Recipe Recommendations: Pi Day Edition!

Maths teacher William Jones created the concept of pi in 1706 when he was the first to use the Greek letter π as the symbol for the mathematical ratio. (Mometrix, n.d.) March 14 is celebrated as pi day because 3.14 are the first digits of pi making it a fantastic day for maths nerds to enjoy; and what better way to celebrate this day than to bake some really tasty pies.

Fudge Brownie Pie

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 unbaked Flaky Pie Crust

Egg Wash

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Brownie

• ½ cup unsalted butter

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted coconut oil

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

• ¾ cup chocolate chips

• optional for serving: ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, chocolate syrup

Steps

1. Make the pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking.

2. Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough. Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a pie dish, making sure it is completely smooth. Fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mould the edge into a rim around the pie and crimp the edges with a fork. If the dough is too warm, crimping will be difficult so you can always chill it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes first. After crimping the edges, chill the pie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap if chilling for longer than 30 minutes.

3. While the crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 190°C.

4. Partially blind bake: Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the dish. Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights). Prick holes all around the bottom crust with a fork. Return pie crust to the oven and bake for 8 minutes to help set the bottom. Remove from the oven. Brush egg wash all over the bottom and sides of the pie and set it aside.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 177°C.

6. Make the brownie batter immediately before spreading into the crust: Slice the butter into very small pieces and melt in the microwave in a large heat-proof bowl. Whisk the oil and granulated sugar into the melted butter. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes to slightly cool. Whisk in 2 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, and vanilla extract until combined. Add the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and whisk until combined. Batter will be thick. Fold in the walnuts (optional) and chocolate chips. Batter will continue to thicken the longer it sits, so spread evenly into the crust.

7. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out almost dry. During bake time, if you find the edges of the pie crust are browning too quickly, apply a pie crust shield or a ring of aluminium foil to protect it.

8. Remove pie from the oven. Cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• Two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk

• 1 cup plain Greek yoghourt

• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest

• ¾ cup fresh lime juice

For the topping:

• 1 cup cold heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest

• 8 to 10 thin lime slices

Steps

1. For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 °F and set an oven rack in the middle position.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter; stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined. Using your fingers, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust cool on a wire rack.

4. For the filling: Lower the oven temperature to 180°C. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yoghurt, lime zest, and lime juice.

5. Pour the thick mixture into the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, until the filling is almost set; it should wobble a bit.

6. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly, about 3 hours.

7. For the topping: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until medium peaks form. Top the pie with the whipped cream. Decorate with the lime zest and lime slices.

8. Store the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 refrigerated pie crust

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Filling

• 2 (21 ounces each) cans Apple Fruit Filling

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup white all-purpose flour

• 1 cup light brown sugar

Icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons milk

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C. Unroll pie crust on lightly floured surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon. Roll up tightly and slice into 1/2-inch rounds, like miniature cinnamon rolls. Then press evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan, making sure there are no spaces between the rolls.

2. Pour the apples on top of the crust and cover top loosely with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine butter, flour and brown sugar in a large bowl and form into crumbles using a pastry blender. Sprinkle crumbles over apple filling.

3. Bake until top and crust are golden brown and filling is bubbling, an additional 25-35 minutes (cover top if necessary). Remove from the oven and cool.

4. Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and milk in a bowl to form icing. Drizzle over cooled pie.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

Crust

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2' cubes

• ¼ cup vegetable shortening

Chicken

• 2 cups peeled, coarsely chopped carrots

• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped

• 1 leek, coarsely chopped

• 1 3-pound whole chicken

• 4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

• 6 sprigs thyme

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Filling

• 2 tablespoons dried chanterelle or shiitake mushrooms

• 1 cup 1/2' slices peeled carrots

• 1 cup fresh (or frozen, thawed) peas

• 1 cup red (purple) pearl onions

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

• 6 fresh sage leaves

• 4 thyme sprigs

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• 1 cup button mushrooms, halved if large

• 1 cup ¼ rounds sliced fingerling potatoes

• 1 egg, beaten to blend

Steps

1. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Add cubed butter and shortening and process until mixture has some pea-size lumps. With machine running, add ½ cup ice water and process, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry, until dough forms. Form dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle. Place on a prepared sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill. Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

3. Preheat the oven to 200°. Place carrots, onion, and leek on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot fitted with a lid. Add chicken, breast side down, celery, thyme sprigs, wine, salt, and peppercorns to pot. Add 8 cups of water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover, and poach chicken until cooked through, about 35 minutes.

