Tofooled You! Vanilla "Cream" Pie for Father's Day

After a week of fun and relaxin' at Lake Powell, I return to the cadence of the everyday. O' that I were able to run away again! That doesn't sound like a bad idea, really...hm.

But I digress...

We returned from Lake Powell late Saturday, and I luckily had Sunday off from work, which allowed me to turn my attention to Father's Day, and what to make. I wanted something a bit on the light side, considering the week-long snacking fest on the houseboat. I thought about a cream pie, but wanted to lighten it up a bit. I then remembered (with a laugh) a few years back, fooling everyone at an Independence Day barbecue, by serving a chocolate cream pie that was no usual cream pie, in that it contained no cream...but instead used a base of tofu. ^_^ So I went back to that recipe (Alton Brown's Moo-Less Chocolate Pie), and did some modification to use what I had on hand. (I was still recovering from the long drive and unpacking and cleaning that accompanies one's return from vacation.)

I thus give you the Vanilla "Cream" Pie with a Gingersnap Crust!

As is, it makes a light, sweet treat for warm weather, though I think that next time I make it, I'll probably add some cardamom to the filling. I think it would accent the gingersnap crust perfectly! This recipe is also a good starting point for further modification. How does a mint cream pie with chocolate crust sound?

Vanilla "Cream" Pie with Gingersnap Crust

For Crust
1 2/3 cups Gingersnaps, finely ground
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1/4 cup Sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then press into a 9-inch pie pan.

Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For Vanilla "Cream" Filling
2 cups Vanilla (White Chocolate) Chips
1/3 cup Milk
1 block Silken Tofu (I used Mori-Nu)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp. Honey

Using a double boiler, melt the vanilla chips and milk, stirring until smooth. Add vanilla and honey.

In a blender, combine the tofu and white chocolate mixture. Liquefy until smooth.

Pour filling into the gingersnap crust. Chill in the fridge until cooled and filling begins to set, then transfer to the freezer until the pie is set solid. This not only makes the pie all the more refreshing to east, but it also makes it much easier to cut and serve.

Cooking with Alicia & Annie: Amish Shoofly Tart

After taking the month of October off from blogging (no reason, really, just didn't feel inspired to type), I have been raised from the post-Halloween grave to blog once again! What has roused me, you ask? It was none other than Cooking with Alicia & Annie's November Blog Event!

The challenge: Choose a recipe from either Alicia or Annie's recipe sites, make it, shoot it, and blog it.

The stakes: The Holiday Baker's Bundle, a collection of collapsible bowls, measuring cups, cookie cutters, etc.

...Bring it on!

I chose the take another crack at the odd-ball Amish Shoofly Pie, a molasses pie of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch origin. I've tried making this simple dessert before, and had mixed results. The pie was overall good, but the crust (having been par baked before adding the filling) came out, shall we say, "over-caramelized," i.e. burnt.

Now it was time for Round 2, and this time I'd call it a sweet success!

I stayed true to the original recipe except for two things: First, I cut the recipe in half to make one pie, rather than two. Second, I was aching to try my new tart pan, so in lieu of a pie pan, a tart pan it was. I also reduced the baking temps a bit, same with the time.

Amish Shoofly Tart

Crumb Mixture
1 c. flour
6 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon


SYRUP MIXTURE
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. hot water
1/2 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in the hot water
1 (unbaked) 11" tart crust


Instructions
Mix crumb ingredients together until crumbs are formed. In separate bowl, mix syrup ingredients together. Pour the syrup into the tart shell, then top with crumbs.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 more minutes, until the crust is, as Alton Brown would say, golden brown and delicious.

Cool completely before cutting.

If you've never tried shoofly pie, the flavor can be hard to describe. As I ate it, I couldn't help but think that I had tasted this somewhere before, but where? Then it hit me! Shoofly pie tastes remarkably like a S'mores Pop-Tart, only much better!