Cherry Custard Pie with a Corn Meal Crust

I thought to myself that I better get this post up before cherries go totally out of season and I will look like an idiot putting this post up in the dead of winter when cherries are hard to come by.  So here I am doing you all a favor by not taunting you with a cherry post in December.  Jokes aside, I love cherries and anything cherry flavored, including those artificial candies with not a lick of real cherry in them.  I’m ashamed of this but, cherry “flavored” food  and me go back a long way.  I remember being a big lover of cherry blowpops, gummy bears, if there was a candy I had to eat it was always the red one.  To this day, I have a secret addiction to all things gummy.  My husband’s niece has a big sweet tooth and whenever I go over to her place, I ask her to share some gummy-type candy with me from her stash and she never disappoints!

I was supposed to entice you all with a cherry custard pie and here I am talking about cherry-flavored candies – some food blogger I am.  Let me sidetrack a little more and tell you all how I am always reluctant to eat fresh cherries.  You see, whenever I eat fresh cherries, the next day I wake up with a sore throat.  This also happens to my sister so I am definitely not making it up as my husband thinks I do.  But this summer I have seen so many cherries in the markets that I had to try and make something with them.  If I got a sore throat then I would be off real cherries forever.  (Never the artificially-flavored gummy candies, mind you.)

I eagerly made this cherry custard pie.  I love fruit pies and tarts.  The flaky crust with a little custard or cream and some ripe fruit is an amazing combination.  And perfect for a summer day.

This cherry custard pie was a success and I steered clear from any signs of a sore throat so this will be part of my repertoire from now on.

(PS – I have two more posts photographed, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me on this space! 🙂 )

Cherry Custard Pie with a Corn Meal Crust

Serves 8

for the crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup corn meal

1 teaspoon salt

tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

2-4 tablespoons ice water

for the custard:

1 cup mascarpone cheese

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

10 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.

1 cup pitted cherries

Method

To make the crust: In a food processor pulse together the flour, corn meal, salt, and sugar.  Next add in the chilled butter and pulse until combined.  Through the feed tube stream in the ice water tablespoon at a time until the dough just begins to come together.  Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it just comes together and wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.  After it is chilled, roll-out the dough so that it fits into a 10-inch pie dish and then blind-bake the crust in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  If the dough expands and rises just use a spoon to press it down.

To make the custard:  In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the mascarpone, and eggs on medium speed for 2 minutes until fluffy.  Next add in the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and the pinch of salt.  Beat together for another minute and add in the 2 tablespoons of flour.  Mix until just combined.  Take the bowl off the mixer and fold in the pitted cherries.

At this point preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Next, pour the custard mixture into the baked pie crust and place the pie pan on the cookie sheet.  Bake the pie for 45-55 minutes, or until the custard is set.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Advertisement

Empty out the Fridge Quiche with Leeks, Mushrooms, Spinach, Arugula, and Cheese

I really need to get back to healthy cooking.  But who wants to read a blog post about some calorie-free dish of blah?  Not me for sure.  I “ooooh and ahhh” when something is decadent and rich.  This quiche is both of those things.  I went through a phase where I would not touch eggs, they would just gross me out.  I think it had to do with the smell of the yolk, something I still have not come to terms with.  Now, I like omelets, quiches, and the like but will not touch a runny yolked egg.  I know, I know, culinary faux pas on my part, but let me have one.  Otherwise, I am not picky at all.

The story of this quiche comes from my grocery trip last week.  I picked up leeks with no inkling of what I would make out of them; a soup was the most obvious thing that came to my mind.  But then again, I thought, “Boring!”  So I sifted through my cookbooks hoping to find the perfect leek tart recipe.  Not much luck.  Booooo.  Then I went to Google and typed Leek and Mushroom Tart and I was led to Deb (whose site I love) from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Leek and Mushroom Quiche and alas I had some inspiration.  I used her recipe as a starting point and wanted to add my own flair to it clean out my fridge.

I used a mish mash of cheeses, sour cream, light cream, herbs and the outcome was good!  My husband rolled his eyes at me when I said I am making a Leek and Mushroom quiche for dinner, probably because he knew he was going to have be vegetarian tonight.

*Oh!  Don’t worry about the dough, if I can do it you CAN do it too.  Plus, I don’t even have a rolling pin and used a glass to roll out the dough.  (I know, I can spend on other things but I’m stingy when it comes to a rolling pin, only God knows why, :))  It was simple to make, probably because I have a food processor, if not the story would probably be a rant furthering my hate for dough making.  Fortunately, I succeeded!  But, if it’s easier for you do get a pre-made pie crust or use puff pastry.

Empty out the Fridge Quiche

Inspired and Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Leek and Mushroom Quiche

Tart Crust from Martha Stewart and Baking Technique from Joy of Baking (Makes 2 crusts, so halve the recipe or save the other crust for later)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tart crust rolled out in a 9 inch pan and pre half-baked

2 cups chopped leeks, rinsed thoroughly

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms, I used half shiitake and half baby bella

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 sprigs of thyme

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

3 large eggs

1/3 cup low-fat sour cream

1/4 light cream or milk

1 cup grated cheese of your choice, I used a mixture goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, and manchego

1/2 chopped baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped baby arugula

1/4 cup chopped parlsey

12 sprigs of chives, chopped

Method

Caramelize the leeks and mushrooms with salt, black pepper, and thyme in the olive oil on medium low heat for about 20 minutes and allow to cool slightly, discard the thyme stems.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium sized bowl crack the eggs and whisk.   Add the sour cream, light cream, cheeses, baby spinach, baby arugula, parsley, and chives.  Next, add the cooled leeks and mushrooms.  Add extra salt and black pepper if necessary.  Pour the egg mixture into the pre half-baked tart crust.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly, do not serve it right out of the oven, it tastes better warm.  I served it with a mixed green salad like on Smitten Kitchen, and with a dijon vinaigrette.