Favorite Ingredients Friday - Pie Edition

Much to Jim's chagrin, I don't make pies very often. I usually don't think about them, plus I've had some major pie disasters. Here are two recipes, however, that were awesome. The first comes from a local restaurant. It's Jim's favorite pie there. The second is a Paula Deen recipe. I made it a few years ago for Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit.

Das Dutchman Essenhaus Raspberry Cream Pie

2 baked 9-inch pie crusts

Raspberry Pudding
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 small box raspberry gelatin
3 cups fresh raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat the water and sugar. Mix the cornstarch, salt, water and lemon. Add to water, sugar mixture. Boil until mixture is clear. Add gelatin and stir to dissolve. Add raspberries and cool.

Vanilla Filling
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
3 cups milk, scalded
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Place 3 cups milk in kettle. Heat to scalding.

Mix cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, egg yolks and 1 cup of the milk. Slowly blend into hot milk, stirring constantly until thick. Cool.

Pour 2 cups Vanilla Filling into each pie shell. Place 2 cups Raspberry Pudding on top of Vanilla Filling. Top with whipped cream.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

Ganache:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Filling:
6 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus 3/4 cup, whipped soft
6 1/2 (1-ounce) squares premium white baking chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2/3 cup roasted, chopped macadamia nuts
1 pre-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell

Garnish:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts

Ganache:
Place chocolate chips in a metal mixing bowl. Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour simmering cream over chips and stir until melted. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Filling:
Beat cream cheese and sugar with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Scrape bowl with a spatula and mix in 1/3 cup heavy cream. Add the melted white chocolate, zest, and nuts and stir just until incorporated. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread into pre-baked pie shell and level off using a rubber spatula. Put in freezer until frozen.

To finish pie, place the ganache in the microwave on low for no more than 10 seconds at a time. Stir after each warming, until ganache pours loosely but is not even close to boiling. Be very careful when warming chocolate, as it will burn very quickly when heated in the microwave. Once chocolate is scorched it is unusable. Spread warm ganache over top of frozen pie, smoothing to the edges with a spatula.

Garnish:
Beat cream and confectioners' sugar with a handheld electric mixer to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe edges of pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle macadamia nuts over top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you read the reviews for this pie, you might be afraid to make it. Ignore the complaints about the sugar. When they first posted this recipe, they accidentally changed the amount of sugar from 1/3 cup to 2 1/2 cups. That's what people are complaining about when they say it was grainy or had too much sugar. It's such a good pie.

Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fantastic recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