Fresh Berry Custard Pie

 

Nick loves custard, not any kind of custard, but custard made with Bird's custard powder purchased in the UK.  Bird's custard powder in the UK is different from ones sold in Canada or the US.  In the UK, it's made with cornflour, while in North America, it's made with Cornstarch.  The result, they tastes completely different...the UK version is much MUCH better.  Whenever anyone goes to the UK this is usually the item we get them bring back, and at 57p a can, it's super cheap, it just takes up luggage space.  If you can get your hands on Bird's custard powder from the UK, do so....it's definitely worth it.

If you follow the recipe on your Bird's custard can (UK or the North American version)...please take note:  On the can of custard, the instruction's calls for 2 tablespoons of custard powder to 1 pint of milk...this makes a soupy version which is a good topping for bread pudding, cakes or eaten as pudding.  In order to get a thick custard consistency for a pie you will need to almost double the custard powder as we have done below.

Fresh Berry Custard Pie

Makes 1 pie

approx prep time: 30 min

approx cook time:15 min

approx set time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS: 

1 pie shell (I use Tenderflake Deep Dish pie shell)
3 tablespoons of sugar
3.5 tablespoons of Bird's Custard Powder
1 pint of milk (2 cups) (we prefer homo milk as it makes thicker custard)

2.5 cups of strawberries
1 cup of blackberries

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Bake the Tenderflake pie shell according to the instructions on the box and then let it cool completely.
- Put 3.5 tablespoons of custard powder and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl with 4 tablespoons of milk. Mix thoroughly until all the lumps goes away and it's a smooth paste.
- Heat the remainder of the milk on medium in a saucepan on the stove until it's just about to boil (not actually boiling), and pour the hot milk into the large bowl with the custard paste mix, stirring well.
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring constantly and as soon as it starts to boil (take it off as soon as it bubbles or it will burn), take it off the heat.
- Pour custard into a bowl and let it cool completely.
- Wash blackberries and strawberries and dry with a towel or paper towels, slice strawberries into equal proportions.
- Pour cooled custard into the baked pie shell, top with berries, and let it set in the fridge.

I'm linking up with:

Fresh Peach Pie

Nothing says summer like a fresh pie.  We prefer using local Ontario peaches that have best flavour...not just sweet and sandy, but tangy, sweet and juicy.  This recipe is as simple as it comes....just sugar, flour, and butter.   There's no spices to complicate the flavour of fresh peaches.  :-)  It also only takes almost no time to make as it's just so simple.  :-)  The pie, since it has so little ingredients, depends solely on the quality of the peaches.

Nick loves pie.  Whether it's Pumpkin Pie, raspberry, apple, blueberry or cherry, there just needs to be a pie each week or he's just not a happy camper.

Peach Pie

approx prep time: 15 min

approx cook time: 45 min

INGREDIENTS: 

-10 medium peaches, pitted and sliced
-1/3 cup of flour
-1/4 cup of butter
- 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar (depends on how sweet the peaches are)
- 1 tablespoon of coarse sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 1 Tenderflake deep dish double pie crust (thaw @ room temperature for 10 minutes)

HOW TO MAKE IT:
- Set oven to 450 Degrees F.
- Mix flour, sugar and butter into a crumb stage
- Mix crumb topping with sliced peaches
- Pour peach mixture into 1 of the Tenderflake pie crusts and arrange accordingly so that the 2nd pie crust will be able to fit over it.
- Wet the rim of both pie crusts with water
- Top the 2nd pie crust over the filled pie crust, press down the edges a bit so the 2 crusts seal, then flute the edges with a fork
- Bake at 450 F for the first 15 mins, take out of the oven and sprinkle with some coarse cane sugar
- Put it back in the oven for 350F for 30mins.
- When the pie is done, turn off the oven and leave the pie in oven to cool and set for at least 2 hours.  I usually let it set overnight.

Beef Stew Mini Pies

Any reason is a good reason to use the Breville mini pie maker.  It' makes picture perfect mini pies in 10 minutes, so what could be better?  :-D  I've yet to do a sweet pie with the Breville pie maker, but savory pies with the leftovers beef stew is just the thing on a cold night.  If you prefer Mini Chicken Pot Pies, check out this recipe HERE.  Enjoy!  :-)

 

Beef Stew Mini Pies

Makes 3 Mini Pies (machine has the ability to make 4 pies)

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 10min

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1/2 pack of Pillsbury Pie crust (at room temperature)

- 2 cups of cooked beef stew leftovers leftovers (recipe HERE)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) Preheat the Breville Mini Pie Maker (Red light means it's heating, Green light means it's ready)

