Crustless Coconut Custard Pie

If you're looking for a dessert that is both easy and delicious, this crustless coconut custard pie is just the ticket. It's adapted from one I found in Marion Cunningham's book Learning to Cook, which was published in 1999.

Let me introduce you to Marion Cunningham, one of the women who helped Americans cook better.  A life-long resident of California, she went from homemaker to cookbook author and columnist. She is perhaps best known for updating the iconic The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in the 1970s. 

However, first and foremost, Marion Cunningham was a teacher. She made the most clueless cook feel capable of creating a meal to feed themselves, family, and friends. Learning to Cook provides step-by-step instructions so there is no question as to how a dish should be made. Her Cooking with Children book opened the door to life-long cooking. And all of her cookbooks featured ingredients that can be found in any supermarket. 

In the introduction of Learning to Cook, she told about the experience of teaching Saturday cooking classes to beginners. “Every time we cooked, we sat down around my dining-room table and looked at the results of our lessons. Cooking in my kitchen, then enjoying each other’s company over a home-cooked meal, helped introduce (or re-introduce) these adult beginners to the social pleasures of cooking and eating together, pleasures that are often missing in busy lives. They tell me how they learned that going home at the end of the day, after busy work pressures, to a quiet time of cooking can be the best kind of therapy. That feeling is one of the best gifts that cooking at home can give us, and I hope that all of you using these recipe and sitting down to enjoy a meal with your friends, family, or even alone will find the same kind of satisfaction.” 

The ingredients for this Crustless Coconut Custard Pie are quickly whizzed together in a food processor. Serve it dusted with confectioner's sugar and toasted coconut on top, as I have here, or with some whipped cream and berries on the side. 

Yield: 6 to 8

Author: Linda Ditch

Crustless Coconut Custard Pie

This recipe was adapted from one found in Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham. A creamy, refreshing dessert for the perfect ending to any meal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup unsweetened or sweetened packaged coconut, plus more for garnish
• Powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the milk, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, sugar, and vanilla into a food processor and whiz for three minutes. Add the 1 cup coconut and whiz again for 3 seconds.
2. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Check to see if the pie is done by sticking a sharp knife into the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and check again. You want there to be a slight wobble when you remove it from the oven. It will firm up as it cools.
3. Serve at room temperature or cold, cut into wedges. Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired. Also nice served with whipped cream and/or fresh fruit.
4. To toast coconut, sprinkle 1/4 cup coconut onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake until toasted, about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it, since the coconut can burn quickly!

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Ginger Carrot Tea Cake with Orange Glaze

I miss traveling. Since the Covid pandemic started last year, I've daydreamed about all the places I will visit once things get better. Top on my list is a return to the United Kingdom. My last trip there was in 1992. 

Mom and I have spent the past year streaming a variety of British television programs like Great British Baking Show, Land Girls, Midsomer Murders, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Call the Midwife, Inspector Lewis, Death in Paradise, and Father Brown. (We're also fans of Australian shows My Life if Murder, 800 Words, and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.) Add to that numerous PBS Masterpiece shows, such as the current All Creatures Great and Small and Miss Scarlett and the Duke, and it’s easy to understand how we’ve become proper anglophiles in this house.

I find myself drinking a lot more tea. Maybe because anytime a crisis happens in these programs, someone always says, “I’ll put the kettle on.” A pandemic is a crisis, right? 

I’ve always enjoyed the occasional cuppa, but now it’s an almost daily ritual. However, my tea time is a cup in the evening after dinner, with just a random cup in the late afternoon. 

Tea cuisine is also a favorite of mine. I love scones loaded with strawberry jam and clotted cream, buttery shortbread cookies, and crisp cucumber or watercress sandwiches. 

However, tea cakes are my number one selection. Also known as loaf cakes, these sweet treats are just the right size for my small household, and they aren’t loaded with frosting. In the past, I’ve posted recipes for Walnut Apricot Tea Bread, Honey Spice Loaf, and Orange Marmalade Teacake. 

