I like you.  I like you a lot.  I mean it… and I don’t think I’ve told you in a while.  Sweet.  I’m glad you’re here.

Would now be a good time to tell you that I have a serious, though not lasting, aversion to my kitchen these days?   I have an even more serious aversion to my oven.  For reals.

It’s just that… well, it’s summer!  There seems to be so many museums to visit, brunches to have, friends to laugh with, wine to drink… and somehow none of this fun takes place in my kitchen.

Amazingly, and through the miracle that is my freezer, I’ve managed to throw together a lovely and waaaay super easy summer recipe.  It’s apple pie meets snow cone, minus the cone, plus a hint of awesome.

If it’s summer in your part of the globe… please please please make this.  Remember when you were a kid and used to freeze juice in the ice cube tray?  Dangit!  Why were those cubes always so rock solid!?  This Apple Pie Granita is the adult version of such childhood endeavours.  Super sweet!

Apple Pie Granita

recipe from um… Emeril Lagasse

Print this recipe!

3 cups natural, unfiltered apple juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

big pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground allspice

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Heat and stir until all of the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.  Pour into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.  Place in the freezer until icy around the edges, about 1 hour.  Using a fork, scrape the icy shards towards the center of the dish.  Freeze again for another hour and again scrape the icy shards.  Continue freezing and scraping until slushy throughout.  Eat standing at the open freezer door, or place in small dishes and serve immediately.

Pie takes time.  Pie requires attentions.  Pie demands love and care.  Pie, even for an everyday baker like me, is a lost art.

I needed a good, old fashioned, pie contest to help me slow down, take a breath, and dream up the most delicious pie I could.

The most delicious thing I could dream up was this:  bananas, homemade peanut butter, chocolate, graham crackers, butter, whipped cream, and as much sugar as I could reasonably pack into a single pie dish…. and some chocolate shavings for good measure.

The result:  one mad Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie.  The contest:  inspired by Whitney and several bottles of wine.  The contestants:  as serious about pie as they are about being incredibly fashionable and audaciously cool.  The competition:  stiff.  The winner:  one devastating, delicious and perfectly tart Key Lime Pie.

Did you need a use for you homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter?   I’m sure you found some toasted bread to enjoy it with.  Just in case you needed an over the top excuse to enjoy life just a bit more… here’s a pie that, while it may not win any pie contests, is sure to make life a whole hell of a lot sweeter.

You’ll need some homemade peanut butter, but if you’re not feeling that ambitious, the jarred stuff will work too.

You’ll need a graham cracker crust, melted chocolate, peanut butter, banana cream pie filling, fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  Here’s how it all comes together.

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

adapted from Martha Stewart, but mostly from me.

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For the Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the Chocolate Layer:

2 ounces of dark chocolate, melted over a double boiler

For the Peanut Butter Layer:

3/4 cup homemade peanut butter, or the jarred stuff, chunky or smooth as you see fit

For the Banana Layer:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

2 cups whole milk

2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

For the Whipped Cream Layer:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the crust, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl.  Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist.  I use my fingers.  Turn the ingredients into a 9-inch pie pan and pat with your fingers to create an even layer of crumbs of the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Once heated, place the pie crust on the center rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and set crust aside to cool.

For the chocolate layer, put two inches of water in a medium sauce pan, once simmering, place a larger bowl with the 2 ounces of chocolate in it over the simmering water.  Melt the chocolate in this double boiler situation.  Once cooled, pour into the baked graham cracker crust and spread around with a spatula.  Place in the refrigerator to cool and harden.

Prepare the peanut butter.  Once the chocolate is cooled, spread the peanut butter over the melted and hardened chocolate.

To prepare the banana filling, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add egg yolks, and whisk until smooth. Bring milk to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup milk to yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour mixture into pan with hot milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble and is very thick, about 6 minutes.  Make sure to keep an eye on this and whisk constantly over a low flame.  The cornstarch will make the mixture thicken quickly.

