Strawberry Lovers’ Strawberry Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Shaved White Chocolate

To download a copy of the recipe for Strawberry Lovers’ Strawberry Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Shaved White Chocolate, click HERE. 

With the warm weather now upon us, a cool and refreshing dessert seemed like a good idea. That’s where Strawberry Lovers’ Strawberry Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Shaved White Chocolate comes in. Rather than being made with boxed flavored gelatin, or even unflavored gelatin mixed with fruit juice, this chiffon gets its deeper flavor by using fresh-made strawberry puree.

Another plus: reducing the fat by making the chiffon with non-fat powdered milk instead of the usual packaged whipped topping, and using low-fat graham crackers to form the crust. 

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• When forming the pie shell, be sure to press the graham cracker mixture down tight enough to prevent it from falling apart when sliced.

• Much credit to the American Heart Association for publishing recipes that show how easy it is to use non-fat powdered milk to create a fluffy, guilt-free chiffon.

This recipe makes one very delicious 9” pie.

Here’s what you’ll need.

For the graham cracker crust: 1 cup low-fat graham cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers); 3 Tbsp sugar; 3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp butter substitute, melted and warm; pinch ground cinnamon; and a pinch ground nutmeg.

For the strawberry topping: ½ cup sugar; juice of ½ lemon; ½ lb. hulled fresh strawberries; pinch dry rosemary; salt; and ½ Tbsp firm-textured butter substitute.

For the strawberry chiffon: 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1/4 ounce); 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and rough-chopped; ½ cup sugar, divided; ½ cup non-fat dry milk; and the juice of one lemon.

For the garnish: shaved white chocolate.

To prepare the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the graham crackers in a food storage bag, squeeze out as much air as possible and, using a rolling pin, crush to a sand-like consistency.

Place the crushed graham crackers in a bowl, add the remaining crust ingredients, and mix well. The finished mixture should have the consistency of wet sand.

Spread the batter out in a 9” pie tin. Press down using your fingers or the flat bottom of a glass. (Reserve any leftover graham cracker mixture for use as a garnish on the finished pie.)

Bake until light brown and firm, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While the pie shell is baking, prepare the strawberry topping as follows:

After placing a small glass plate in the freezer, place ½ cup of sugar and the juice of ½ lemon into a medium saucepan. Mix until combined, then cook over a low heat until the sugar mixture is melted.

Crush ½ pound of hulled strawberries by hand into the saucepan. (Crushing by hand will give the finished topping a lightly chunky texture.) Add a pinch of rosemary, salt, and ½ Tbsp of butter substitute. Cook to a thick but spreadable texture. (You can check the thickness of the cooled liquid by placing a few drops of the hot liquid onto the plate you put in the freezer and letting it cool.) When the topping has the desired texture, set aside to cool until needed.

To make the chiffon filling:

Using a blender or food processor, puree the chopped strawberries completely. (This should make about 3 cups of puree.)

Place a bowl, mixer blades, and 1 cup of the puree in the freezer until very cold.

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of puree to a boil.

Pour into a bowl, add the gelatin and stir.

Add ¼ cup sugar, and stir well. Let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes.

Place the non-fat dry milk and ice-cold puree in a mixing bowl.

Beat on high speed 3-4 minutes, or until soft peaks form.

Add lemon juice and continue beating. Gradually add ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.

Gently mix the cooled gelatin mixture into the beaten dry milk mixture.

To complete and serve the pie:

Pour the filling into pie shell, cover and refrigerate three hours or until firm.

(If there’s leftover chiffon mixture after filling the pie shell, pour it into cups and chill along with the pie until firm. It makes a great dessert treat!)

After the chiffon pie and topping have cooled, gently spread the topping over the chiffon.

If you like, sprinkle some of the leftover graham cracker mixture over the top of the pie. Garnish with shaved white chocolate to serve.

To download a copy of the recipe for Strawberry Lovers’ Strawberry Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Shaved White Chocolate, click HERE.

Wishing you all a great, refreshing start to the summer season!