This recipe for Ginger Carrot Tea Cake is now my favorite. Moist and flavorful, with a hint of ginger and the brightness of orange—perfect!  You’ll notice I’ve listed the measurements for the ingredients by weight first, then volume. Paul Hollywood and Mary Barry have made me a food scale convert. Trust me, using a scale is soooo easy, more accurate, and with less clean-up! 

I’ve also posted in the past instructions on how to make a proper pot of tea. You’ll find them here.

Are you a tea fan? What kind do you like most? And are you streaming shows from across the pond? I’d love to hear about your favorites so I can get some new ideas for my next binge-watching venture.

Cheers!

 

Yield: 1 9 x 5-inch loaf

Author: Linda Ditch

Ginger Carrot Tea Cake with Orange Glaze

A flavorful tea cake, with just a hint of warm ginger and a bright orange glaze.

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 225 grams (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 225 grams (1 cup packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 medium carrots, grated (165 grams/1 1/2 cups packed)
• For the glaze:
• Zest and juice from 1 medium orange
• 100 grams (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs by hand for two minutes until light an and silky. Add the oil, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and whisk until smooth and combined. Add the dry ingredients and combine together with a rubber spatula until smooth. Fold in the grated carrots.
4. Pour the now thick batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bang the pan on the countertop a couple of times to allow any air bubbles to rise to the surface. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean.
5. Remove the loaf pan from the oven and set it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan onto the rack and allow it to cool completely.
6. To make the glaze, place the confectioners’ sugar and orange zest into a small bowl. Wisk in the orange juice a bit at a time until the glaze ins pourable but still thick. Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of waxed paper or foil. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to ooze down the sides. All the glaze to set for a few minutes before slicing the cake.
7. Store cake wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.

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When in Doubt, Call Pie Birds Pie

Pie crust still intimidates me. I know how to make it, with all the tips necessary to create a tasty, flaky crust. Still, when the time arrives, my palms start to sweat, my heart skips, and my neck muscles get tense.

Why so nervous? It’s because, in spite of following the recipe exactly every time, the end results are not guaranteed. Sometimes the crust shrinks in spite of chilling it before baking. Sometimes it’s tough instead of flaky.

Life is too short. 

That’s why I was excited to discover Pie Birds Pie in Topeka. Chef Michelle brought me this peach pie to try out, and a neighbor shared a slice of her chocolate cream pie.

Before starting her pie-making business, Chef Michelle worked for the Break Room and Juli’s Bistro here in Topeka. Now she makes pies and teaches cooking classes at Moburts downtown.

Her pies are made with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, so her menu changes with what’s available.

How did the pies taste? The peach was delectable—beautiful, flaky crust and a peach filling that was sweet, but not too sweet. I like the addition of coarse sugar on top to give it some crunch. The chocolate cream pie made me miss my Mamaw, who always made homemade chocolate pie when we came to visit. Yep, it was that good! Notice there are no photos because I ate the slice before it even occurred to me to grab my camera! 

With the upcoming holidays, Chef Michelle’s skills will be a godsend when I need a pie to take for a family gathering. Right now, she is offering:

Apple, Apple Caramel, Bananas Foster, Peach, Buttermilk: 9"-$20, 6"-$10

Chocolate Cream, Coconut Cream, Bourbon Cherry Pie: 9"-$25, 6"-$12

Soon she hopes to offer frozen fruit pies for take-and-bake.  If you live outside of the Topeka area, check with her about shipping. You can keep up to date with her offerings on the Pie Birds Pie Facebook page.

While I’ll keep practicing making my own pie crusts, when I need a pie for an important gathering, I’ll turn to Pie Bird Pies for a beautiful, tasty dessert.

Disclaimer: While Chef Michelle gave me the peach Pie Birds Pie to try, the opinions in the post are all my own. It was delicious!