This is my own recipe, and I’ll admit–when I saw this come out of the oven I thought it was the oddest-looking pie I’ve ever baked, but it tasted great, and went over pretty well at the 4th of July party where it was served. For what I hope are obvious reasons, I called it "Jade Pie". It’s a cinnamon-flavored crust filled with matcha custard and topped with white chocolate whipped cream. This recipe makes two pies, plus extra white chocolate whipped cream (which is a keeper all by itself–I could sit down with a tub of that and a pile of fresh strawberries and call it a meal.)
Took advantage of the light coming in through the French doors in the living room and a white bounce card to shoot this.
Ingredients
For the crust
12 oz. all-purpose flour
8 oz. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tbl. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. vodka
1/4 c. ice water
20 drops red food coloring (optional)
For the custard
5 c. milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
6 tsp. matcha (green tea) powder
6 eggs
For the topping
2 c. heavy cream
8 oz. white chocolate (chopped or chips)
1 envelope plain gelatin
6 tsp. water
Directions
Start with the crust. In bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add flour, sugar, and cinnamon and pulse to combine. Add butter, pulse 10 or so times until crumbly and butter pieces are no larger than small peas. Add water and vodka, and optionally the food coloring, and pulse just to distribute. Mixture will look dry, but will hold it’s shape when compressed. Pour onto work surface, press into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the disc into two pieces. Roll out into 12" discs, and line two 9" pie pans with the crust. Shape the edge, dock the bottom of the crusts, and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to help prevent shrinkage when you bake them. Line each crust with a double layer of foil and 1 c. pie weights or dry beans, and blind-bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for another 9 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Prep the custard by beating the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Heat the milk and matcha powder together until hot (just below simmering), whisking constantly to combine. Temper the hot milk into the eggs, whisking all the while. Divide between the two pie shells, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until custard is set (a paring knife inserted about 1" off-center should come out clean).
Cool pies to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.
To make the white chocolate whipped cream, heat half the cream in a double boiler just until steaming, add the white chocolate, and whisk until completely combined. Refrigerate until cold. Sprinkle gelatin over water, let sit for a few minutes to hydrate, then heat in the microwave until dissolved. Cool to room temperature, while chilling your mixer whisk and bowl. Combine the remaining cold heavy cream with the chocolate mixture, and beat until the blades start leaving traces, then slowly pour in the gelatin and beat to stiff peaks. (Between the white chocolate and the gelatin, this whipped cream holds its shape very well in the fridge.)
Pipe white chocolate whipped cream onto the pies and serve.
Posted by djwtwo on 2010-07-07 03:58:48
Tagged: , Raw , nikon , baking , dessert , pie , green tea , matcha , custard , white chocolate , whipped cream , baked , baked goods
