Putting the Pudding in the Pie
January 17, 2018 2:07 AM Subscribe
After the glorious butter pie thread the other day I went out and bought raisins and brown sugar, but now my roomies want to make pudding instead.
What modification should I make to a pudding recipe (cornstarch/sugar/milk) so that I can stand up to oven baking in a pie crust?
I really have two problems:
1) I can just prebake the pie dough and put the pudding in cold. But: pre-baking tartlets is difficult because I don't have a good way to stop the crust from growing and taking up more space in the muffin tin. ideas? (marbles maybe? but i have to sanitize them)
2) Bake the crust+puddingat the same time, to avoid crust growth and maximize filling space. However, If my last experiences with butter pie holds, the pudding will boil, then caramelize and form a crust, and I'm not sure what this will look like since there are no eggs.
So, I'm assuming that there's no reason I can't put any pudding under the sun into a pie tin. Help me figure out this system.
Thanks!
I really have two problems:
1) I can just prebake the pie dough and put the pudding in cold. But: pre-baking tartlets is difficult because I don't have a good way to stop the crust from growing and taking up more space in the muffin tin. ideas? (marbles maybe? but i have to sanitize them)
2) Bake the crust+puddingat the same time, to avoid crust growth and maximize filling space. However, If my last experiences with butter pie holds, the pudding will boil, then caramelize and form a crust, and I'm not sure what this will look like since there are no eggs.
So, I'm assuming that there's no reason I can't put any pudding under the sun into a pie tin. Help me figure out this system.
Thanks!
Response by poster: Mizu,those work great for large pie tins. I am doing tartlets, in muffin pans and in medium crème brûlée dishes. I don't enjoy cutting 4" squares of parchment, only to have the beans spill all over the floor, even after not weighing down the crust enough.
posted by tedious at 3:28 AM on January 17, 2018
posted by tedious at 3:28 AM on January 17, 2018
Try pricking the unbaked tartlet shells with a fork and then buttering pieces of foil and pressing them tightly against the unbaked tartlet shells. Freeze your tartlet shells for ten minutes or so while the over pre-heats. Then go ahead and blind-bake them. When they’re finished, remove the foil and gently press down any crust bubbles with the back of a spoon.
PS — you’ll want to add the pudding to the baked tartlets while it’s still warm to get that nice smooth top.
posted by woodvine at 4:00 AM on January 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
PS — you’ll want to add the pudding to the baked tartlets while it’s still warm to get that nice smooth top.
posted by woodvine at 4:00 AM on January 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not an answer but ... butter pie thread? Because I missed that one and I'm gonna have to try that. Also whatever ends up being the answer in this thread ;)
posted by kellygrape at 5:54 AM on January 17, 2018
posted by kellygrape at 5:54 AM on January 17, 2018
I really hate blind baking pie and tart crusts as well, it always seems like a giant mess. In my experience, the hassle level is directly proportional the flakiness of the crust.
Which means that if you’re willing to do a shortbready crust instead of a flaky pie crust, you’ll have an easier time of it. I find this one to be most reliable, though the name is a lie in my experience, and it still does shrink a bit: SmittenKitchen Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell
I would avoid baking a cornstarch-based pudding, but if you really want to experiment with it, I would only parboil the pudding, and would try relying on the oven heat to finish the thickening.
posted by amelioration at 6:08 AM on January 17, 2018
Which means that if you’re willing to do a shortbready crust instead of a flaky pie crust, you’ll have an easier time of it. I find this one to be most reliable, though the name is a lie in my experience, and it still does shrink a bit: SmittenKitchen Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell
I would avoid baking a cornstarch-based pudding, but if you really want to experiment with it, I would only parboil the pudding, and would try relying on the oven heat to finish the thickening.
posted by amelioration at 6:08 AM on January 17, 2018
Highly recommend the 'sugar as pie weight' approach advocated by Stella Parks.
posted by miratime at 6:09 AM on January 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by miratime at 6:09 AM on January 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Butter pie?? Please explain.
posted by Logophiliac at 7:07 AM on January 17, 2018
posted by Logophiliac at 7:07 AM on January 17, 2018
Response by poster: Amélioration, can you explain you would prefer egg based puddings over cornstarch? In my case it's because my egg yolks are already reserved for ice cream :3
posted by tedious at 9:45 AM on January 17, 2018
posted by tedious at 9:45 AM on January 17, 2018
Response by poster: Ok, so this morning I tried the method that miratime suggested and here are the results after 30ish minutes. The sugar weighted tart shells are definitely flatter and more professional looking.
The "poke it and wiggle" the fork method was about as useful as not using any method. Some were fine, others were huge and bloated. These are good if you have eaters that enjoy eating mostly crust I guess.
I'm still holding out on finding out what pudding mods I should make before ruining everything.
posted by tedious at 4:13 AM on January 18, 2018
The "poke it and wiggle" the fork method was about as useful as not using any method. Some were fine, others were huge and bloated. These are good if you have eaters that enjoy eating mostly crust I guess.
I'm still holding out on finding out what pudding mods I should make before ruining everything.
posted by tedious at 4:13 AM on January 18, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mizu at 3:12 AM on January 17, 2018