of them were really "cheffie" books and I enjoyed the challenge of cooking from these.
A lot of them were simple books, like Ina Garten's or Martha Stewarts, etc. In each book she would have annotated which recipes she liked for me to cook.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
One of her favorite books for me to cook desserts from was this book by Lee Bailey, Country Desserts. She actually had quite a few books of his as he was one of her favorites. I came to love them as well and just recently purchased the Dessert one for myself.
It is filled with an abundance of beautiful, down home, comforting desserts. This pie recipe which I am sharing with you today has been adapted from this book and is the second recipe I have cooked from it.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
I am no stranger to Impossible Pie. It is something I have been cooking for many, many years. My friend Mabel gave me a recipe for it when we were both young Brides living next door to each other on an airforce base some 4 odd years ago now.
We both had young families and shared a love of cooking and crafts. We used to get together each night after supper, before the dishes were done. We shared a front porch. We would sit on the steps chatting about our days and enjoying a cup of coffee together. Good times! My how the years have flown.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
In any case, one of the recipes she shared with me was for an Impossible Pie. A pie you mixed together, poured into a pie dish and baked. It magically created filling and crust. It was a type of custard pie and quite delicious.
This pie is very similar to that recipe but also very different. Whilst hers was very simple and basic, this one uses a few different ingredients and creates a pie which is equally if not more delicious than the original. Simple and fabulous at the same time. I have to tell you up front, this smells AMAZING while it is baking.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LEE BAILEY'S IMPOSSIBLE PIE
Simple every day ingredients for the most part with a few unique differences.
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (70g) plain all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (75g) fresh flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup (80g) honey-roasted peanuts
To serve:
- Whipped cream (he suggested Bourbon whipped cream)
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
I used organic granulated sugar. In the UK I would recommend using golden Caster sugar. It is nice and fine and has great melting properties when it comes to baking. Our granulated sugar in North America is quite a bit finer than the regular granulated sugar in the UK. I would almost equate it to Caster sugar.
I always use large free range eggs. You need to pick your battles and this is one of mine.
He recommended using unsalted butter or margarine. Well, I only have salted butter in my house and it is all that I use. If a recipe calls for salt as well, I will cut back on that.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
He did call for fresh flaked coconut. I did not have any of that, but I did have Kirkland sweetened flaked coconut. I use that and cut back on the sugar required in the recipe by about 2 TBS.
He also required Honey Roasted Peanuts. I did not have those either. Instead I used toasted pecans. We like pecans and they worked very well in this recipe.
Other than those few changes, I used everything that he had listed in the recipe. (I also use whole milk. I never have anything else.)
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
HOW TO MAKE LEE BAILEY'S IMPOSSIBLE PIE
Nothing could be easier than this. I suppose that is what helps to make it so popular. When you can drop all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz together, the pour into a pie dish, what's not to love!
Begin by preheating your oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a 10 inch pie dish. I used a glass Pyrex one.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
Measure all of your ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and process together for one minute. Pour into the pie dish.
Carefully transfer the pie dish to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour or until set. You will know it is set when the tip of a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Serve, cut into wedges and topped with a dollop of whipped. cream.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
And that's all there is to it. It seems impossible that anything good can come from such a simple list of ingredients and process, but there you go.
This works exactly like magic while it is cooking, forming its own crust-like bottom and rich custardy filling. Nothing could be easier or tastier.
.JPG "Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie")
I have a few other notable desserts here in The English Kitchen which are also quite similar and very delicious. You might also enjoy them!
IMPOSSIBLE PUMPKIN PIE - Unlike some other versions of this pie, this recipe is totally from scratch and requires no special baking mixes. It has a beautiful texture and is perfectly spiced!
PEAR, ALMOND & COCONUT IMPOSSIBLE PIE - This is a dessert that is not only impressive, but also very easy to create. Even easier to eat. Quick to whip together. No "faffing" about. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy.
