I made a birthday pie

Frank Pellow

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Location
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
Margaret's (my wife's) birthday occurs on the first of January.

This year, I decided to make her a pie rather than a cake. The pie is one of our favourite -pear in a short crust where ground almonds are subsisted for about half the flour. Although it is a favourite, it is about 5 years since either of us has made it. About a week ago Margaret was fondly recalling the last time we had had the pie. I decided right then to surprise her with one on her birthday.

The ingredients for the crust -flour, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and ground almonds are placed on the board, then gently mixed by hand.

Birthday pie 1 -The ingedients -small.JPG Birthday pie 2 -The crust has been mixed by hand -small.JPG

It's kind of messy, but effective.

While the crust was refrigerating for about an hour, I quartered the 3 pears and soaked them in a mixture of orange juice, orange rind, and brandy.

Birthday pie 3 -pears soaking in brandy, orange juice, orage rind mixture -small.JPG

The top crust broke apart while I was placing it over the pears, and I took advantage of this to snap a photo of the half covered pears.

Birthday pie 4 -Assembling the pears and the crust -small.JPG

Here is the baked pie with some dollops of double cream placed in the middle and candles aflame about to be presented to Margaret.

Birthday pie 5 -With candles blazing -small.JPG

She was suitably surprised (and happy).
 
Frank, that looks really good. Must have been a day for cooking. I made homemade chicken soup today with homemade noodles. My wife said it was the best chicken soup she's ever had.

Happy Birthday to your wife. :b-day:
 
That must have been delicious Frank:thumb: but when you say that "she was suitably surprised" what are you saying?
I hope that you didn't leave all the cooking stuff around for her to wash:D
 
That must have been delicious Frank:thumb: but when you say that "she was suitably surprised" what are you saying?
I hope that you didn't leave all the cooking stuff around for her to wash:D
Margaret was surprised for a few reasons. First of all, she had not been out of the house very often in the days just before her birthday, so had no idea how I managed to make and bake the pie without here knowledge. Secondly, the concept of having a pie rather than a cake surprised her. And thirdly, although I used to bake a lot, it is a long time since I have done so.

I made the pie while she was still sleeping one morning and I baked it when she was at our neighbours hose for about an hour.

I did clean up wel,l but she almost caught me anyway. I left out on the kitchen counter the plastic bag that was used to store the dough in fridge and it still had some crumbs in it. She asked me what I had used the bag for and I claimed that it was for a woodworking project without going into any detail. I was lucky that Margaret did not ask for details.

The second thing that Margaret noticed was that, although I turned off the oven right after baking the pie, it was still quite warm after she came home. She noticed and asked why. It had been about 3 hours since lunch where I had grilled some cheese under the top broiler. I said that I had forgotten to turn the broiler off, and received a lecture about that.
 
Frank,
You need to post the recipe in recipe format so I can give it to my wife... I don't cook, but boy can she cook....LOL

My middle granddaughter always wants a pie for her birthday instead of a cake... she's not real fond of cake, but loves a pie.... my kind of girl. I'll take a piece of pie over a piece of cake, but if not available, I never turn down a piece of cake... my favorite is a carrot cake.
 
She noticed and asked why. It had been about 3 hours since lunch where I had grilled some cheese under the top broiler. I said that I had forgotten to turn the broiler off, and received a lecture about that.

Hey Frank i think the pear pie is great and a great gift too. I aint ever eaten pear pie so will try it out. But i love the comment you made about getting lectured about leaving the broiler on. I got quiet a chuckle from that. :D Guess its happened to more than one of us that we have told a story to cover up something and been chastised for it and had to bite our lip on the truth to keep the secret. Maybe her conscience pricked her when the truth came out.:rofl:
 
Frank,
You need to post the recipe in recipe format so I can give it to my wife... I don't cook, but boy can she cook....LOL

My middle granddaughter always wants a pie for her birthday instead of a cake... she's not real fond of cake, but loves a pie.... my kind of girl. I'll take a piece of pie over a piece of cake, but if not available, I never turn down a piece of cake... my favorite is a carrot cake.
Here is the recipe as requested:

Pastry:
  • 8 oz (by weight) pastry flour
  • 4 oz (by weight) ground almonds
  • 4 oz (by weight) sugar
  • 4 oz (by weight) butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 drops almond essence
Mix by hand on a board then store in a plastic bag in the fridge for at least an hour

Filling:
  • 3 ripe pears
  • Grated rind a juice of one orange
  • 2 tablespoons Pear William or Armagnac - or, if you have neither, ordinary brandy can be used
Quarter the pears, place in a bowl and marinate for at least half an hour

Putting it all together:
Roll a good third of the pastry to the diameter of the top rim of a 8 inch diameter flan pan, cut a 2.5 inch hole out of the middle, thus forming a ring, and set the ring aside. Roll out the remaining pastry and line the pan with it. Drain the pears and set the juice aside. Put the pears into the pan then cover with the pastry ring.

Baking:
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in an oven set at 375 Fahrenheit. About 5 minutes before it has finished baking remove the pie from the oven and brush the crust with egg white. Then sprinkle sugar of top and return to the oven.

Serving:
Whip about 3 oz of double cream (whipping cream will do also) adding the reserved juice. Allow the pie to cool, then place the whipped cream in the middle.




Please let me know, if the pie gets made, how people like it. It is a favourite with my wife, sister, and two daughters. You really should try to make it yourself. :poke:
 
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