Many people like baking. It can be served as a main course or dessert, including a festive table. And if you make unusual pies, it will certainly be appreciated by the guests. In this case, originality can be achieved through various combinations of components, the type of dough or the shape of the finished product. Some interesting options for such pies are presented below.
Option with apples
Apple baking is always very popular, as it is inexpensive and simple. But what if you mix these fruits with brie cheese? You get an unusual apple pie with a delicate taste. To cook it, you will need:
- a packet of frozen shortcrust pastry;
- 5-6 large apples with a removed core, but unpeeled, coarsely chopped;
- a quarter cup of honey + a little extra to water the pie;
- juice of half a lemon (about 1 tbsp. l.);
- a quarter cup of dark brown sugar;
- 1 tbsp. l flour;
- 1 tbsp. l ground coriander;
- 1 tbsp. l ground cinnamon;
- a pinch of cayenne pepper;
- 230 grams of creamy brie cheese, sliced into thin slices (leave a white crust);
- 1 egg white, whipped;
- granulated sugar for sprinkling.
How to do it?
Divide the dough into two parts. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour or overnight. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Then proceed to the preparation of the filling of an unusual apple pie.
In a large bowl, mix apples with honey, lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Roll a thin layer from one part of the dough and transfer it to a round shape using a rolling pin. Press it to the bottom and walls of the mold to arrange a place for the filler. Fill it with half the apple filling. Be sure to use a slotted spoon to prevent this from adding too much fluid. Cover the filling with brie slices. Add the remaining apple mixture and cover with cheese again. Roll out the remaining dough and lay on top of the filling, pinching the edges to seal the base.
Lubricate the top of this unusual cake with a thin layer of egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Make a few punctures on the surface of the product so that the steam created by apples can escape during cooking. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If the cake starts to burn on top and remains moist inside, cover it with foil.
Basket-shaped gift cake
As an edible gift, delicious and unusual pies can be used. The recipe for a delicious product of this type is presented below. Its filling consists of raspberry soufflé and fresh berries. A special feature of this dessert is the shape of a gift box or basket. You can make a base or filling for it in advance and continue cooking the next day. To make this pie of unusual shape, you will need the following.
For raspberry souffle:
- 3 cups raspberries;
- half a glass of sugar;
- 1 tsp lemon zest;
- 2 tbsp. l lemon juice;
- 2 tbsp. l water;
- 2 large egg yolks;
- 2 dining rooms plus 2 teaspoons corn starch;
- 1/8 tsp salts;
- 1 tbsp. l chilled unsalted butter, diced.
For the test:
- 1.25 cups flour;
- a quarter cup of chopped almonds, toasted;
- a quarter cup of sugar;
- 1/4 tsp salts;
- 7 tbsp. l unsalted butter.
For decoration:
- a glass of raspberries;
- lemon peel shavings (optional).
Cooking an edible gift.
To make soufflé, mix raspberries, sugar, zest, lemon juice and water in a saucepan over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes. Place in a food processor or blender, whisk until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and remove solid particles.
Rinse the pan and return the filtered mass to it. Beat the yolks and corn starch in a small bowl until smooth. Pour this mixture into the raspberry mass, bring to a boil over low heat. Cook for a minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Add salt and oil gradually, stirring until smooth. Transfer the souffle to a medium bowl, cover with cling film, pressing it directly to the surface of the product to prevent crusting. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
How to make a base from dough
To make the dough, preheat the oven to 190 ° C and spray the inside of the silicone basket-shaped mold with oil. Beat flour, chopped almonds, sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Fry the butter in a thick-bottomed pan over a low heat, stirring constantly, until it foams and becomes dark brown. It takes about six minutes. Add brown butter to the flour mixture and stir until fully combined. Spread the dough evenly on the bottom and walls of the mold. Bake for 25 minutes until the product turns slightly golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. If you prepared the base the day before assembling this unusual cake, carefully cover it with foil.
To make dessert, fill the base with chilled raspberry soufflé. Smooth its surface with a pastry shovel. Spread raspberry berries evenly over the top of the pie. Refrigerate two hours before serving.
