Champion baker Ellen McFarland gently guides three nervous novices as they make the perfect pumpkin pie.
By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 2, 2005
[Times photos: Scott Keeler]
Dana O’Neil, left, and teacher Ellen McFarland share a giddy moment while making a pie crust in O’Neil’s Tarpon Springs kitchen. O’Neil and her husband, newcomers to Florida, will spend their first Thanksgiving away from relatives in Alabama.
It looks easy to flute a pie crust when McFarland does it.
A cinnamon-pecan streusel is sprinkled on top of a rich pumpkin pie during the last 10 minutes of baking. The finished product is called Pumpkin Pie with Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel.
COURSE: Perfecting Pumpkin Pie
INSTRUCTOR: Ellen McFarland, 56, Clearwater, Florida State Fair baking champion who bills herself and her business Creative Homemaker for Hire. For more information, call (727) 533-9401.
STUDENTS: Elizabeth Banny, 41, St. Petersburg, real estate investor.
Dana O'Neil, 34, Tarpon Springs, works in training and development for Saks Inc.
Maralijn Robertson, 31, Tampa, stay-at-home mom.
Upcoming at Wishbone U.
Nov. 9: Mashed potatoes and corn bread stuffing
Nov. 16: Roast turkey and gravy
TARPON SPRINGS - Pie crust is confounding, and not just because it takes a certain acumen to roll it into just the right size and shape.
There are many ways to make homemade crust, and with some recipes touting their "No Fail Crust," it's all the more disappointing when efforts fizzle.
We're happy to report that Wishbone University students passed their pumpkin pie class with honors, thanks to teacher Ellen McFarland, a Florida State Fair baking champion.
In September, we asked readers to share their Thanksgiving cooking woes. Those with the most compelling cases were matched with accomplished home cooks to learn the art of the Thanksgiving meal.
Maralijn Robertson is a native of the Netherlands and has always celebrated this very American holiday with her mother-in-law, who has moved to Kentucky. Elizabeth Banny of St. Petersburg and her husband usually dine with friends, but he is recovering from a bone marrow transplant and can't be exposed to a lot of people. Dana O'Neil and her husband, newcomers to Florida, will spend their first Thanksgiving away from relatives in Alabama.
"This Thanksgiving I want to make dessert, but not just any dessert. I want to make THE DESSERT; the one that will be talked about for Thanksgivings to come," O'Neil wrote. Enter McFarland and her Pumpkin Pie With Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel.
In one three-hour session, she taught our three hapless bakers to make a pie with flavor and flourish. And, no, it wasn't low-fat or low-carb, but an honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned, high-calorie dessert.
Quite possibly, THE DESSERT. The crust was flaky, and a secret ingredient - hazelnut-flavored coffee creamer - provided another flavor note in the filling. The crunchy pecan topping elevated humble pie into big-time celebratory fare. The whipped cream topping was dotted with cinnamon chocolate chips.
As they worked their dough on counters in O'Neil's expansive kitchen, McFarland dispensed tips and reassurance. She rescued ragged, dry and too-thick dough, transforming it into something that might have come out of Aunt Bee's kitchen.
Of the butter vs. Crisco debate, McFarland is in the Crisco camp. Some bakers use water in their crust; she uses ice-cold milk. Don't use cake, bread or self-rising flour, she tells the students. Use all-purpose.
Banny plays horrified by the crust ingredients. "It's all fat," she says.
Thus the yummy flavor, McFarland reminds her.
More tips from McFarland for homemade crusts:
- Use the best ingredients you can afford. Inferior ingredients yield lesser results.
- Measure correctly. When baking, a little more of that and a lot less of this can affect the outcome, and not for the better.
- Follow a recipe until you've gained enough experience to know how to experiment.
- The colder the butter/shortening and milk are, the better the results. "I was never conscious of temperatures before," says O'Neil, who unsuccessfully worked her dough on a counter made warm by the dishwasher.
- Learn what the dough should look like at every step. When the fat is sufficiently cut into the flour, it resembles large peas. When dough is rolled, you will see small pockets of fat. These burst in the hot oven, creating a flaky crust.
- To mix flour, fat and liquid, use a fork, pastry blender or fingers. McFarland likes the control from bare hands. Be gentle and mix just until peas form and the mixture can be pulled together into a ball. Overworked dough becomes tough and dry.
- Pat the dough into a disk and chill for about 20 minutes. This firms the fat that's slightly melted by warm hands.
- Flour the counter and rolling pin.
- Roll "inside out." Start in the middle and roll toward the edge. Never roll repeatedly back and forth, which grinds dough into the counter and makes it difficult to pick up. After each roll, turn the dough one-quarter. This keeps the shape round.
- To transfer dough to pie plate, roll it around the pin and then unroll into pan.
At this point, novice bakers often panic when they see the ragged dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate. Trim off all but an inch, and then tuck that extra bit under to make a double layer of dough. This will become a gorgeous fluted edge.
Yeah, right, say the students. This is where the whole thing goes disastrously wrong.
Not at Wishbone U.
McFarland amazes her students by quickly pressing the double dough into a 1-inch high wall. Even more swiftly, she gently pushes index finger against soft dough to make a ruffled edge. With a bit of coaxing, the trio follow with results just as lovely.
"I am going to take a picture of my pie to send to my grandma," O'Neil says. That's the same grandmother who has a recipe for No Fail Pie Crust in a community cookbook called Boot Scootin' Recipes.
For these graduates of Wishbone U., "fail" isn't in their vocabulary anymore. At least not when it comes to pumpkin pie.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On low speed of a mixer, thoroughly blend pureed pumpkin, eggs, sugars, salt and spices. Then incorporate whipping cream and coffee creamer.
Pour into prepared pie crust.
Bake for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 (keep door of oven slightly ajar until temperature goes down, then close again).
Bake pie for another 35 to 40 minutes. If crust begins to brown, protect with foil strips. While pie is baking, make cinnamon-pecan streusel. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until chunky mixture forms.
Remove pie from oven and sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over top. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until center of pie is set. It may jiggle slightly but it should not appear wet.
Cool pie to room temperature and refrigerate. It will firm more as it cools. Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon chips.
Source: Ellen McFarland.
Flaky Pie Crust
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco shortening, cut into small pieces
3 to 5 tablespoons cold milk
Combine flour, sugar and salt and spices in large bowl. Mix well. Add butter-flavored shortening and cut into flour mixture until it resembles large peas.
Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding, if necessary, additional milk. Dough should not be wet, just moist enough to hold together.
Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes or up to four days.
Make sure rolling surface and pin are well floured. Roll into 10-inch round and lay in pie pan. Cook according to pie recipe.
