Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Where Have All The Pies Gone?
Tue, July24th of 2007
11:26 am
Making the rounds of the bakery-cafés one weekend, I’m dismayed to see that pie is nowhere to be seen in the display cases. I see cookies, brownies, even the wayward biscotti, and lots and lots of CAKE. Bakeries are all about cake these days, it seems: layered, looming glories swathed in tufts of frosting or enrobed in ganache, all hiding a pillow-y crumb and a tri-level cache of assorted fillings. Pretty, yes, but definitely disheartening.
“Well, cakes are much easier to make than pies,” states one friend. “You just beat the butter and sugar to death in the mixer, alternate the addition of the wet and dry ingredients, pour into a prepared pan, bake, and there you have cake!”
“But sometimes I just want a pie,” I say, my lament a dirge for all the unmade pies in Manila. “Don’t you just crave for a good apple pie sometimes, or a banana-macadamia cream pie that’s so good you dream about it at night?”
“Personally, I want pies with real crusts,” pipes in another friend. “Not cookie crusts but real crusts made with butter and flour that bake up smashingly flaky.”
Pie is my passion. It has nothing to do with growing up watching my mom bake pies – in fact, I remember her pan de sal more than I do her pies. And I’m talking about real pies with crusts and fillings made from scratch. To me, it’s not a pie if it’s made from a supermarket-bought pie shell, poured in with an instant pie filling and topped with non-dairy whip topping. Cake has its place at birthdays and other celebrations but my heart belongs to pie.
hearts on a chicken potpie
Admittedly, making a pie – nay, pie crust requires practice. I still remember the first pie crust I ever made: over-enthusiastic mixing made it as tough as the sole of a rubber shoe and eating it gave me a stomachache that had me in bed for a day. Not fun. But I persisted with my pie making and now I can churn out a crust that’s as flaky as the best of them. My secret? A food processor. But of course I still have my pastry blender for when I want a pie experience that’s more rewarding from a tactile point of view.
Whatever the reason is for the absence of pies in Manila’s bakeries, I’ll bake my own for now, with the current situation being as it is. I make a “pie dinner,” that is: a chicken potpie – in local lingo: chicken pastel – and a dulce de leche pecan pie. The crust for the former is made from butter only and is a “shorter” crust, meaning it’s more “mealy” as opposed to flaky. You can see from the photos that I played around a bit with the leftover crust and made a mini heart border for the chicken pot pie. I play with my food all the time.
The crust for the pecan pie, on the other hand, is made from butter and shortening for flakiness and flavor. And because I was in a playful mood, I used my rectangular fluted tart pan instead of my ordinary 9-inch Pyrex. Hey, pies don’t have to be round after all.
Dulce de Leche Pecan Pie
your favorite dough for a 9 or 10-inch pie crust
1½ cups pecans
1 can dulce de leche (make your own or buy it prepared from Ingrid’s Sweet Haven)
½ cup caramel sauce (your favorite recipe made with butter and brown sugar or store-bought)
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup corn syrupRoll dough out to fit your chosen pie pan. Line pan with the dough and trim off any excess with a paring knife. Blind bake pie crust and set aside while you prepare the filling.
Heat oven to 350° F.
Pour the pecans into the pie shell. (I actually bothered to line the pecans up neatly across the crust but it didn’t matter in the end.) In the bowl of a food processor, combine the dulce de leche, caramel sauce, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and corn syrup and processor until smooth, about 40 seconds. Pour over the pecans in the pie shell.
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until just set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side. Impatient person that I am, I’ve actually sliced into this while it was still warm and was rewarded with a gooey pool of caramel that hardened nicely. This is one damn good pie.
Other posts about pie:
Lazy “Pie”
When Pies Go Awry
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I didn’t realize till this post that I’ve really missed your blogging about something you’ve made (as opposed to a review). Both pies look drool-worthy, Lori! I absolutely love crust — it’s almost the whole point of pie, for me…probably more important than the filling. It’s true that good pie is not often found here. The very rare times I see savory pies on the menu, I have to try them. But would you believe I’ve often been disappointed to learn that for some people, Chicken Pastel has no crust?!?! That would be a misnomer, wouldn’t it???
That Dulce de Leche Pecan Pie looks delish! I’ll ask my baker sis to make this. She makes a Pili Pie that’s one of my faves! By the way, she was in Singapore recently and do you know what she found? Dulce de Leche in Banana flavor! Have yet to try, but it sounds genius!
[Reply]
Comment by Katrina — July 24, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
Oh you are evil! I want to run into the kitchen and make this right now! It looks incredibly sweet and delicious and wonderful (I love dulce de leche).
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Comment by Hilda — July 24, 2007 @ 5:08 pm
Oh my! that looks so gooood… Dont you have plans on selling dulce de leche pies? yours sure looks like a knock out!
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Comment by Markee — July 24, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
my, my, my…a slice of that pecan pie weighs in a little bit less than 100 calories, right? because i would probably eat the whole pan. i remember baking pies when i was like 10 or something and used to work the fat(butter and/or shortening) in the flour with my hands. or those pastry cutters. a more cathartic process i think. i haven’t baked pies in ages though but i sure love a great crust. on anything. i even used to bake the trimmings along with the pies and ate that too. (yes, i was a fat kid)
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Comment by anonymous paul — July 25, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
Oh my! That dulce de leche pecan pie looks like all kinds of dangerous that I want on my plate!
I love pie too…sweet and savory!
Like Katrina I am aghast at chicken pastel with no crust! Allo? Your chicken pastel picture is getting my appetite going!
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Comment by joey — July 25, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
Drooling over that pot pie, here–I never got into dessert pies, but I’ve been a pot pie fan since I could wield a fork. I love the little heart-shaped holes!
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Comment by Jim — July 25, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
I’ve been nibbling on pecan bars over the last two nights, mushing it into ice cream, savoring the gooeyness of the filling. Maybe I should boil some condensed milk to make dulce de leche and pour it over the bars!
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Comment by Mila — July 26, 2007 @ 11:12 am
Thanks so much for this recipe lori!
My late dad was a lover of pecan pie, we’d always go to cravings and he’d order a slice.
This one, with dulce de leche… I’m sure dad would’ve loved it. Anyway, I’m sure I will!
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Comment by an2net_luv — July 27, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Hmm. The Dulce de Leche Pecan Pie is making my mouth water! haha!
It also reminds me of my current favorite pie — the Macadamia Nut Pie at Fleur de Lys. It’s served ala mode with pistachio ice cream. A truly nutty experience.
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Comment by mdy — August 4, 2007 @ 8:46 am
Regarding pies…anytime I am craving for one, I head on to Za’s cafe at Hizon on J.Bocobo. They have a really nice lemon meringue…though the crust is a bit thick. They used to have nice cherry pies before but not anymore.
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Comment by Anson — August 14, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
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