Magnum no. 5 Stolen Kiss: Tarte Aux Pommes

Spring is here, and anyone who has been faced with six months of gloom, rain, sleet and howling wind will find any possible opportunity to have an ice cream.

Or maybe it's just me.

The 9th of April was a good day all around the UK.

I enjoyed the scoop of 'Vermonster' flavoured ice cream from the Ben & Jerry's at Leicester Square's Odeon, which is a maple syrup ice cream with pecans and a caramel swirl. Such lovely flavours in that ice cream... there really is nothing else to say about Ben & Jerrys' ice cream, other than 'yum.'

This caught my eye in Tesco Express because a) it was in a fancy green box b) it is packaged and named like a fragrance and c) tarte aux pommes means apple tart, ooh yeah.

A little bit coffin-like in presentation, but I was delighted to see that the chocolate coating was white.

The only other time I've had apple pie-flavoured ice cream was when I had a mini cup of Ben & Jerry's Oh My! Apple Pie, a vanilla ice cream containing chunks of apple and pie crust. It fared well, but Magnum one-upped that by coating a similar mixture with cinnamon-infused white chocolate, which really enhances and completes the taste of an apple pie/tarte.

If I had an endless stomach pit + insane metabolism + immunity to fat + all other physical traits I can't have, I would have this ice cream everyday!

More baking ensues

... and this time I have another go at the Maple and Pecan Pie, as well as a Greek Honey Pie, or Melópita.

I did the pecan pie again because my brother who comes home on weekends wanted to have a slice, but there was no way I could have kept it for a whole week without finishing it.

This time, my mum told me that the pure maple syrup was out of bounds, (it's expensive) so I had to resort to the cheap old maple-flavoured syrup. It didn't taste as good and maple-y, but it's a maple and pecan pie, which still tastes good no matter what happens to it, so hey.

My my, that is one ugly pie

In this round, disaster happened. Trying to improve my pie, I went ahead and toasted the pecans prior to baking, placing them on the topmost rack in the roaster oven. They quickly burnt and I ended up scraping the blackness off each nut! That made the nuts edible, but there was still a burnt taste. It was a moment of despair, as pecan nuts are expensive in Singapore, and my mum never hesitates to remind me of the fact. Either way, I finished the last bit of pecan which has become part of the pie. And that pie was good.

You're welcome for the foodporn

The texture was less runny, maybe because the syrup used was thicker, and I had it in the oven for a long time. The shortcrust pastry was crumbly and annoying, so I'm going to intensely study this video of Gordon Ramsay bouncing on his toes like he's on crack while demonstrating the correct way to make a shortcrust pastry pie shell.

I put the pecan pie aside and worked on the 'honey pie' recipe I found on foodgawker, which looked relatively simple and interesting, so I tried it.

Adapted from cookmegreek.

Melópita

4 medium-sized ramekins

250g soft ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese if you're on a budget)
65g honey
2 eggs
~ ⅓ tbsp corn flour
Tiny pinch of salt
Drop of vanilla

more honey and cinnamon to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a bowl mix all ingredients with a whisk wire or just a fork, until completely incorporated.
Butter the insides of the ramekins, and pour mixture evenly into each one.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden.
Serve Melópita warm or at room temperature drizzled with honey and dusted with cinnamon.


To be honest the outcome tasted just like mini regular baked cheesecakes to me. I might experiment more with this recipe... maybe it needs a little more honey or something, to have it actually taste like a honey pie rather than just plain old cheesecake. The cinnamon and honey toppings do switch it up a bit, so I recommend having those on top. Even if you don't like cinnamon. Put it on, so that it tastes exotic and different, at the very least.

That's it for the amateur baking disaster report and just remember: do not toast nuts on the topmost rack of the toaster oven. Do not toast anything on the topmost rack of the toaster oven. Do not even put the rack on the topmost shelf of the toaster oven. But yes you can still use the toaster oven.

Maple and pecan pie

Ironically, it's been raining at least once a day since I landed in Singapore. Today was one of those days, where the rain poured angrily and I felt like staying on my bed all Sunday, but no, Faye, you need to get your butt off the mattress and do something useful.

Because I'm doing so much baking, I'm making my portions smaller, so instead of the usual 9-inch wide pies, I did a 6-inch maple and pecan pie. There are variations of this with corn syrup, but I had maple syrup at home, so I went for it. Here are the ingredients, as well as the things you should and shouldn't do, which I probably did.

This recipe is for those of you who do not happen to own a 9-inch pie dish / has a parent who is concerned about the amount of space it would take up in a refrigerator or pantry / are afraid to screw it up and end up wasting those pecans and maple syrup.

Ingredients:

Pie shell:

• 2 oz softened butter
• 10 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 tablespoon cold water (i just put a cup of water into the freezer for 15-30 minutes)
• Tiny pinch of salt

Filling:

• 1 1/2 eggs (I'm sorry. For the second egg, break it into a separate bowl and gently mix it, then use half of it)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted/softened butter (If you're in Singapore, just cube the butter and it should be soft in no time)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 oz pecan pieces, roughly chopped (or you could keep them intact, and place them on the top, because they'll float up eventually anyway)

Like this. It's taken off wikipedia, so stop comparing.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 175°C and place rack at lowest position.

For the shortcrust pastry shell, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, then add the butter. Using either a fork or your hands, mix the ingredients well. Do it for a really long time, some sort of dough should be forming. If it doesn't, add a tablespoon of cold water, and not more. Once there is a well-mixed dough, flatten it out on a 6-inch pie dish, making sure there are no thin parts, especially on the bottom, or else the filling will leak. Also be sure to bring the pastry up on the sides, to the level of the dish. Put this into the freezer for 30 minutes, (after that, remove and let it thaw for 5 minutes before filling it) whilst you make the filling.

In a large bowl (or one with an attached mixer), beat the eggs. Add maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Mix well and stir in pecans. (or not, if you are planning to place them on top) Pour into prepared pie shell. (Now, if you want, you can perform your fancy pecan-decorating by carefully placing the pecan nuts on top of the filling) Carefully put it in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the filling is set.

If you peer inside the oven towards the end, and you see your filling puffing up like a raging balloon, and this is your first time baking this sort of thing, do not have a mini heart-attack, it will settle once you take it out of the oven. If you want to remove the pie from the dish, let it cool for about 20 minutes on a rack before attempting to remove.

Guys, bear in mind that this is a recipe of what I did in the kitchen this afternoon. There are some other recipes for the same dish out there with a lower risk factor, which I recommend you look up as well. Those are usually for 9-inch pie dishes, though. There are several tips such as blind-baking (baking the pie shell alone without filling) the pie shell for a while, and some recipes suggest cooking the filling first.

Look at how runny and gooey mine became. The taste was absolutely delightful, though. I don't think you can mess anything up when it comes to a maple and pecan combination!