Pie Slam Profiles: Lunchbox Pie Recipe and Story by Brook McDonald

CakeSpy Note: Here's the first in a series of Pie Slam Profiles, featuring the recipes and stories of each of the 9 entrants in last week's Pi(e) Day Pie Slam! This entry, for a toothsome concoction of banana, honey, whipped cream, peanut butter, and chocolate covered potato chips(!) was made by Brook, a freshman at Seattle University, who is "getting a business degree so that I may open my own bakery one day, which is my greatest dream and passion."

Here's the poem Brook read to introduce her pie: 

Lunchbox Pie by Brook McDonald

There was once a girl who loved to bake pies
And for her age, she was quite wise
So with a twist of her wrist
And a flick of the whisk
She began to improvise.
 
She went to school in the city of Seattle
Though only elementary she was quite tactful
Her heart was full of love for the food that she would create
Especially her pies now that was no debate.
 
At school everyday she ate the same lunch
Her stomach still grumbling as she began to munch
In the box were ruffles and milk chocolate chips
With a sandwich so delicious she could not stop smacking her lips.
 
Her eyes gleaming bright as she began to stare
Peanut butter banana and honey a sandwich with some real flare
A carton of milk to quench her thirst
And an idea that popped into her head that was just about to burst.
 
She ran straight home with idea in hand
Bursting through the door with ingredients that were anything but bland
She grabbed her crayons and soon began to draw
This was to be the best pie ever, the greatest of them all!
 
Her mother first helped her by rolling out the dough
She mixed her ingredients and watched her idea grow
Flour began to fly and her hand grew sticky still
As she twirled and spun with the greatest of thrill.
 
A dollop of honey and spoon full of peanut butter
Cream whipped so high, it began to flutter
Bananas all chopped up and glazed with sweetness
But the ruffles dipped in chocolate were the true greatness.
 
She layered the pie with the greatest of skill
Only to wait till the pie could stand still
She jumped around, waiting for her masterpiece to be complete
At last her hard work was finished and she could not wait to eat!
She pulled out a piece with the greatest of care
And took a big bite completely unaware
That she had created the most delicious tasting pie
Lunchbox pie she called it, a one of a kind, “Oh My!”

and here's the recipe. It's a monster, but it's worth it: this was a very, very delicious pie.

Lunchbox Pie

For the crust

• 1 1/3 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick well-chilled Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening
• OR 1/2 cup well-chilled Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
• 3 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water

Procedure

1. BLEND flour and salt in medium mixing bowl.
2. CUT chilled shortening into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut in chilled shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.
3. SPRINKLE half the maximum recommended amount of ice-cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.
4. Tip Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
5. SHAPE dough into a ball for single piecrust. Divide dough in two for double crust or double deep-dish crust, one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten ball(s) into 1/2-inch thick round disk(s).
6. ROLL from center outward with steady pressure on a lightly floured work surface (or between two sheets of wax or parchment paper) into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate for the bottom crust. Transfer dough to pie plate by loosely rolling around rolling pin. Center the rolling pin over the pie plate, and then unroll, easing dough into pie plate. Tip For ease in rolling, wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
7. Thoroughly prick bottom and sides of unbaked pie dough with fork (50 times) to prevent it from blistering or rising. Bake crust in lower third of oven, at 425°F, 10-12 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown.

For the filling

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Two 3-ounce packages full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 ¼ cups smooth peanut butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature

BANANA CREAM FILLING

• 1 package vanilla or banana cream instant pudding mix
• 2 cups cold milk
• 2 bananas
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

  CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS

• 1 bag of plain ruffles
• 1 bag milk chocolate chips

TOPPING

• 1 package cool whip
•  1 ½ tablespoons honey

 Assembly and preparation for the entire pie

1. Prepare the crust and press it into the bottom and up the
2. Side of a 9 1/2 –inch deep-dish pie pan. I like to use Classic Crisco Pie Crust. Bake and let cool thoroughly before filling.
3. Using a medium sized bowl and chilled beaters, whip the cream with an electric mixer until stiff but not grainy. Do not overbeat! Cover and refrigerate.
4. In a large bowl cream the cream cheese and peanut butter with the mixer on medium speed until evenly blended. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar, then the brown sugar, until blended. The mixture may look lumpy, like cookie dough. That’s the way it is supposed to be, so don’t worry. Blend in the vanilla. Add the whipped cream, and slowly blending with the mixer until smooth.
5. Clean and dry the beaters. Using a clean medium-sized bowl beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold them into the peanut butter mixture with a rubber spatula or gently beat them in with a mixer until evenly blended. Scrape the filling into the chilled pie shell until about ¾ full. Smooth with a spoon and cover loosely with aluminum foil and freeze until firm enough to slice cleanly but not rock solid, about 4 hours.
6. While cooling, begin to cook the pudding and refrigerate until firm.
7. Use a double broiler to melt one package of milk chocolate chips, dip ruffles according to your liking and place on a piece of wax paper to let cool, you may also refrigerate these if you choose.
8. Cut 2 bananas into small silver dollar sized pieces, and gently mix with honey and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl, (If you choose, you may also cook them in a skillet for more of a glaze type banana.)
9. Combine the pudding with the bananas, you only need to coat them graciously with the pudding, but not completely submerge them, do this by continuously adding dollops of pudding to the bananas.
10. Gently Spread banana mixture over the Peanut butter Pie, place in fridge.
11. Gently mix one tablespoon honey to cool whip mixture until fluffy, spread over pie until covered, place chocolate covered potato chips over the top, and cool until served.

Green and Sweet: St. Patrick's Day Peanut Butter Truffles Recipe for Peanut Butter and Co.

As any leprechaun knows, the journey to the end of the rainbow can be pretty long and arduous. And while the treasure at the end of the line is totally sweet in the figurative sense, the fact is, gold does little to satisfy the physical appetite.

These truffles, however, comprised of a sweet filling with crispy cereal and creamy, rich peanut butter and generously coated with festive green candy coating, are worth their weight in gold when it comes to a satisfying St. Patrick’s Day snack–delicious for humans and leprechauns alike.

For the full entry, more photos and the recipe, visit Peanut Butter & Co.!

Sweet Success: Seattle's First Pie Slam At CakeSpy Shop Was Awesome

Every baked good tastes better with a backstory.

And there could be no sweeter illustration of this than at a totally sweet event held at CakeSpy Shop this week for Pi(e) Day on March 14: Seattle's first Pie Slam!

What is a Pie Slam, you ask? Think: Poetry Slam Meets Pie, and you're getting the idea. In this case, we opened it up to stories in addition to poems, but the basic idea was that each entrant would bake a pie, write a story about it, and present it to a crew of expert judges, who would then rate them on their story and pie, and ultimately come up with a winner.

The judges were like a who's who of the Seattle arts and food scene, including (from left to right) Dani Cone of High 5 Pie (and yes, her shirt says "Butter"), Kate Lebo of Good Egg, Nancy Guppy of ArtZone, Wendy Sykes of Four and 20 Blackbirds, and yours truly (not pictured).

As a judge, I had to try every pie.

I took this job very seriously.

The nine entries, which will be individually profiled on this site in the coming week (with recipes in some cases!), were very eclectic, but all very delicious, including a chocolate cream pie with macadamia brittle, a Shaker Lemon pie, a pumpkin pie in a graham crust, a Pake (pie in a cake), a "Lunchbox Pie" which included peanut butter, banana, and chocolate covered potato chips, a fig-apple-walnut pie, a blueberry pie, and two delicious apple pies.

The stories were equally eclectic, ranging from heartfelt elegies to love stories to college dorm memories to humorous anecdotes about pie versus cake battles.

Happy organizers, Wendy Sykes and CakeSpy-JessieIt was a tough competition: when the scores were tallied, it literally came to several half-point differences in score--it was that close!

But ultimately Kate McDermott's tale and Shaker Lemon Pie took the cake (er, pie?) and she won a totally sweet ribbon as well as an original CakeSpy painting; Alexander's Pake and humorous pie-versus-cake story took second prize, and he received a handmade mitt made by Wendy!

Of course, everybody else won because they got to eat all of the rest of the pie.

Stay tuned for individual entries on each of the entrants, including tales and pie recipes! In the meantime, check out the photo gallery here!

Cake Byte: Vote For CakeSpy's Totally Sweet Sock Design

Vote for me! Find my design and "Like" it on Facebook!So, as you know, I entered what is probably the best sock design ever in the Sock It To Me "Design-a-sock" contest. The image is above. You're probably not even reading this because you're so enchanted by the design.

And I want to tell you that I am one of the finalists, but I need your help!! Go to the Sock It To Me Facebook page, choose my design, and "LIKE" it! Now, please.

In the meantime, check out all of the other awesome sock designs at Sock It To Me!

