Team Gleeks proved that looks do count, especially when your pie’s showing off glistening, ripe berries atop a fluffy custard cloud…a feast for the eyes before it all disappears into your digestive tract! For a mini-treat that looks as good as it tastes, you gotta try these Rachel Berry pies. Continue reading recipe…
Rachel Berry Pie
by Gleeks
This recipe should be enough to make 24 mini pies.
Pastry Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. In a separate small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork and gradually add to the butter and sugar and beat until just incorporated. Add the flour and salt all at once and stir until the mixture forms a ball. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the dough is chilled, divide it into quarters for easier handling. Roll out onto a floured surface until about 1/8″ thick. Don’t roll them too thin or the sides will collapse while baking and the whole thing will brown too fast. Cut into 3″ circles and press into a paper lined cupcake tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.
Almond Custard:
2 egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
In a saucepan, warm the cream over medium-low heat. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cornstarch, and almond extract and stir to combine. When the cream begins to lightly simmer, gradually pour half the cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the cream and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and cover with plastic directly on the surface of the custard before chilling.
Toppings:
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup cream
strawberries, blackberries, blueberries
shaved almonds
Whip the cream with the honey until soft or stiff peaks form (your preference). Refrigerate until ready to use. Prepare fruit by washing the berries and halving/quartering the strawberries.
To assemble the pies, start by filling the crusts with the almond custard. Load them with any combination of fruits you want (for the contest, we used 1/4 strawberry, 1-2 bueberries, and 1 blackberry). Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of shaved almonds.