Pour milk mixture through a large-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add butter, and stir until melted. Fold in bananas. Pour into crust. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Make the topping: Beat together cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over filling. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon, shape topping into peaks.

Make chocolate shavings:  Carefully run a sharp knife along the back side of a dark chocolate bar towards yourself.  Quickly sprinkle the shavings on the top of the pie.  It’s that easy!

I want to show you how to bake a pie.  I’ve got step by step pictures.  I’ve got instructions.  I’ve got encouraging words.  I’ll even hold your hand if you need me to.  This isn’t anything to be scared of… but I do have a secret.

See, there’s a secret to making the best apple pie in the world.  Love.   Any way you can get it or give it, the secret to apple pie is love.

Love is a funny thing.  (Ok, you should totally call me out- that’s just a silly thing to say.)  While I don’t contend to be any sort of expert on the subject, I do take comfort in the knowledge that getting love, and giving love, without a doubt, the best feeling in the world.

I’d like to think of my apple pie as a pure and unadulterated delivery device for love.

You know how cupcakes are actually a delivery device for sweet and fluffy frosting? How cheeseburgers are just an excuse to go crazy with the french fries?  How movie theater tortilla chips are merely edible spoons for gobs of fake yummy, cheesy nacho sauce?  Well this apple pie, I cross my heart and hope to die, is just an excuse to pour all of my love right into a pie crust and into the oven.

It’s perfect.  There isn’t a more perfect thing in the world… ok, except maybe babies and puppies and snowflakes and kate spade flats (but WHY so expensive kate!?  $300, seriously!?)

I will warn you, this pie is a labor of love.  It takes time.  It takes commitment.  It takes a personal outpouring of love and support.  I’ll just say it now, there’s cutting and pressing, chilling, peeling, macerating, boiling, tossing, rolling, preheating, baking, slitting and slicing…. almost in that order.

If I haven’t yet scared you away.  If you’re so full of love that you just might burst, throw it into this pie, and send it out into the world.  It’s important.

It sure does sound like I’m one lovesick baker, doesn’t it?  Well… some things just can’t be helped, or hidden.

Let’s make a pie together.  Muster up the love.  Gather together you patience.  Bust out the apples.  Dive in, crust first.

Print this recipe!

Buttermilk Pie Crust

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk

1.  Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.  Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

2.  Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3.  Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling.  With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets.  Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold.  Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

4.  Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes.    When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone).  Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour.  The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened.  Form the dough into two disks.  The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, the moisture will redistribute and they’ll be easier to roll out.

5.  Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.  At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks.  For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

With Love, Apple Pie

2 1/2 lbs baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick.  I used a combination of Granny Smith, Fuji and Pink Ladies.

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 – 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably fresh grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1.  Remove the dough for the bottom crust from the refrigerator.  If necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll.

2.  On a well floured surface, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick or less and 12 inches in diameter.  Transfer it to a pie pan.  Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.

3.  In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and toss to mix.  Cover apples and allow to macerate (develop and release juices) at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.

Transfer the apples and their juices to a colander suspended over a bowl to capture the liquid.  The mixture will release at least 1/2 cup of liquid.

4.  In a small saucepan (preferably lined with a nonstick surface), over medium high heat, boil down this liquid, with the butter, to about 1/3 cup (a little more if you started with more than 1/2 cup of liquid), or until syrupy and lightly caramelized.  Swirl the liquid but do not stir it.  (Alternatively, spray a 4-cup heatproof measuring cup with nonstick vegetable spray, add liquid and butter, and boil it in the microwave, 6 to 7 minutes on high.)

Meanwhile, transfer the apples to a bowl and toss them with the cornstarch until all traces of it have disappeared.

5.  Pour the syrup over the apples, tossing gently (Do not be concerned if the liquid hardens on contact with the apples; it will dissolve during baking.)

6.  Roll out the top crust large enough to cut a 12-inch circle.

7.  Transfer the apple mixture to the pie shell.  Moisten the border of the bottom crust by brushing it lightly with water and place the top crust over the fruit.  Trim the overhang of the top crust so that there is only 1/2-inch of overhand.  Tuck the overhand under the bottom crust boarder and press down all around to seal it.  Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers and make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center of the pie and radiating toward the edge.  I used a small circular cutter to make a few air holes on the top crust. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking.  This will chill and relax the pastry, preventing shrinking.

