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Great Pies and Tarts, by Carole Walter

© Kimberly Skopitz

Many people consider pie baking to be the most challenging aspect of dessert cooking. Years of boxed cake make us confident (albeit sometimes falsely) to make a cake from scratch. Ice cream makers make that frozen confection nearly foolproof. And cookies are a snap. But a pie...the pre-made crusts at the store can't really match up to the image of flakiness that we know is the benchmark of an excellent homemade crust. However, trying to create one at home is time-consuming and often frustrating experience. And in steps Carole Walter, with her Great Pies and Tarts: With a Primer for Beginners. The first section of the book is devoted to no-nonsense explanations of different types of flours, fats, thickeners, leaveners, etc. Fruit fillings are discussed in depth, along with the way to freeze excess fruit. The second section is the one that will be of most use to the beginner--an absolutely clear description of how to make the most basic of piecrusts, and then how to move on to fancier versions. The third section is a wonderful accumulation of recipes, from the homey to the sophisticated.

Trial by Fire Due to the generosity of one of my husband's friends, we have lately been blessed with an abundance of fresh raspberries and blueberries. So, a summer gathering was the perfect time to try the Double-Crust Blackberry Cobbler (substituting raspberries) and Blueberry Crumb Pie with Warm Blueberry Sauce.

My experience of cobbler has been with a biscuit-style dumpling floating in a stew-like concoction of fruit. Ms. Walter's cobbler is a bit more elaborate, with pie crust layered through layers of sweetened raspberries. It makes a very striking dessert, although I would have preferred perhaps a bit more sweetness. (Raspberries can tend toward the tart)

The Blueberry Crumb Pie has a piecrust bottom and a streusal topping. The real joy of this pie is the huge number of berries in the filling--indeeed, that's all the filling really is, no congealed goopiness here. The warm blueberry syrup adds a nice touch of sweetness for those that desire it, but for my slice, I was happy without it. My crust rather fell apart in the process of transferring it from counter to pan, requiring quite a bit of patching. Despite this small disaster, the flavor was good, and the egg white wash held the crust together and preserved a satisfactory level of flakiness.

If you'd like to try Carole Walter's Lemon Meringue pie recipe, look here:http://www.wor710.com/lemon.htm

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