Seeing Green: Trophy Cupcakes Offers Guinness Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream for St. Patrick's Day

Everybody's Irish when there's a cupcake like this around!

That's right: it's March, and that means it's time for some serious sweetness at Trophy Cupcakes, where they've brought back their beloved St. Patrick's Day flavor: Chocolate Guiness Stout Cupcakes with Irish Cream Buttercream frosting on top!

If you suspect that these cupcakes are comprised completely of awesome, you are right. The stout adds a wonderful density to the cake, leaning more toward chocolatey than toward a beer-y flavor; the Irish Cream in the buttercream gives it a little zing--just enough so that you know it's there, but not so much that it drives you to distraction. This sweet treat will be available Monday, the 14th through the 19th, daily.

Trophy will also be debuting "Green Velvet" cupcakes this year on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. "Green Velvet" is Trophy's award winning Red Velvet Cupcake gone green for one day…our traditional buttermilk and cocoa cupcake will be topped with Trophy's classic Cream Cheese Frosting made extra lucky with a hint of green. 

Available at all three Trophy Cupcakes locations; for availability, directions and hours, visit their website.

Scouting Sweetness: Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches

It's true: more often than not, no matter what you're talking about, frosting will make it better.

But cookies in particular benefit highly from adding frosting--because then they become a cookie sandwich, which as we all know is basically society's way of granting us permission to eat two cookies, at once, with frosting, and not be judged.

And as cookies go, it is my learned and esteemed opinion that every type of Girl Scout Cookie is improved by being served in sandwich form--even the Lemon Chalet Creme cookies, which, if you want to get technical about it, are kind of already sandwich cookies.

Here's a simple recipe for Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches--you can use whatever type of Girl Scout Cookies, and whatever type of frosting you'd like, with a pretty certain guarantee of sweet success.

Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches

Makes 1 sandwich (easily duplicated)

• 2 Girl Scout Cookies
• 2 teaspoons (or more, or less, to taste) frosting

Suggested pairings: Peppermint frosting with Thin Mints; Vanilla buttercream with just about any variety; cream cheese frosting with Lemon Chalet Cremes or Samoas; Peanut butter frosting with Tagalongs or Do-Si-Dos; caramel or chocolate frosting with the classic shortbread cookies.

1. Place a dollop of frosting on top of one cookie (if it's a type that has a defined top and bottom side, such as Thin Mints, apply to the overturned bottom side).
2. Place the other cookie, bottom-side down, on top of the frosted half to form a sandwich.
3. Repeat with as many cookies as you'd like to make into sandwiches. Enjoy.

Pi Oh My: Make a Pi-Shaped Pie, for Pi Day

There is some disagreement over when to celebrate Pie Day. Some (including the American Pie Council) cite January 23 as the day, the reason allegedly being that the digits of 1/23 are "easy as pie." Others (generally math nerds) say it must be March 14, or "Pi" Day.

Of course, this is a very silly argument, because really, it's an opportunity to enjoy pie on two separate occasions, whether baked at home or at a roadside stand, cafe, or bakery. But as a shout-out to the math nerds, here's a Pi-shaped Pie for March 14.

Use the template with your favorite pie crust and use whatever filling you'd like (I used peanut butter and chocolate chips), but know that it's best enjoyed at 1:59 PM...and 26 seconds.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats! For more fun pie times, come to CakeSpy Shop tonight for Seattle's first PIE SLAM!

Cakewalk: A Sweet Jaunt to London with Cake Gumshoe Lauren

CakeSpy Note: You know what rules? Getting bakery tips from readers. Here's a great round-up of sweet spots that I know I'll be trying next time I'm in London, thanks to Cake Gumshoe Lauren H.!

I definitely do not purport to know all of the lovely bakeries in London – it is chock full of them, as one might imagine given Britain’s reputation for afternoon tea and all of the sweets that it entails. Still, my trips to the city have left me with a couple of favorites that I thought other Cakespy readers might enjoy exploring next time they’re in London!

First, Konditor and Cook, which has several locations throughout London, largely south of the Thames.   

Konditor and Cook is very much a “drop in to grab a treat” type of place: while a couple of locations have tables, the majority are counters for tea, coffee, savories, and sweets.

I love Konditor and Cook because you can visit for everything from a breakfast treat to lunch to take-away pastries to cakes. A few highlights from many visits:

Traditional Millionaire Shortbread – Konditor and Cook is one of the only places that I’ve been able to find it in London, and it is more than delicious!  

