Now it's halfway through March, and even though I've been quiet on my blog, I've still been cooking! On Saturday I entered a pie competition in Claremont, California. It was held on the 15th, the day after pi(e) day on 3/14. I decided to be a little crazy and enter 4 pies in the competition, which meant I was baking for hours on pi(e) day and even into the morning of the 15th. There were three categories to enter: fruit pies, cream pies, and custard pies. I made blueberry pie, key lime pie with coconut-scented whipped cream, "Heisenberg" pumpkin pie (with a cracked caramel topping), and my winning pie was almond-scented chess pie. It earned 2nd place in the custard category, and I was really thrilled because I had never entered a pie contest before, and there were a lot of pies being judged!
In time I hope to post recipes for all of the pies I entered because I think they all came out great, but first I'm posting the recipe for the pie that won a prize. I don't believe in secret recipes, so anyone who wants to try this pie should definitely give it a shot, because it's incredible. The fact that it was also the least-attractive pie I submitted yet won 2nd place told me the judges must have really liked it!
It's hard to nail down a good description of the flavor, but I think it tastes sort of like a mix of amaretto, flan, and those buttery Chinese almond cookies. If you're at all a fan of almond flavor and custards, this pie might make you black out.
Because so many pies had to be tasted, the judges only sampled small amounts from each pie, which meant that after the winners were announced, everyone got to try the pies! Big portions of my chess and blueberry pies were missing before the public even got to them, so I guess the judges really liked them. So, despite the fact that I was too busy baking 4 pies to take photos of the process this time around, I did manage to take a couple of photos of the winning pie, which should be enough to go with the recipe.
I really recommend the vanilla beans if you're already going to be making a pie from scratch, but vanilla extract will work, too.
Ingredients:
1 pie crust, unbaked
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ tablespoons cornmeal
¼ cup half and half, cream, or evaporated milk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 vanilla bean, OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
sliced almonds (in the baking aisle next to cake mixes and chocolate chips, not snacking nuts)
good pinch of salt
Toss a stick of butter on to the counter to soften for at least a couple of hours before you start cooking, OR, microwave on super low power, around 20%, for 1 minute, then let the butter rest in the microwave for another minute. Yes, believe it or not, my microwave has a setting for softening butter, and amazingly, it does NOT melt it! I was skeptical, too, but it's the real deal.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using a sharp paring knife, run the blade lengthwise along the vanilla pod, split it open, and scrape the vanilla beans out with the knife. Beat the softened butter, sugar, almond extract and vanilla beans together.
Beat the eggs in a separate bowl for 1 minute, then add the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture and beat thoroughly to combine. Add the cornmeal, cream, vinegar and salt. Set this mixture aside.
Place about 3 tablespoons of sliced almonds into a small frying pan, and lightly brown them over medium heat for just a few minutes, stirring frequently. They should be lightly toasted, so remember to watch them and make sure they don't burn! Remove the toasted almonds from the heat and let them cool for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a pie tin with the pie crust, and place the unbaked crust onto a cookie sheet for easy removal from the oven later.
Pour the filling into the pie shell about 2/3 of the way up, then lightly scatter the toasted almonds on top. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-45 minutes. The filling expands and puffs up quite a bit, so it will overflow if you fill the crust too high. The pie may seem a little wobbly in the very center when it's done, but that's actually perfect. It should end up a nice golden brown color all over, and when you slice it you will be greeted by a sunny, bright yellow filling with visible specks of vanilla!
If you do bake the pie for too long, don't worry too much. It's extremely hard to dry out a chess pie. I can't wait to make this pie again soon for friends, and I really hope you give it a try.
