My mid-Atlantic pals are all hunkered down awaiting Sandy’s onslaught, battening the hatches, roasting whole turkeys, and guzzling liquor in equal measure. Some of them are camped out on the first floors of their houses, and most of them are apparently wearing short shorts, watching SVU, and playing Scrabble. I’m not envious, but I would a little bit love to be home stuffing my face and playing Celebrity with all my buds; I miss you, dudes, and wish you much safety! Up in our neck of the woods, preparations have included anchoring the barn, sheltering the baby goats from the wind, and burning the shit out of our emergency ration of molasses gingerbread (dang it)--our straits are none too dire. If the power goes out here, the Victrola will go on marathon-play, and we’ll battle out Trivial Pursuit in front of the wood-fired stove. All in all a homey prospect that Dave likens to “summer camp.”
This salty honey pie from last week’s snatch of Sunday free time has little to do with the storm, though it could make a tasty hurricane snack if you’ve got the power and time. It hails from Four & Twenty Blackbirds, a pie shop in Brooklyn that I’ve long been meaning to check out (and finally will in December!). My ol’ Tartner in crime, Emily H. of Nothing-in-the-House, whipped this up in tart form a few times back in February, but it somehow eluded my fork until last week. Daniel, our latest WWOOFer, is a certifiable honey addict who eats the stuff by the heaping spoonful; I’ve never seen a person be so into honey. Couple that with Scott, a salt hobbyist with a preference for the fancy stuff, and this place houses the perfect audience (and ingredients) for this salty-sweet goodness. I was expecting a seriously gooey filling, but it bakes up like a crunchier custard with a deep honey flavor. The only thing we were missing was whipped cream!
Mood lighting.
If you’re interested in reading more about the sisters behind this recipe and the pie shop, give a gander to this interview that Emily did with them, and then go make the pie. Stay safe, y'all. The goats and I are thinking of you.
Salty Honey Pie
Adapted from Melissa and Emily Elsen, via Nothing-in-the-House
The original recipe calls for prebaking the crust, but we were all out of foil and parchment paper at the time, so I skipped that step as did Emily. It worked out great!
The original recipe calls for prebaking the crust, but we were all out of foil and parchment paper at the time, so I skipped that step as did Emily. It worked out great!
For Filling
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
3/4 cup good-quality honey
2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla paste (I used 1 teaspoon vanilla extract instead)
3 eggs, whisked to blend
1/2 cup cream
1 to 2 tablespoons flaky sea salt for finishing (pink Himalayan!)
1. Roll out pie dough (recipe below!) to a 12-inch circle and line a nine-inch pie plate with it. Roll edges under, crimp as you please, and toss it in the freezer while you ready the filling.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter with the sugar, salt, and cornmeal to make a thick paste. Add the honey, vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, then add the cream and blend.
3. Pour the filling into the frozen pie shell and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 60 minutes; rotate pie halfway through baking. The filling will puff up, and it should be wobbly in the middle and firm around the edges. Cool pie for at least an hour (I’d actually recommend longer; this pie was best at room temperature), and finish with a layer of sea salt; I found that one tablespoon was about right. Slice and serve with freshly whipped cream!
Pie Dough
By way of Apt. 2B Baking Co. and Brandi Henderson
Makes enough for two, but you’ll only need one for this recipe. Feel free to substitute in your favorite crust recipe instead!
12 ounces pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
8 ounces (two sticks) very cold butter
4 to 6 ounces ice water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1. On a clean counter, dump your flour and salt; mix it around with a bench scraper. Chop one stick of butter into quarters, and cut it into the four with your bench scraper. When butter is about the size of lima beans, cut in the second stick, pulling, folding, and tossing with the bench scraper as you go, until the butter is about the size of quarters. Add the vinegar to the ice water.
2. Using your fingers, flick the water onto the butter-flour mixture, gently folding with the bench scraper all the while. You have added enough water once the mixture holds together when squeezed; it should be very shaggy.
3. Next, push the butter into the flour. Using the heel of your palm, push a small section of the dough down and away from you; this creates long layers of butter in your dough, which translates to long flaky layers in your crust. Use your bench scraper to scrape up the smear, and put it a bowl. Repeat until all the dough has been smeared and you have a bowlful of long, buttery layers. Push these into one mass, divide in half, wrap each in plastic, flatten into disks, and chill at least two hours, or better yet overnight.