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a proper English bakery without a collection of cakes and tarts…(pictured top of post; clockwise from the top left: Coffee Walnut Cake, Bramley Apple Tart, Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Tart, and Almond Fruit Tart.)

Konditor and Cook is perhaps best-known for its “Magic Cakes,” which are small lemon sponge cakes that are, quite honestly, almost too adorable to eat.

If you’re looking for a more sit-down, proper-English-tea experience, Bea’s of Bloomsbury is likely to be a better fit. Bea’s has been open in Bloomsbury (relatively near The British Museum) since 2008 and recently opened a new location at One New Change, just across the street from St. Paul’s Cathedral. New Change is intended to be the “hip, younger sister” of the original location, and this intention is clear in the décor. Still, the sweets and service are the same at both locations.

Like Konditor and Cook, Bea’s does coffee, breakfast, and lunch, but afternoon tea is truly the best reason to visit Bea’s. The Bloomsbury location serves it from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday – Friday, and One New Change serves from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Friday. Both locations do weekend tea from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Afternoon Tea at Bea’s takes on one of two forms. If you’re not too hungry or are looking to stay in the savory range, there’s the Cream Tea option, which consists of lovely, lovely scones and, of course, a pot of tea!

For the slightly more hungry (and cake lovers among us!), there’s the Sweet Afternoon Tea, featuring scones, cupcakes, brownies, blondies, meringues, homemade marshmallows, and other treats. I’m not entirely sure how it’s possible for one person to eat everything that comes on the tea tray (though I’ve seen people try!), but the Bea’s staff is wonderfully flexible in terms of allowing sharing and extra treats.

Here’s a peek of the Sweet Afternoon Tea at the Bloomsbury location (above)...

And one from One New Change...

And so ends my rather short cake walk – hopefully it will be helpful to the next Cakespy reader who has a bit of time to spare (and a sweet tooth!) in London!

Places mentioned:

Konditor and Cook, online at http://www.konditorandcook.com; Bea’s of Bloomsbury, online at http://www.beasofbloomsbury.com.

Well Bread: Strawberry and Cinnamon Bread Using A Breadmaker from Ben of Breadmaker Reviews

Are you still using your breadmaker to make regular old bread, like a jerk?

Well quit it, and use your breadmaker to bake up something sweet, starting with this Strawberry and Cinnamon Bread.

This is a guest post and recipe from Cake Gumshoe Ben, a passionate foodie with a penchant for cooking outdoors (especially in the Australian summertime) who has a unique day job: he reviews and puts together buying guides for kitchen appliances. Here's what is known in the biz as a "plug" for his website: 

At Breadmaker Reviews we aim to provide you with not only great, in-depth reviews on breadmakers, but valuable information that will help you know exactly what to look for and where to get it.

but most importantly, here's the recipe. You're welcome.

Strawberry & Cinnamon Bread using a Breadmaker

• 1 packet frozen, sweetened strawberries (About 300g), thawed
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Procedure

1. Drain the juice from the strawberries, setting aside about 1/2 of it.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, sugar, eggs, oil, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. (You can use the kneading function on your breadmaker to do this part but ensure you do the next step by hand.)
3. Very lightly fold in the strawberries and the juice set aside earlier. Don't overdo this part as you want the strawberry flavour to streak through, rather than be dissolved in the bread.
4. Add the ingredients into your bread pan, place it into the breadmaker and select the quick bake cycle (medium crust texture if available).
5. Remove pan from breadmaker immediately after baking and allow to cool before removing bread.

Spectacular Semlor: A Sweet Trip To Lux Dessert och Choklad With Cake Gumshoe Nicholas

CakeSpy Note: So, I have a totally sweet customer named Nicholas. He's basically the ideal customer: he comes in and buys stuff, and then tells me all about the delicious sweets he eats when he travels the world. Just looking at his pictures is bound to evoke some seriously sweet wanderlust. Here's where he's been recently:

More treats! This time from Lux Dessert och Choklad in Stockholm. This is a Semla (Semlor in plural), and it's a seasonal pastry here.

It used to be that it was served only in the days before lent, but now it's available from Christmas to Easter.

This particular one was ranked best in the city, and it was really really good. The bun is cardamom, which has been hollowed out and then filled with a sweet almond paste, which is then topped with fresh whip cream and the top of the bun. 

Yeah, that's right. Get yourself to Stockholm! Curious to learn more? Learn more about Lux Dessert och Choklad here.