Lee Bailey's Impossible Pie
Yield: 8
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
This recipe is adapted from a recipe found in Lee Bailey's cookbook entitled, Country Desserts. It is not only delicious, but incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients
For the pie:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (70g) plain all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (75g) fresh flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup (80g) honey-roasted peanuts
To serve:
- Whipped cream, regular or spiked
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a 10 inch pie dish. (I used a glass Pyrex one.)
- Measure all of your ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and process together for one minute. Pour into the pie dish.
- Carefully transfer the pie dish to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour or until set. You will know it is set when the tip of a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Notes
I don't own a food processor large enough for this recipe. Mine is only small. Neither do I own a blender. I used a large bowl and my stick blender for this and it worked beautifully.
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
The recipe which I am sharing with you today is a small batch version of the original texas sheet cake recipe which I have been making since the 1970's. I can't remember where I got the original recipe.
In all likelihood it was one of the popular ladies' magazines of the day. Family Circle or Women's Day. I used to buy them all the time.
It was a cake that my then husband and my children just loved and I made it for them quite frequently. The original recipe made a 13 by 18 inch cake. With there just being me in the house now, I have no need for a cake that large and so I have cut the original recipe in half.
It was one of those recipes I saved because it used buttermilk. Buttermilk was not something which my mother ever used. I remember buying some one time because I was making fried chicken, but I ended up with lots of buttermilk that needed using up.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
Most of it got wasted because back then I had no idea of what to do with it. That's when I started collecting buttermilk recipes because I never wanted to have to waste like that again.
I ended up with a whole folder of recipes that used buttermilk. Pancakes, cakes, biscuits, etc. This was way back in the days before the internet. And I did not have a lot of cookbooks. Collecting these recipes was serious business! I did not have the world at my fingertips like we do today.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
This cake may be a very thin cake, but it packs a HUGE wallop of tastiness into it. Its moist and dense and chocolatey.
It also boasts some ground cinnamon in the cake batter, which we really enjoy. Its very Mexican to mix cinnamon and chocolate together. They actually have a natural affinity for each other.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
You need a quarter rimmed sheet pan for this recipe. This is a sheet pan which measures 12 by 10 inches in size. You could use a 9 by 13 inch pan if that is all you have.
You will need to adjust the baking time as the cake will be a bit thicker. I would add about 5 minutes to the time.
There is plenty of icing to go around, so no worried there.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
(SMALL BATCH)
Its as easy and unfussy as you can get. Nothing special needed here, unless you consider buttermilk special and I got a solution for that!
For the cake:
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter
- 2 heaping TBS unsweetened cocoa powder (not the drink mix)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk
- 1 large free range egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 2 TBS butter
- 3 TBS whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 heaped TBS cocoa powder
- 2 cups (260g) icing sugar, sifted
You will also need:
- a handful of toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
You will note that it calls for a small quantity of unsweetened cocoa powder. You would not believe the number of people who confuse that with chocolate drink mix. Cocoa powder is NOT chocolate drink mix.
It is unsweetened and about the only thing it has in common with chocolate drink mix is that it is chocolate. Drink mix has powdered milk and sugar added to it, so do NOT be using that in the place of cocoa powder!
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
If you have run out of buttermilk, or just can't be bothered to buy any, I have the solution to that. There are two ways that you can make your own.
1. Add a TBS of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup and pour in whole milk to make up the measure. Stir and leave to clabber.
2. Whisk together equal parts of full fat yogurt and whole milk to make up the measure. This works a charm.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
HOW TO MAKE TEXAS CHOCOLATE SHEET PAN CAKE
Easy peasy, lemon squeasy!!
Lets put the cake together first. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 12 by 10 inch rimmed sheet pan really well. Set aside. (I use canola cooking spray)
Whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
Melt the butter in the microwave (about 20 seconds on high). Whisk in the cocoa powder and the boiling water.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
Whisk the buttermilk, egg, baking soda and vanilla together in a measuring cup.
