The Bread is in the Baking

So I'm going to let you in on a secret: I've made pie crust from scratch maybe twice. And I work in a pie cart. WHAT'S WITH THAT?
First off, my main job in the pie cart is helping roll out crust and assemble the pies. I also help with making the savory pie filling sometimes and cutting up fruit and veggies. But my boss always comes into the cart with dough already made, so I still don't know how to make the amazing flaky crust he's got.
I always thought making pies didn't take any skill. What's the big deal? You make some dough, roll it out, cut up some fruit throw it in the crust, pop it in the oven. But I realized that yes, this is all easy except for one thing. The crust.
Bad pie crust is the worst. It either just falls apart or is really chewy. You need something in between and it also needs to have a good flavor all of it's own.

Well, after scouring the internet I found out a way to make some pretty damn good flaky crust.
Instead of using cold water use hard alcohol. Since the alcohol evaporates more than water does your crust becomes flakier, but still holds together.

After looking at some different recipes I mashed a couple together to make the dough and then used my own knowledge on what tastes good together (and what was in my kitchen) for the filling.


Vanilla Peach Gallete

For the pastry dough:

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 ounces cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons vodka (I’m going to assume that the more expensive you use the less alcohol-y your crust will taste)

For the fruit filling:

4 peaches, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
the juice of 1/4 of a lemon

1 egg (for an egg wash)

Place a rimmed baking sheet onto the center rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 400º.

To make the pastry dough, add the flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar to a deep bowl; whisk to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over flour mixture and use your fingers to cut in the butter (this can alternately be done in a food processor). Sprinkle the vodka over the butter-flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough forms a ball, pat the ball down into an even disk. Wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
After you've peeled and cut up the peaches, In a bowl toss them with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon juice. Place the now cold dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, dust the top of the dough with more flour and place another piece of parchment paper on top. roll the dough out, peeling the parchment paper off the dough and flipping after every couple of rolls until you have a 16-inch circle. Place the dough and the bottom piece of the parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Carefully place the fruit into the center of the dough leaving the excess juice behind. Fold the dough border up and over to cover the fruit, forming a crust. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until pastry is a deep golden and the fruit is bubbling in the center. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Total Time: About 2 1/2 hours

I just want to start this out by recognizing the food blog I got this recipe from: Smitten Kitchen. If you've never checked out this blog, go look at it.

Right now.

Okay, now to the cake. This is a really wonderful rich chocolate cake. The wine makes the cake light and fluffy while also giving it a bit more depth. I love it. I made it for one of my close friends for her birthday and I just doubled the recipe so I can make a layer cake for a joint birthday party some other friends of mine are having tonight. It's also the perfect 21st birthday cake, cause it's got alcohol in it, but it's still really luxurious, so it's not one of those cakes that slaps you across the face, screaming "ALCOHOL" at you. Make sense?

Chocolate Wine Cake

Cake
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (179 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (177 ml) red wine, any kind you like (being a college student, the three buck chuck from Trader Joe's worked just fine)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (133 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, and either butter and lightly flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat well, then the red wine and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until 3/4 combined, then fold the rest together with a rubber spatula. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then flip out of pan and cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack. This cake keeps well at room temperature or in the fridge. It looks pretty dusted with powdered sugar.