Pucker Your Sucker White Chocolate Lemon Meringue Pie

So this post is long overdue.  I made this pie the same weekend that I had all of my wisdom (teeth) removed and had bling (titanium dental implant) put in, but I've been too busy and/or lazy to post about it.  After some prodding from C, I decided that I should finally share the joy that was white chocolate lemon meringue pie (and I say was, because it lasted about 2.5 days in our house).

Let me start with I <3 lemon meringue pie.  Like, I would marry it if it were legal to marry an inanimate object, if I didn't think people would look at me funny, and there wasn't the danger of me getting a little too hungry one day... hrm.  Anyway, growing up this is one of the things I remember my grandma fixing for special occasions.  Granted, I think she used canned pie filling, but the sentiment was still there.  When I saw a recipe in a magazine that added white chocolate to this most beloved dessert, I almost peed myself with glee.  (OK, not really... but I was totally stoked).

First things first, you need to make a pie crust.  I showed you all how to do this on pie day. When you've made your crust, place it in a 9-in pie plate, fold/crimp the edges, prick it with a fork, and bake it in a 475 degree oven for 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned).  Take that sucker out of the oven and let it cool while you get busy making magic.

Ingredients

1/2 c white chocolate morsels
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/3 c sugar, divided
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 c cold water
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Directions

In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the white chocolate and cream.  Microwave on high in 30 second intervals until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth (about 1 min).  Spread evenly over the bottom of your baked pie crust.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 c sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Gradually whisk in water.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat; cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.

Gradually add 1/2 c of the hot mixture to the egg yolks, whisking to combine. (Side note - this is a very important step.  What it does is slowly raise the temperature of your egg so that when you add them to the hot mess you just made, you end up with velvety lemony goodness instead of lemony scrambled eggs.)

Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan.  Return to medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened.

Whisk in the lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, sour cream, and vanilla.  Cook for 1 minute, until mixture is thickened.  Remove this bad boy from the heat.

In a medium bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer (unless you have super human strength and can do this by hand... I am not blessed with that skill) until foamy.  Gradually add the remaining 1/3 c sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Pour the hot filling into the white chocolate smothered pie crust.  Spread the meringue over the hot filling, completely sealing to the edge of the crust.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350-ish or until meringue is lightly browned.

When it comes out of the oven it will look something like this:

Now comes the hard part - you HAVE to let it cool.  Remember that runny filling you put into the pie shell?  Well it's still runny and is now about 350 degrees, which = lemony lava in your mouth.  Poor choice... So yes, you have to let it cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours.  To add insult to injury, you have to wait a little longer because it sets up best if you refrigerate it first - so into the fridge it goes! (An hour or so should do it.)  After all that waiting, here is your reward:

Enjoy!

Hole-y Mouth Batman! Flourless Chocolate Cake

For those of you who know me well, you know I buy my baking supplies in bulk.  Costco is a wonderful land where I can buy 4 lb packages of butter, 7 lb bags of powdered sugar, and 25 lb bags of flour without shame because hotpants in the next checkout aisle over has a 3 gallon jar of mayo and a lifetime supply of cheesy poofs. Now stop looking at me like that over the 25 lb bag of flour. I use it in everything I bake, and I've gone through about half of the bag in the last month.  Flourless cake you say?  Well shit...

Like I mentioned in my last post I had some awesometastic oral surgery last week that has left me with the chewing capabilities of an infant for the past 7 days.  In honor of that I gave myself free reign to eat as much ooey gooey awesomenss asI could before my good excuse was gone.  One of the things that I decided to make was a flourless chocolate cake.  All I have to say is O-M-G.

Once you've greased, floured, and lined a 6in round pan with parchment paper, place a cake pan filled halfway with water into a 325 degree oven.

Step 1: Melt 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate with 6 tbsp butter in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  You set that aside and let it cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Step 2: Beat 3 egg yolks (reserve whites) with 1 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c cocoa powder and 1 tsp vanilla.  It will be a thick mess, but it gets better.  Add the slightly cooled chocolate-butter mix to the egg yolk mixture and stir until combined. 

Step 3: Remember those egg whites you saved?  (If you forgot, pretend you remembered and have your boyfriend distract any bystanders as you crack 3 more eggs, throw away the yolks and magically produce the whites in a bowl.)  Beat the eggs until soft peaks form.  They should look something like this:

Step 4: Fold (do not stir!!!) your egg whites into the chocolate mixture 1/3 at a time.  Be gentle here people!  The egg whites are what's going to give your cake some height.  Stir too hard and you'll end up with chocolate flavored shoe leather.  It's OK if there are a few white streaks here and there throughout the batter.  You're really just looking for it to be evenly mixed.

Step 5: Spoon the batter gently into the prepared 6 in round pan and place in the pan of hot water in the preheated oven. 

Bake for 45-55 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack (or on top of your stove if hopped up on pain meds and you're too lazy to pull out a cooling rack just yet).  After 15 minutes, gently run a knife along the edge of the pan to release any sticky bits, and then turn onto a cooling rack (and yes, your lazy butt does actually have to get a cooling rack now).

Now the recipe tells you to let it cool completely and then serve.  I say screw the directions.  This sucker tastes like a warm ooey gooey brownie when it's fresh out of the oven like this.  So you have my blessing to cut it up and dig right in!

Perhaps with some fudge sauce?

*Drool*

Grandma Don't Need Her Teeth Bread Pudding

Whew, what a whirlwind couple of weeks it's been!  Last weekend one of my best friends got married, so I was in Blacksburg, VA for her wedding (hence no posting).  A picture of me and the boy once the open bar started to kick in:

My week at work was "awesometastic" (and for those of you who know me well, you know the real meaning of that word...), so I was too tired to bake at night when I got home.  To add insult to the injury of my work week, I had oral surgery yesterday.  I had my last 2 wisdom teeth removed and a dental implant placed for the tooth that I've never had (brotha from anotha motha, anyone?).  I will say the best part about all of this is the guiltless nomming of pudding, ice cream, and as much mac n' cheese as I can eat.

In honor of my inability to eat anything harder than the consistency of baby food for the next week, I've decided to dedicate this week to all things ooey, gooey, and relatively chewless.  This first of this weekend's awesomeness is what I'm lovingly calling Grandma Don't Need Her Teeth Bread Pudding and I'm serving it with a whiskey sauce (to get grandma sauced, of course).

Ingredients:

Pudding -
1 loaf of hearty bread, cubed and dried overnight
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 c dried fruit of choice (I used raisins and some orange essence prunes - don't tell the boy!)
8 eggs
4 c half and half
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze -
3/4 c butter
3/4 c light corn syrup
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c whiskey

Directions:

Spray a 13x9 glass dish (or something comparable) with cooking spray.  Layer the dried bread cubes and dried fruit in the dish and drizzle with the melted butter. 

Combine the eggs, half and half, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.  Pour over the bread and fruit in the dish.  Lightly squish the bread so that it's coated in the egg mixture. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, or until it springs back when you touch it.

For the sauce, combine the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat.  Add the whiskey and whisk that sucker good.  Drizzle (or pour...) over the warm bread pudding, and then sit back and enjoy the chewless noms!