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10/28/2000 Archived Entry: "Pineapple-Cranberry Deep Dish Pie"

Carole Walter is my personal baking guru, by which I mean that when I don’t have the answer to a baking question or problem, it is to Carole I turn. She always knows. When I was working on the dessert chapter of “Naples at Table” I was calling her constantly. Nowadays, I have been known to call out for Carole on the radio when a listener stumps me with a technical baking problem. Carole comes on the program regularly to answer the tough baking questions, but she also listens to the program when she is in her kitchen in New Jersey developing and testing recipes for the classes she teaches all over the metro area and for her books, so sometimes she can actually get to the phone and call while Food Talk is on the air.

For example, here’s a tip that came up when she was most recently on the air with me. If you find a cake recipe that doesn’t bake through as it should, that remains moist or even leaden in the center or at the bottom, it could be that the sugar hasn’t completely melted. Carole says American granulated sugar isn’t really fine enough for many baking situations. When baking, use superfine sugar instead, or put your sugar in the food processor to make it finer.

Indeed, I just saw an ad for “baking sugar,” a new product meant to address this situation. I suspect (predict) that there will be several brands of “baking sugar” in the supermarkets soon.

The following delectable deep dish pie is also on Carole Walter’s website: www.carolewalter.com. For other fabulously delicious Carole Walter recipes, all with her detailed hand-holding instructions, see her two books Great Cakes and Great Pies and Tarts.By the way, if you are afraid of making pastry – and I have seen grown men cry when confronted with butter and flour and an order to “Mix it and roll it!” – Great Pies and Tarts includes a primer to pastry baking, sort of a book within the book.


Fresh Caramelized Pineapple
and Cranberry Deep Dish Pie

Serves 8 to 10

For flaky pie pastry:
1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup partially frozen unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1/3 cup partially frozen vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
8 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 2 pineapples)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons honey
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (1 12-ounce bag)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated Navel orange zest

For the glaze:
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon water
2 teaspoons sugar

To make the crust:
1. Place the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the basket of a food processor. Pulse to blend. Add half the butter and shortening, tossing to coat with flour. Pulse 4 to 5 times, then process for 5 seconds.

2. Add the remaining fats, pulse 4 to 5 times and process for 4 to 5 seconds or until the crumbs are the size of coarse meal with some pea-size pieces.

3. With the processor OFF, pour the water around the outer edge of the bowl. Pulse 5 times then process for 4 to 6 seconds or until a mass begins to form.

4. With floured hands, form the dough into a rectangle, dust lightly with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

To make the filling:
5. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart, oblong, ovenproof glass baking dish (approximately 7 x 11 x 1 1/2-inches).

6. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saute pan. Add the pineapple, toss with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Saute over medium heat until the juices begin to release. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Remove the cover, increase the heat to medium high and cook until the juices evaporate and the fruit begins to caramelize. Drizzle with the honey, stir to coat and immediately remove from the heat. Add the cranberries to the pineapple.

8. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar with the cornstarch and orange zest. Sprinkle over the fruit and stir gently to distribute the dry ingredients. Empty into the baking dish and distribute the fruit evenly. Dot the top with the remaining butter.

9. On a floured surface, roll the pastry into a rectangle approximately 1 inch wider and longer than the baking dish. Lay the pastry over the fruit, turning the edges under. Finish the edges by crimping them with a fork. Pierce the top of the pastry several times to make steam vents.

To glaze the pie:
10.Make an egg wash by lightly beating the egg white and water together. Brush the pastry lightly with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling. Serve warm with French vanilla ice cream.