Stir the buttermilk/egg mixture into the flour mixture in the bowl, followed by the butter mixture. Stir everything together until smooth and well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
While the cake is baking make the icing, ready to spread on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl in the microwave. Remove and whisk in the vanilla, cocoa powder and milk. Beat in the icing sugar until smooth.
Spread this over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, using an offset spatula to spread it right into the corners. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over top.
Leave to cool for half an hour before serving. This is a lovely moist cake!
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
This recipe makes six very generous servings. I actually find it to be a lot sweeter than I remembered it being when I made it this time. I am trying to get away from using so much sugar.
I think that you could actually cut it into 9 servings adequately and serve it with some ice cream or whipped cream to cut the sweetness a bit. Its the icing that is really sweet. Maybe even cut the icing quantities in half and have a thinner layer.
Its a really lovely cake however, beautifully moist and delicious. If you wanted to you could substitute hot coffee for the boiling water. Coffee really enhances the flavor of the chocolate. Leave the nuts off if you are not a nut lover!
.JPG "Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake")
If you are like me when I was younger and are looking for ways to use up the rest of your buttermilk, look no further. Have I got some recipes for you!
LEMON BUTTERMILK CAKE - I have never met a lemon cake I did not love and this one is no exception. It is a well known fact that buttermilk makes cakes that are wonderfully moist and rich. This is an exceptional cake, with beautiful lemon flavor and a dense almost pound-cake-like moist texture.
GRANDMOTHER'S BUTTERMILK CAKE - This is a really lovely cake. Its pretty basic, but its moist and delicious. Its the kind of cake that your nan would have cut and sat down in front of you when you went around to visit.
BUTTERMILK BISCUIT MUFFINS - A delicious drop biscuit baked in a muffin tin. Muffin shaped, but as delicious as biscuits. These are fabulous with whatever you wish to serve them with. Any meal. Any time. Any how.
Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan Cake (small batch)
Yield: 6 very generous servings
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min
This smaller sized Texas Sheet Pan Cake, lacks none of the flavors or appeal of its larger counter part. You will need a quarter sheet pan to bake this. (rim edge)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter
- 2 heaping TBS unsweetened cocoa powder (not the drink mix)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk
- 1 large free range egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 2 TBS butter
- 3 TBS whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups (260g) icing sugar, sifted
- 2 heaped TBS cocoa powder
You will also need:
- a handful of toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Lets put the cake together first.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 12 by 10 inch rimmed sheet pan really well. Set aside. (I use canola cooking spray)
- Whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
- Melt the butter in the microwave (about 20 seconds on high). Whisk in the cocoa powder and the boiling water.
- Whisk the buttermilk, egg, baking soda and vanilla together in a measuring cup.
- Stir the buttermilk/egg mixture into the flour mixture in the bowl, followed by the butter mixture. Stir everything together until smooth and well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.
- While the cake is baking make the icing, ready to spread on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl in the microwave. Remove and whisk in the vanilla, cocoa powder and milk. Beat in the icing sugar until smooth.
- Spread this over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, using an offset spatula to spread it right into the corners. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over top.
- Leave to cool for half an hour before serving. This is a lovely moist cake!
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Right now we are in the depths of Corn season. When I was living in the UK, I longed for a good old Canadian Corn on the Cob season. When I was a child we used to really look forward to this time of year.
My mother would cook us up a corn on the cob feast. She would bring a huge pot of water to the boil on top of the stove and drop in husked cobs of corn. We were allowed to eat as much of it as we wanted, with plenty of butter and salt. Oh how we loved it!
I confess I did the same for my own children.
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
Now I live on my own the idea of bringing a whole big pot of water to the boil to cook one ear of corn is a bit . . . well . . . a bit of an "I can't be bothered" kind of an idea. I mean, who wants to go to all of that trouble for one ear of corn.