8.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F at least 20 minutes before baking.  Set oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on top of it before preheating.  Place a large piece of greased foil on top of the sheet to catch any juices.

9.  Brush the top crust of the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle generously with sugar.  Set the pie directly on he foil topped baking stone and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices bubble through the slashes and the apples feel tender but not mushy when a take tester or small sharp knife is inserted through a slash.  After 30 minutes, protect the edges from overbrowning with a foil ring.

Cool the pie on a rack at least 4 hours before cutting.  Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Want to copy and paste this recipe to work with in your kitchen!?  Here you go!

Buttermilk Pie Crust

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) buttermilk

1.  Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.  Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

2.  Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

3.  Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling.  With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets.  Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold.  Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

4.  Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes.    When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Begin to bring the dough together with one hand ( keep the other hand free to answer the phone).  Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour.  The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened.  Form the dough into two disks.  The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out.

5.  Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.  At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks.  For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

With Love, Apple Pie

2 1/2 lbs baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick.  I used a combination of Granny Smith, Fuji and Pink Ladies.

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 – 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably fresh grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Remove the dough for the bottom crust from the refrigerator.  If necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll.

On a well floured surface, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick ofr less and 12 inches in diameter.  Transfer it to a pie pan.  Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and toss to mix.  Allow the apples to macerate at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.

Transfer the apples and their juices to a colander suspended over a bowl to capture the liquid.  The mixture will release at least 1/2 cup of liquid.

In a small saucepan (preferably lined with a nonstick surface), over medium high heat, boil down this liquid, with the butter, to about 1/3 cup (a little more if you started with more than 1/2 cup of liquid), or until syrupy and lightly caramelized.  Swirl the liquid but do not stir it.  (Alternatively, spray a 4-cup heatproof measuring cup with nonstick vegetable spray, add liquid and butter, and boil it in the microwave, 6 to 7 minutes on high.)  Meanwhile, transfer the apples to a bowl and toss them with the cornstarch until all traces of it have disappeared.

Pour the syrup over the apples, tossing gently (Do not be concerned if the liquid hardens on contact with the apples; it will dissolve during baking.)

Roll out the top crust large enough to cut a 12-inch circle.

Transfer the apple mixture to the pie shell.  Moisten the border of the bottom crust by brushing it lightly with water and place the top crust over the fruit.  Trim the overhang of the top crust so that there is only 1/2-inch of overhand.  Tuck the overhand under the bottom crust boarder and press down all around to seal it.  Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers and make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center of the pie and radiating toward the edge.  Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking.  This will chill and relax the pastry, preventing shrinking.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F at least 20 minutes before baking.  Set oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on top of it before preheating.  Place a large piece of greased foil on top of the sheet to catch any juices.

Set the pie directly on he foil topped baking stone and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices bubble through the slashes and the apples feel tender but not mushy when a take tester or small sharp knife is inserted through a slash.  After 30 minutes, protect the edges from overbrowning with a foil ring.

Col the pie on a rack at least 4 hours before cutting.  Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

This weekend, I went to Oakland, smiled a lot, sat in a tree and ran over a tumble weed at high speeds.

I wanted to sit down today and tell you about pie… about pie that’s so full of love and goodness it might make your heart explode. I’ve got the pictures, I’ve got the proof, and I can’t find the recipe. It’s got to be here somewhere covered in crumbs and flour.

Gimme a minute. Ok… gimme a few hours. I’ve got pie. You’ve got a heart that’s ready to explode. Now we just need to find that darn recipe…..

Update: I just got a lovely note from Barbara Duke, one of the authors of Panache at Rose Hill.  Here’s what she has to say about this lovely pie!

