Day 21 - Baking

Today started out with the Chef demonstrating how to make a pecan pie filling and a cherry pie filling.

I used the mealy dough to make a small pie in a 3" ring. It was partially baked before putting filling in it. While baking I made the pecan filling which was fairly typical as far as pecan fillings go. Then added it to my little pie shells. Then popped it back in the oven. It was very good. I liked the mealy dough because it was softer than tart dough, yet it still did a good job retaining it's shape outside the ring.

Next I made the cherry pie. I started out making the bottom crust using mealy dough in a 6" ring. The cherry pie filling was made using canned cherries. We used juice left over from when we poached the pears in red wine the other day. Using this juice we added sugar, cornstarch, and then cooked it. After we added the cherries and Triple sec. The cherry filling tasted very good. I made the lattice on the table and then moved it to the pie in order to keep it clean. The pie came out good. The downside was the filling bubbling out around the edges of the pie. The cherry filling was thick before putting it in the pie, so I guess it was just the volume of filling I put in the pie.