2) Take out beef stew, and cut any large chunks in the stew into smaller 1/2 inch cubes (such as potatoes)
3) Roll out the Pillsbury pie crust, stamp 2 bottom crusts and 2 top crusts. 
4) Recombine the remaining pie crust, roll it out thinly, and stamp the last bottom and pie crust (you should have 3 tops and 3 bottoms)
5) Place bottom crust into the machine, use the black push wedge from the pie maker to set it into the pan, fill each pie up to the top with beef stew and a bit more, making a mound on the top.  (You need really over full filled pies in order for the top crust to brown and cook evenly, otherwise the crust can get undercooked because it doesn't fully touch the top heating element.)

6) Top pies with the top crust.
7) Lock machine, bake for 9-10 minutes.
8) Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Pie

Not all pumpkin pies are made equal.  Some are too mushy and sweet, some too spicy, but I found this perfect.  The filling for this pumpkin pie is a custard where the eggs set the pumpkin puree.  This puree is seasoned with spices and cream to give it a decadent texture before it goes into the pie crust.   

This is the pumpkin pie Nick requests over and over again and friends rave that it's their favorite.  I've never liked traditional pumpkin pie, however, I love this one because it's more of a custard base, similar to a creme brulee then sugar and spiced pumpkin mush.

Pumpkin Pie

Makes 2 pies (with store bought crust)

approx prep time: 20 min

approx cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS: 

1 package of Tenderflake deep dish pie crust (it has 2 pie shells)

2 cups of pumpkin puree

3/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon of grated/ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (35% whipping cream)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

HOW TO MAKE IT: 

Pre-bake the pie shells

1)  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2) Take out Tenderflake crusts from the box and let both crusts sit for 15 minutes to thaw.

3) Poke crust thoroughly with a fork (so the steam escapes while it bakes).

4) Put pie shells in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on the rim.

5) Let the shell cool completely.  NOTE: This step is very important or else your pie have pock marked pumpkin pie if your pie shell is warm.  It will taste fine, it just won't be as pretty.

6) Place pie shells on a baking sheet.

Pumpkin pie mixture

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2) In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and sugar.

3) Whisk in eggs one at a time into the mixture, beating well after each addition.

4) Stir in all the spices, salt, and cream until well mixed.

5) Pour mixture equally into cooled pie shells already on a baking sheet.

6) Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the centre no longer moves when you gently move the sheet pan back and forth. In my experience, it usually takes approx 50 minutes.

7) If the crust starts to get too brown during cooking, please a aluminum foil ring over the edge to prevent further browning.  

8) Let pies cool completely and set

Mini Turkey Pot Pies



After a Christmas dinner, there's always the inevitable leftovers.  Whether the leftovers are dreaded or a delight, is really up to us.  Nick loves pies in all shapes and forms.  From fruit pies, crumble pies, pumpkin, to meat pies, all pies are viewed and eaten equally and finished quickly.   So when we found out William Sonoma was selling the Breville Mini Pie Maker during the Christmas season, we quickly picked one up before they sold out.  It was handy for making leftovers a delight. The pie maker can make 4 pies but we chose to make 3 pies as that's exactly 1 sheet of Pillbury pie crust.  They do make perfect pies in 10 minutes.  We're looking forward to using this with beef stews, cooked fruits, chunky sauces.  This machine will probably be used very regularly to put leftovers to go use.  If you want to see the other uses of the Breville Mini Pie Maker...take a look at our recipe for Beef Stew Mini Pies here.

Mini Turkey Pot Pies

Makes 3 Mini Pies (machine has the ability to make 4 pies)

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 10min

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1/2 pack of Pillsbury Pie crust (at room temperature)

- 2 cups of cooked turkey leftovers (we used Turkey, peas, carrots, stuffing, butternut squash)

- 3 tablespoons of Campbell's cream of chicken soup

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) Preheat the Breville Mini Pie Maker (Red light means it's heating, Green light means it's ready)
2) Chop leftovers into little pieces, mix with 2-3 tablespoons of Cream of Chicken soup.
3) Roll out the Pillsbury pie crust, stamp 2 bottom crusts and 2 top crusts. 
4) Recombine the remaining pie crust, roll it out thinly, and stamp the last bottom and pie crust (you should have 3 tops and 3 bottoms)
5) Place bottom crust into the machine, use the black push wedge from the pie maker to set it into the pan, fill each pie up to the top and a bit more, making a mound on the top
6) Top pies with the top crust.
7) Lock machine, bake for 10 minutes.
8) Serve immediately.