Please visit again next week for another delightful treat for your cooking and eating pleasure!  Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes

To download a copy of the recipe for Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes, click HERE.

Although last week’s recipe was for a delicious dessert pastry, if there’s one thing I’ve learned while doing this site, it’s that people have a special fondness for sweet treats. This week we’ll do another, a very special cupcake that was inspired by my favorite dessert.

Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes, modeled after lemon meringue pie, not only have a fresh-made pineapple custard as the filling, but also have it incorporated into the cake itself. They’re also topped with a homemade meringue that is lightly browned to get the texture, taste and appearance just right. And if you’re thinking something so good must be terribly difficult to make, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find they’re not at all hard to do.

 Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:

• To address the obvious question, to make lemon meringue cupcakes, just use your favorite lemon pudding instead of making the pineapple pudding.

• When making the meringue, a stand mixer is strongly recommended. Even with the stand mixer’s larger motor, the whisking takes several minutes; doing it with an electric hand mixer will take a good bit longer. (Don’t even think about making the meringue manually with a hand-held whisk. While a whisk can do a good job of beating simple egg whites until they’re fluffy, preparing a meringue requires a lot more whisking power than that.)

• While we’re on the subject of the meringue, anyone who loves lemon meringue pie has sometimes had to endure day-old meringues that are rubbery and tasteless. It’s worth noting that the topping in this recipe, a meringue adapted from Food Network Kitchens’ recipe for Lemon Meringue Frosting, retains its flavor and soft texture even days after being made. I recommend that portion of the recipe also be kept as a useful, stand-alone meringue.

• When filling the cupcake liners and applying the meringue to the cupcakes, putting the filling or meringue in a pastry bag or a plastic food bag with the corner removed can make the task much easier.

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Since we’ll be using the custard both as the filling and as an ingredient in the cake, let’s make that first.

Drain two 8 ounce cans of crushed pineapple in juice well, retaining the juice. Set the pineapple aside.

Dissolve 1 packet (1/4 ounce) of unflavored gelatin (Knox or similar) in the juice.

Put two egg substitute eggs in a bowl. Add 2/3 cup sugar, 1-1/2 Tbsp flour and ¼ tsp salt, and 1/3 cup of skim milk and mix well to combine.

Heat one additional cup of skim milk in a double-boiler.

When the milk is heated, add the egg mixture to it, stirring constantly until thickened into a custard.

Pour the custard into a large bowl, add the gelatin mixture, and let cool thoroughly.

When the custard mixture has cooled, add the pineapple.

Gently fold 1-1/3 cups of fat-free whipped topping. Refrigerate for several hours (overnight is best) until the custard is firm.

Now we’ll make the cupcakes:

Begin preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

 

Blend 7 Tbsp of softened, firm textured butter substitute with 2/3 cup sugar in a bowl. Add 2 egg substitute eggs and mix well.

Sift 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt into the bowl and mix to combine.

Mix in 1 cup of the custard and 1 tsp vanilla.

Put cupcake liners in a cupcake baking pan. Fill each of the cupcake liners 2/3 full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning the tray half-way for even baking. Set aside and let cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the meringue frosting.

In the bowl of a double-boiler, mix 4 large egg whites, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt. Set the bowl onto the double boiler and continue mixing until the mixture is hot and the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat at high speed until the meringue holds stiff peaks. (This will take several minutes.)

To prepare the cupcakes:

Preheat the broiler to high.

Using a small knife, cut a core from the top of each cupcake to make a space for the filling. There should be room to put a generous teaspoon of filling inside the cupcake. Retain the cores.

Fill each cupcake with the custard.

Cut the top off of each core and use it to plug the opening in the cupcake. (Set the rest of the core aside for snacking!)

Cover the top of the cupcake with meringue frosting.

Place the frosted cupcake under the broiler only long enough for the meringue to start to brown, about 2 – 3 minutes.

To download a copy of the recipe for Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes, click HERE.

I think you’ll agree these are not cupcakes-as-usual!

Visit again next week for another tasty, kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)