I just woke up from one of those sloppy weekend naps. It was the kind of nap that left my face barely recognizable from marks from the pillow case folds. It was the kind of nap that might very well have taken place in the back seat of my car, at 173 degrees F. I feel like, lying here in my bedroom on this summer afternoon I may have justed baked my brain. I can’t blog bout that, that’s not good for you.

I just took the kind of nap that makes me wish I could take it all back. It now feels like a mistake. I might have just felt better if I stood in the road and waited for Mac truck to hit me. I just took the kind of tragic, unforgiving nap that can only be healed with creamy coffee and buttermilk pie with warm blackberry sauce.

Keep reading, I have a story to tell you about this pie.

I met this girl. Ok, maybe ‘met’ is a strong work. She’s in Alabama, I’m in California. We’re blog buddies. Her name is Evan and she might be one of the most darling people of the face of the planet. Evan has a new blog called Buttercakes by Evan. If you love me at all you’ll hop on over there right now and show Evan some love.

Evan was recently kind enough to send me her grandmothers cookbook Panache at Rose Hill. See, Evan’s grandmother and her business partner bought a southern planters home of 25 acres of land. With a few loans, help from husbands, and a lot of elbow grease, they transformed the home into a beautiful restaurant and event site. The cookbook is an account of that journey, a brief history of the land and the house, and an absolutely amazing Southern cookbook.

I’m so honored to have this book. Thank you so much Evan.

I knew I had to try the Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce. It sounded like the perfect southern treat. The pie bakes up pale and sweet, with just a hint of tang from the buttermilk. I served mine chilled with warm blackberry sauce. It’s gorgeous. Right now, it’s just the thing to cure my nap hangover.

Thank you Evan. Thank you bunches!

Buttermilk Pie with Warm Blackberry Sauce

Print this recipe!

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled.

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons pur vanilla extrct

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs slightly. Mix sugar and flour well and add to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter, mixing well. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (my pie took about 1 hour and 15 minutes) until the custard sets. Tip: the custard will still jiggle a bit in the oven even when it’s set. Just make sure that the middle does not jiggle a lot more than the sides. That means it needs more time.

Blackberry Sauce

1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves

1 Tablespoon Chamborde liqueur, also consider orange liqueur or a bit of Triple Sec

Pour the preserves in a saucepan and arm on medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whip until smooth. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Let cool slightly and drizzle over pie.

Pie Dough

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk, cold

Cut butter into 1 inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

Sift together the flour and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sifting eliminates lumps and aerates the mixture, making the dough tender and lighter. Add the partially frozen butter and the salt. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes, or until the butter is reduced to the size of broken walnut meats. Stop the machine and by hand pinch flat any large pieces of butter that remain.

Turn the mixer on low speed and add the buttermilk all at once. Mix until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky, and still rather shaggy.

Remove the dough from the bowl and quickly form into a rough disk. Wrap in plastic. Try not to overowrk the dough. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out. At this point the dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. For freezing roll the dough into sheets and wrap them in airtight plastic film first.

Ok everyone… take a deep breath.  It’s time for pie!

This beast of a pie is Peabody’s Grandmother’s Lime Conspiracy Pie with marshmallows.

It is a result of the convergence of several things in my mind and in my pantry.

A friend mentioned a pie topped with tiny colorful marshmallows.  Sounds like a great idea, right?  On the same day, Peabody posted a recipe for the most amazing and bizarre lime jello salad.  The fruity marshmallows were on sale at the grocery and the rest of the ingredients practically jumped out of the pantry.  I put everything on hold.  I just had to make this pie.

And then, this pie took on a life of it’s own.  I felt like Dr Frankenstein, except my pie didn’t learn compassion or love.  Nonetheless it sat there in my fridge with it’s colorful marshmallows and sweet oozing topping, practically begging to be touched up and gawked at.  And what a camera whore… don’t even get me started on that!

It all started innocently enough with graham crackers.  I pressed out a graham cracker crust and threw it in the oven to bake.

Then came the lime jello madness.  This jello salad has cream cheese, pineapple, mandarin orange slices and soda pop.  I was skeptical, but I loved the pale green color in Peabody’s post.  And really, anything with cream cheese is fantastic.

