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IN THE KITCHEN: These pies aren’t made for throwing

By Faith Bahadurian, Special Writer
   These pies are not for throwing!
   But if you’ve got the itch to throw, just show up on Palmer Square Green at 3:14 p.m. March 10 with a willing (hapless) friend for Princeton’s Pi Day pie throwing contest. This is just one of many events that celebrate Einstein’s birthday. There are also pie eating and pie judging events; it’s all on their website at pidayprinceton.com.
   Meanwhile, whatever happened to the old-fashioned cream pie? Banana, chocolate, coconut, we loved them all. Today, they are not part of most modern cook’s repertoire, although some bakeries offer them, including Kingston’s Main Street (a fabulous chocolate cream pie), and the new Dessert Boutique in Skillman that makes mini coconut-cream pies and plans to offer more varieties in spring and summer.
   If you’re going to make pie, any pie, be sure to bake the crust well. The crust was part of the reason I was bowled over by that Main Street pie, which my relatives served at Christmas. With an ultra-creamy dark chocolate filling and real whipped cream topping, that pie got the contrasting crunchy crust it deserved, helped along, the bakery later told me, by a layer of hardened ganache between the graham cracker crust and filling.
   These pies can be made with flaky or cookie crumb crusts, but whichever way you go, be sure to bake it up nice and crisp before adding the filling.
Chocolate Cream Pie
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com
Look online for the King Arthur crust recipe made with butter and shortening, along with step-by-step photos for the filling.
   1 fully baked pie shell, cooled
Filling:
   2 tablespoons unsalted butter
   1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate, chopped
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   2/3 cup granulated sugar
   3 tablespoons cornstarch
   2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
   1/8 teaspoon salt
   1 cup heavy cream, divided
   3 large egg yolks
   2 cups milk
Topping:
   1 cup heavy cream
   ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
   ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
   Place the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract in a 2-quart mixing bowl; set aside.
   In a medium saucepan away from heat, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Whisk in ¼ cup of cold heavy cream until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps. Repeat with another ¼ cup of the cream. Whisk in egg yolks.
   Place saucepan over medium heat, and gradually whisk in remaining ½ cup cream and milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly as the mixture thickens; boil for one minute. Remove pan from heat and pour mixture over reserved chocolate and butter. Whisk until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
   Pass filling through a strainer into a bowl to remove any lumps. Place plastic wrap or buttered parchment paper on the surface to prevent skin from forming, and chill thoroughly.
   For topping, place cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip until whisk begins to leave tracks in the bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and whip until cream holds a medium peak.
   Transfer cooled filling to cooled pie crust. Level top with back of spoon or spatula. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top. Chill well before serving.
Banana Cream Pie
Adapted from
“Jim Fobel’s Old-Fashioned
Baking Book,”
Ballantine (1987)
The recipe calls for meringue topping, but also suggests whipped cream if preferred (use recipe above). And I’ll bet the gingersnap crust below would be delicious here! F.B.
   One single pie crust, flaky or cookie crumb, baked and cooled
Filling:
   ¾ cup granulated sugar
   6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
   ¼ teaspoon salt
   2 cups milk, scalded
   4 egg yolks
   4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, sliced
   1 teaspoon vanilla
   3 large or 4 small bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick
   In a heavy medium-sized saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in hot milk until smooth. Stirring constantly over moderate heat, bring mixture to a boil. Cook one minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Place egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk them as you slowly pour in about 1 cup of hot mixture. Whisk mixture back into saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, to thicken a little more, two-three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla, stirring until butter melts. Cover with a round of waxed paper on surface to prevent skin forming and cool at room temperature 30 minutes.
   Arrange half the banana slices, overlapping slightly, on bottom of crust. Cover with half the filling and top with remaining banana slices. Cover with remaining filling. Place waxed paper on top and cool to room temperature, top with whipped cream topping, and refrigerate two hours.
Coconut Cream Pie
Adapted from
“Down Home with the Neelys,”
foodnetwork.com
Crust:
   30 gingersnap cookies
   ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
   5 tablespoons melted butter
Filling:
   3 cups half-and-half
   2 egg yolks
   ½ cup sugar
   1/3 cup cornstarch
   1 teaspoon pure vanilla
   2 tablespoons butter
   1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
   Whipped cream, for topping
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
   Process gingersnaps in a food processor until fine. Add to a bowl along with the coconut and melted butter; toss until combined. Press firmly to the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan. Bake 10 minutes and let cool completely.
   Add the half-and-half, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla to a round-bottomed saucepan off the heat and whisk together until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch has dissolved. Place on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly while it thickens. Once thick like pudding, remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup coconut.
   Pour thickened mixture into cooled pie shell and refrigerate for two hours or until set. Put remaining ½ cup coconut on a baking sheet and toast in oven for five minutes. Top pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut before serving.
Faith Bahadurian blogs at http://www.packetinsider.com/blog/njspice/ (also www.twitter.com/njspice).