Exotic fruit tart
As you can see in the photo below, an unusual cake with exotic fruits looks amazingly beautiful. Fragrant mangoes and juicy pitahayas create a real sweet masterpiece. To make it yourself, you will need:
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour;
- 3 tbsp. l Sahara;
- a pinch of salt;
- half a glass of cold unsalted butter, diced;
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. l ice water.
For filling:
- 1 vanilla pod or a bag of vanillin;
- one and a half glasses of milk;
- half a glass of sugar;
- a quarter cup of all-purpose flour;
- 1 egg
For registration:
- 1 ripe mango;
- 1 pitahaya;
- a quarter cup apricot jelly melted.
Cooking Exotic Dessert
This recipe for an unusual pie is very simple. In a bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add oil gradually and beat each time for several seconds until the mixture becomes like small peas. Add the egg and water. Beat again until a uniform dough begins to form. Add water if necessary. Take the dough out of the food processor and shape the ball with your hands.
On a floured surface, roll it into a layer and place it in a round baking dish with a removable bottom and high edges. In several places pierce the dough with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place the dough pan on the lowest rack of the oven, preheated to 200 ° C. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the base turns golden brown. Allow the workpiece to cool.
How to make the filling?
Prepare the filling at this time. Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds with the tip of a knife. In a saucepan, gently heat the milk with vanilla seeds and pod until it becomes hot. In another mix sugar and flour, beat with an egg until smooth. Gradually pour this mixture into the hot milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, constantly whisking, be sure to clean the bottom and walls of the pan. Warm up for 1-2 minutes over low heat. Remove the vanilla pod. If you are using vanilla powder, add it at this point. Place the cling film directly on the surface of the cream. Allow to cool, then allow to cool for about 2 hours.
How to make a dessert?
Peel the mango. Cut the fruit in half along the seed and thinly cut into slices. Cleanse the pitahaya, trying to leave the pink part that is under the skin. Thinly cut along. Set aside.
Spread the chilled butter cream over the base. Garnish with fruit, alternating slices of mango and pitahaya. Brush melted apricot jelly. Refrigerate for about an hour. Remove from the mold right before serving.
Irish Fish Pie
This is a pie from an unusual dough. Its distinctive feature is that it does not mix with flour, but consists of mashed potatoes. However, this Irish national dish is called pie. To cook it, you will need:
- 300 grams of fresh cod;
- 300 grams of large shrimp, peeled;
- 300 grams of peeled scallops;
- 6 tbsp. l unsalted butter, at room temperature;
- 1 chopped onion;
- 2 cups whole milk;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 2 fresh sprigs of thyme;
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;
- 2 tbsp. l universal flour;
- a quarter cup of chopped fresh green onions;
- 2 cups mashed potatoes.
How to make Irish pie?
Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Put it in a large pot and add cool water to completely cover all the pieces. Heat over low heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a minimum to maintain a soft boil, and cook until the potatoes are completely soft. It takes about 15 minutes. Drain, leaving approximately 2 tablespoons. To get a perfectly smoothie, pass the potatoes through a meat grinder, and then mash with a special rolling pin. Add a little reserved liquid if the mass is too thick. Cool the cooked puree completely.
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C in advance. Cut the cod into 3 cm pieces. Peel the scallops from the pieces of the shell. Melt 2 tbsp. l butter in a medium frying pan over low heat. Add the onions and fry, stirring, until transparent and soft for about five minutes. Pour milk into a saucepan and add bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Bring to a small boil, stirring frequently, salt.
Cook each seafood separately. Put the cod in boiling milk and cook until the fish is soft, 1-2 minutes. Put it with a slotted spoon on a plate, add scallops to the same pan and boil for 30 seconds. Remove them and put shrimp in milk, cook them for one minute. Mash mashed cod with a fork or hands. Season with pepper and salt.
In a small bowl, rub 2 tbsp. l butter with flour. Mix with milk, in which fish and seafood were prepared, removing bay leaves and greens from it. Heat over low heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour the resulting sauce onto fish and seafood. Add the onion and mix everything.
Oil a baking dish and cover its bottom and walls with an even layer of mashed potatoes, squeezing it tightly with a spoon. In the middle, place the fish and seafood in the sauce. Spread the remaining puree on top. Bake this unusual pie for 15 minutes.