Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pinch, punch, first of the month :-) Now we are only THREE little months away from the contest! EEK! But don't worry, testing has begun. (And proved why testing is a crucial part of good baking in the  process)

So I tested that amazing looking faux cinnamon bun crust recipe and found a flaw.  In the original recipe, she rolled the dough, cut it, pressed it into the pan & baked it with the filling inside it raw. No blind bake.  Well, it was a Tuesday night and I was getting antsy to actually MAKE something toward the pie contest, but as I ran out of daylight quickly on a work night it became obvious I couldn't do a full pie recipe unless I wanted to look like a raccoon the next day with no sleep.  Then an always helpful call to my mother inspired just a blink bake of the crust. Yea, a test to see if this cool crust actually bakes properly. Other recipes call for blind baking of the crust.  I am leaning toward a custard filling for this pie and I always blind bake my crust for custard pies. It makes for a better 'chew' as they say so lets try it, right?   As you can see it pressed in just fine, looks adorable! Into the oven with it!
 EKKKK!! It shrank. I made little teeny tiny individual flat cinnamon rolls.  While positively adorable, not useful. Nope, not gonna work like this at all.  

See all the gaps in the top picture, that's the bottom of the pan.  Lesson learned - you must overlap at least a little of the mini rolls for full coverage. If you're blind baking, that is.  I may try it again without blind baking and see if it bakes through.  But I really prefer a pre-baked crust, so maybe not. But you're free to try if you are making something that doesn't call for pre-baking. 

Hey, sounds like my first blogger challenge - Please let me know how it comes out by commenting on this post and there is a freebie present in order!!

This weekend - onto the filling!!! I'll make a whole pie this time, promise. Good luck on the crust challenge! :-)

 ~ Dance like no one is watching. Bake like you'll never gain an ounce. ~ Rachel

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