“Pies by Pro” is the title assigned to the article I wrote about Vivenne Pro for the Lawreance magazine. While it is so fitting, it also lays claim to an amazing accomplishment by 13-year-old Viv. The magazine article tells her story and her connection to a famous New York pie shop. A digital edition of the magazine is available at https://issuu.com/sunflower_publishing/docs/lm23sp; Viv’s story is on pages 20-23.
Although recipes were not included in the magazine article, I did receive permission to use them from Petra “Petee” Paredez, owner of Petee’s Pie Shop and author of “Pie For Everyone. ” Petra’s book was published in 2022 by Abrams, The Art of Books, New York.
Viv's Coffee Cream Pie.
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| Professional photographer taking photos for the article layout. |
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| Page from the magazine. |
Petra's Pastry Dough Makes two 9-inch (23-cm) pie crusts
Viv substitutes all-purpose flour for the whole wheat but otherwise follows Petra’s descriptive and detailed directions as written.
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water
2 1/4 loosely filled cups (280 g) whole-wheat or graham flour (Viv uses all-purpose)
1 cup (2 sticks / 225 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) pieces
Extra flour, for rolling
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Stir the sugar, salt, and water together in a small bowl until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved. Place the bowl in the freezer—the liquid needs to be ice cold before it is added to the dough.
2. Put the flour in a large bowl and dump the butter into the flour. Toss to coat the pieces of fat in the flour. Working quickly, use your thumbs and index fingers to squeeze each chunk of fat into a thin sheet, between1/8 and 1/4 inch (3 and 6 mm) thick. Shake the contents of the bowl to ensure the sheets are well coated with flour.
3. Sprinkle the ice-cold sugar-salt solution over the fat and flour.
4. Use your fingers to lightly toss the contents of the bowl around to disperse the liquid.
5. Squeeze the shaggy mess with your fists, repeatedly and quickly, until the chunks get bigger and more cohesive. At first it will be crumbly and seem as if it won’t come together but with continued compression, you can begin to make two mounds of dough of roughly equal size.
6. Flatten your mounds into 1-inch (2.5 cm-) thick disks.
7. Prepare a clean, dry nonporous surface by sprinkling it with flour. Place a disk of dough on top of the floured surface and sprinkle it with a little more flour. Place your rolling pin in the center of the dough and roll away from yourself with firm, even pressure, but not enough force to squish the dough. As you approach the edge of the dough, use a little less pressure so that it doesn't become too thin on the edges.
8. Rotate the dough about 45 degrees. Place the rolling pin at the center of the disk and roll away from yourself once again.
9. Continue to rotate and roll, adding more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface and/or the rolling pin, until you’ve rolled the dough to approximately 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. If the dough start to split on the edges, you can gently press it back together before continuing to roll it our. The finished sheet of dough should be roughly 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter.
10. Transfer the sheet of dough into a pie pan, centering it so that you have at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of extra dough all the way around the edges of the pan. While transferring, support the dough with your fingers spread out, in order to distribute the weight and prevent breakage.
11. Once the sheet of dough is in the pan, ease it into the corner where the base of the pan meets the sides. In order to do this without stretching or breaking the dough, lift the edge of the dough with one hand to allow it to fall into place while gently pressing it into the corner with the other.
12. Either keep a simple edge or crimp the crust.
Since this pie crust is being used for a cream pie, Viv uses Peta’s pie weight method to blind bake the crust:
To Blind Bake Crust
13. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
14. Line the pie shell with a circle of parchment paper. Add dry beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights to reach about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the crust.
15. Bake the shell for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the pie weights and parchment paper. If you made a crimped edge, gently cover it with a strip of aluminum foil or a pie crust protector. Put the shell bake in the oven and bake for 15 minutes more to fully bake the bottom of the crust.
Petra's Coffee Cream Pie Makes one 9-inch (23-cm) pie
In her book Petra explains the origin of this filling, “I set out to re-create the flavor of coffee ice cream in the form of a pie.” Viv and her family agree that she succeeded.
INGREDIENTS
For the coffee pudding and assembly:
2/3 cup (135 g) sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup (165 ml) heavy cram
2/3 cup (165 ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bottom crust, blind-baked
For the coffee whipped cream:
1/3 cup (40 g) confectioners’ sugar
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the coffee pudding and assemble the pie:
1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk in the egg and egg yolks to form a paste. Gradually whisk in the cream, then whisk in the milk.
2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until you feel the pudding start to thicken on the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and trade your whisk for a rubber spatula. Continue stirring with the spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan to prevent burning. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the pudding has bubbled for about 2 minutes and has thickened. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, stirring until smooth.
3. Pour the hot pudding into the blind-baked crust, making sure to scrape the entire contents from the sides of the pan into the pie. Use the spatula to ease the pudding up the sides of the shell, leaving about 1/2 inch (12 mm) of the crust exposed on the outer edge.
4. Place in the fridge and chill the pie for at least 1 hour, or until the surface of the pudding is cool to the touch.
Make the coffee whipped cream:
5. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, then whisk in the espresso powder and salt. Pour in the heavy cream and vanilla. Using the whisk attachment or a hand-held mixer, beat on high until the cream is voluminous and can still hold its shape but is smooth.
6. Transfer the coffee whipped cream to a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe dollops onto the pudding, starting at the outer edge and working your way to the center. (Viv uses a simplified method: “I use a spatula to plop the whipped cream on the pie and then smooth it over the filling.”)
7. Put the pie in the fridge for another 3 hours to cool completely before serving.
8. prinkle very lightly with cinnamon just before serving.
The pie is best eaten the same day but it will keep for up to 3 days, covered, in the fridge.