4. Remove chicken from pot and set aside until cool. Reserve broth. Shred meat; discard skin and bones. Set a large strainer over another pot. Strain broth into a clean pot. Stir in tomato paste. Return to medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 5 cups, about 40 minutes. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover chicken and broth separately; keep chilled. Rewarm broth before continuing.

5. Place dried chanterelles in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup hot water. Let steep for 10 minutes; set aside. Reserve soaking liquid. Cook carrots in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add peas to saucepan; cook for 1 minute; transfer to bowl with carrots. Add onions to the saucepan and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside; let cool.

6. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Whisk in herbs and warm broth from chicken. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chanterelles to the saucepan. Pour in soaking liquid, leaving sediment behind. Simmer for 20 minutes.

7. Set a strainer over another large pot. Strain broth into pot; discard solids. Add chicken, carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool; cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.

8. Preheat the oven to 200°. Spoon filling into a round baking dish. Top with pastry, pinching edges to seal. Cut a slit in the centre of the crust for steam to vent. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, if desired.

9. Place pot pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Homity Pie

Ingredients

• 25g butter

• 2 onions, finely sliced

• 1 leek, finely sliced (optional)

• 1 tbsp thyme leaves (optional)

• 700g floury potatoes, quartered and thickly sliced

• 150ml double cream

• 125g mature cheddar, grated

• 2 spring onions, finely chopped

For the pastry

• 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 50g wholemeal or rye flour

• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

• 125g butter

• 1 egg

Steps

1. To make the pastry, tip both the flours, a pinch of salt and the cayenne, if using, into a large bowl. Mix, then rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the egg and 1 tbsp cold water using a cutlery knife. Bring the pastry together into a ball, then cover and chill for 30 mins. Knead briefly until pliable, then roll out until it’s large enough to line a 20cm deep pie dish. Line the dish, pushing the pastry into the edge, then trim. Chill until needed.

2. Meanwhile, for the filling, heat the butter in a large saucepan until sizzling and cook the onions with some seasoning and the leeks and thyme, if using, for 12-15 mins until soft and sticky. Stir the potatoes into the onion mix, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes break down when pressed with a wooden spoon. Pour over the cream, stir for a minute, then turn off the heat and leave to cool a little.

3. Heat the oven to 200C with a baking tray inside. Stir half the cheddar and most of the spring onions through the potato and onion mix. Scatter half of the remaining cheddar over the base of the pastry case, then tip in the tip filling. Scatter with the rest of the cheese and spring onions. Bake on the hot baking tray for 40-45 mins until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10 mins. Serve hot, or leave to cool until just warm.

Bibliography

Chelsea. (2018, November 30). Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie {Super Easy!}. Chelsea's Messy Apron. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/apple-pie/

Desmazery, B. (n.d.). Homity pie recipe. BBC Good Food. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homity-pie

Grablewski, A. (2020, July 2). Best-Ever Key Lime Pie. Once Upon a Chef. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/key-lime-pie.html

Haley, E. (4, December 2020). Brownie Pie. [Image]. Kitchen 335. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://kitchen335co.com/brownie-pie/

Homity Pie - Recipes. (n.d.). Hairy Bikers. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/homity-pie

Joanne. (2019, December 5). Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie. [Image]. Olive & Mango. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.oliveandmango.com/cinnamon-roll-apple-pie/

Kim. (2021, July 8). 30 Pie Recipes We Can't Resist - Insanely Good. Insanely Good Recipes. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/pie-recipes/

Lowe, J. (2011, September 12). Chicken Pot Pie Recipe | Bon Appétit. Bon Appetit. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-2

Mckenney, S. (2021, November 11). Fudge Brownie Pie. Sally's Baking Addiction. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/brownie-pie/

Mometrix. (n.d.). 25 Surprising Facts About Pi. Pi Day. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.piday.org/pi-facts/

Seriously Good Chicken Pot Pie. [Image]. (2019, March 4). Craving Tasty. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://cravingtasty.com/homemade-chicken-pot-pie/