Cooking your corn in the microwave is the perfect solution. Nothing could be easier, or quicker, and you don't even need to husk it first! Just microwave the corn with the husks on for four minutes, lop off the stem end and then slip off the husks!
Easy peasy lemon squeasy and it ends up perfectly cooked every time!
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
HOW TO COOK CORN ON THE COB IN THE MICROWAVE
Nothing could be any simpler. There is no need to husk the corn at all. Just pop the whole cob into the microwave (you can put it on a plate if you wish) and nuke it on high. Four minutes is all it takes.
Once done, just remove the corn from the microwave. (Use a glove it will be hot!)
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
Use a sharp knife to cut the bottom off of the cob of corn as in the above photograph. I used my Santoku knife. It has a nice sharp blade and is straight edged. I find that is the knife I use most of the time because it is comfortable to use, a great size and does a great job.
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
Grab the tassel end of the cob of corn firmly (again use a glove) give it a bit of a shake and a wobble and the cooked ear of corn should slip right out, no fuss, no bother, no corn silk or strings (for the most part anyways.)
You won't believe how easy it is!
If you are cooking a ton of corn, its probably not the most efficient way to do it, but when you are only cooking a few cobs, (up to four) nothing could be faster or easier, or more convenient!!!
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
There are actually a few strong positives about cooking your corn on the cob in the husk. Cooking it in this way means that the corn steams in its own juices and absorbs all of those lovely flavors from the husk, resulting in cornier tasting corn!
I would even go so far as to suggest that if your corn is really fresh you won't even need to serve it with butter and salt, but meh. Butter and salt are all a part of the enjoyment you have when eating corn on the cob!!
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
HANDY TIPS FOR COOKING MORE THAN ONE COB OF CORN
It is possible to cook more than one cob of corn at a time, depending on how large your microwave is and how strong it is.
Add 2-minutes of cook time per ear of corn. This will largely depend on the size of your ears of corn and the strength of your appliance. This is a good basis to begin on.
Time as follows:
- 6 minutes for two ears
- 8 minutes for three ears
- 10 minutes for four ears
I do not recommend cooking any more than four cobs of corn at a time.
Place the in the microwave next to each other toe to tail. So wide end of one cob next to the narrow end of the next cob, etc.
.jpg "corn on the cob with lime butter")
Of course, even at its simplest, you cannot beat a delicious cob of perfectly cooked corn with plenty of butter and salt. It is heaven on earth.
However, if you are looking to amp things up a bit, why not try a deliciously tangy Lime Butter on your corn. This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy it!
.JPG "Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave")
If you have any leftovers, you can easily cut the corn kernels off the cob with a sharp knife and store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container, ready to use in any number of recipes. Its great tossed into salads, casseroles, soups, etc.
Easiest Corn on the Cob in the Microwave
Yield: 1
Cook time: 4 MinTotal time: 4 Min
Instructions are for one ear of corn. If you are wanting to cook more than one ear, increase the cook time by 2 minutes per cob. It is not recommended that you cook any more than 4 ears at a time.
Ingredients
- 1 medium ear of corn, fresh, unhusked
Instructions
- Place the cob of corn into your microwave, unhusked. Microwave on the high setting for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the microwave, using a pot holder to protect your hands. Lop off the stem end with a sharp knife and then, holding onto the tassel end (again using a pot holder) gently wobble the corn out of the husk onto your plate.
- Enjoy hot with plenty of butter and salt.
Notes
It should be perfectly cooked at four minutes. Crisp and tender. This may vary according to your own model of microwave. If four minutes is too long, then reduce the time by 2 minutes the next time.
It was my son who suggested to me when I was talking to him earlier today that I cook my corn like this. (Thanks Doug!) Its such a simple thing and yet incredibly delicious. I don't think I will ever cook corn another way again! This was so good I just had to share it with you right away. Hence the double post in one day! Once you taste it I know you will forgive me!
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!
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