After the jello had set in the pie crust I topped it with left over seven minute frosting and marshmallows.  That’s where the trouble started.  The pie took on a personality.  It was just too pleased with itself.  It was enamored by it’s own preciousness.  And I was too!  After a few hours, I knew that I just had to get the pie out of my house.  It was all I could think about!  It was taking over.  I took the pie, knocked on a neighbors door, and asked them to take it off my hands.  Please.  They said something about the pie being too cute to eat.  I told them that that was exactly what the pie wanted them to think, and that it had to be eaten for its own good.

Long  story short-  the pie was delicious, and didn’t put up too much of a fight.

Try this pie, but be warned, it might try to take over your life.  Eat it before it does.

Print this recipe!

Graham Cracker Crust

1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons melted butter

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter until well combined

Press into a 9 inch pie pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 9 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before adding filling.

Lime Jello Conspiracy Salad

1 (6 ounce) package  Lime Jello

1 cup boiling water

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup Sprite

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 (8 ounce)  carton Cool Whip, divided

Boil water and add Jello, stir until dissolved.  In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and the vanilla extract until fluffy. Stir in the Jello and beat until smooth.  Add the pineapple, oranges, soda and pecans.  Mix until incorporated.  Chill the mixture in refrigerator for about 30-40 minutes, so that when you lift it with a spoon it’s clumpy.  Fold in 3/4 of the cool whip.

Pour into cooled pie shell and refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm.  After the pie has firmed up, top with the remaining cool whip, or whipped cream.  I used some left over Seven Minute Frosting that I had in the fridge.  Anything fluffy white topping will do!  Top with as many marshmallows as you like!

Thanks Peabody!

The title to both this post and this dessert is a little hum drum.  Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Cake… it just doesn’t set off fireworks in my head.  And frankly, I always feel a bit off put when apostrophes are in strange places (here I am considering s’ strange).  I was an English major in college, and I still just feel put out with the apostrophe after the s.  I actually have to think about the Pie Cake, and who, and how many Grandmothers it belonges to.  It’s a lot. I know!  Well let’s just clear things up right now and say that this Apple Pie Cake belongs to many Russian Grandmothers.  That’s what the whole s’ was trying to tell us.

I would also like to informally change the name of this recipe to The Apple Pie Cake that belongs to Many Russian Grandmothers.  I don’t think Dorie will mind.

Grammar lesson, over.

Recipe and more cake talk after the big jump.

The dough for this Pie Cake is one of my new favorite things. It’s more of a cake than a pie.  To make it, you cream softened butter and sugar like a cake instead of cutting cold butter into flour like traditional pie crust.  The dough also has plenty of baking powder to give it all its rising magic.  The result is tender, buttery with allusions to both cake and pie!

I’m going to trying this Pie Cake dough with all sorts of fillings- fresh apricots will be my next adventure!

For this Tuesdays With Dorie challenge, I decided to make a Mini Pie Cake, and used half of the recipe below to create a 3-inch inch high cake in a 6-inch by 3-inch round cake pan, greased and floured of course!  Thank you to Natalie of Burned Bits for the selection!

Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Cake

from Baking: from my home to yours

Print this recipe!

For The Dough

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lemon

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples

10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more.  Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine.  Add the lemon juice – the dough will probably curdle, but don’t worry about it.  Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed.  The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour.  (The dough usually needs the extra flour.)  When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half.  Shape each half into a rectangle.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days.  (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples:  Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want.  Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice – even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that’s fine – and add the raisins.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly.  Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Generously butter a 9×12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge.  If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving.  Once it’s a little more malleable, you’ve got a few choices.  You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper.  You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan – because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven’s heat.  Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick – you don’t want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it.  Transfer the dough to the pan.  If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that’s fine; if it doesn’t that’s fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples.  Cut the dough so you’ve got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed.  (If you don’t have that much overhang, just press what you’ve got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough.  Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits.  Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature.  You’ll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

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