Soft Pie Lab

Pie Crust

1 Cup of Flour
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/3 Cups of chilled lard
2-3 Tablespoons of cold water

Pudding filling

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter/margarine

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue

3-4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

6 tablespoons sugar

The first step to making the pudding pie was to make the pie crust, which I did at the same time as the crust for my quiche. I mixed together the flour and salt and then cut in the lard with a pastry blender until it was small pea shaped balls. I then incorporated the water using a fork to moisten it. After the crust was made I rolled it out on a pastry sheet and using a rolling pin with a cloth covering I rolled it until it was very thin and then moved it into the pie pan and cut the edges to the right length and folded them under and crimped the crust using my thumb, pointer and index finger to form the edges of the crust. I then poked holes in the bottom of the crust (to prevent bubble from forming) and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, checking after 2 minutes to make sure the crust was not forming air bubbles. It was not. 

The next step in making the pie is to make the vanilla pudding. To make this you start off by separating the egg yolks from the whites and beating the yolks slightly. The whites should be saved to be used in the meringue later in this lab. Next I combined the sugar, salt and corn starch in a saucepan. You want to make sure that these dry ingredients are mixed so that when you add the milk the corn starch doesn't react wrong. Next I added the milk and heated the saucepan. I had to make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan constantly so that the pan doesn't scorch. I cooked this mixture until it was thick and bubbly. If you don't wait long enough for it to thicken it will come out runny when the pie is done. Once the mixture is thick and bubbly I turned the heat down a bit and mixed it for about two more minutes and then took one cup of the hot mixture and used it to temper the egg yolks. I did this by gradually pouring in the hot mixture to the yolks and stirring them quickly the whole time. This method prevents the eggs from scrambling, which is what would happen if you poured them straight into the hot mixture. After tempering the eggs I poured them into the mixture and continued to stir. I then stirred and waited for the mixture to come to a gentle boil, once boiling I mixed for another two minutes and removed the mixture from the heat. I then stirred in the butter and vanilla. After the butter and vanilla were fully incorporated into the mixture I poured the pudding into the pie crust that I made at the beginning of this lab. Set this aside for later. 

The last thing that needs to be made for this lab is the meringue. I took the egg whites from the 4 eggs that I used to make the pudding and put it in the KitchenAid mixer and using the whist attachment mixed them until they were frothy. I then added the vanilla and cream of tarter and continued to beat the mixture until it formed soft peaks. I then slowly incorporated the sugar and continued to beat the mixture on high until it formed stiff peaks. I then spread this mixture onto the pudding that I had just made and put it all into the oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. I checked the mixture at 8, 10 and 12 minutes and it wasn't until 14 minutes that the meringue was finally golden brown.

The end results of my pie were okay. I think that I didn't leave the pudding to cook long enough in the first stage and because of that it turned out somewhat runny. Besides this the pie had good texture, it was light and creamy and the pudding had a taste somewhat like tapioca pudding without the lumps. The meringue was very good vanilla tasting and had a fluffy texture. Overall I would say this lab went well for it being the first time I had made it and is something I would recommend to people who are looking for a nice dessert dish.