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Topic #528
Do you prefer pie or cake? Have you ever included either in your writing?
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Have you ever watched the television series Supernatural (2005)? Those closest to me see a notable similarity between me and the character Dean Winchester. If you know the series and that character you know my answer to this question. Also, if you do a search of the recipes on this site, you’ll get a clue by what is missing from the question.
Now, let me let you in on a little bit of my life here.
Every year, about half way through, my birthday comes up. If you’re like me, you’re want a sweet treat to go along with it. My mom is a great cook and baker, and I love to see what she can manage to create with those skills. I swear to this day, she should have had her own restaurant. It would have been a lot of work, though, and probably where I’d be right now had she gone ahead with it. Not a bad thing! I follow in her shoes. Cooking is fun and an art.
When my birthday comes up, so does a round of deciding what kind of cake I want (or sweet treat). As a person who watches everything they eat to maintain their health and not fall down the cliff face of type 2 diabetes that I am genetically predisposed for apparently, this is a hard task. Sugar is an enemy! Cake only happens rarely. If I am going to put it in my face, it is going to be well worth the calories and sugar.
Pinterest used to provide me a means to track and think about this event. I’d find all kinds of delicious recipes that veered far off from the usual birthday cake. It wouldn’t do to just have birthday cake. Oh, no. I’m avoiding ill health and not being able to do this in the future, so it will count big time. Think more like Disney Food and Wine festival levels of cakes. Hand me a slice of marble with Crisco based frosting and I will be miserable!
No, I won’t have just any sweet treat. Thank you. This is serious business. Just like I have a specific drink for each meal (no, not alcohol, but wine or a beer may be on deck depending on what it is). Pairings and taste matter immensely to me. I told you I should be the restaurant arena!
That’s not the only Sweet Treat on the Table.
From time to time, I’ll opt for a pie instead of a cake for my birthday sweet treat. One year, I got a peanut butter pie. It was amazing! Why waste your day with something that is just average? It’s your birthday. Treat yourself!
I haven’t met a pie I didn’t like, in theory. The execution of said pie, however, is what brings it into question. Like above, the crust will matter. I can’t stand a crust that is clearly made with just vegetable shortening. Often, you will find this in premade and store bought pies. They remain fresh longer, but taste and texture is more like oily sand. If you introduce animal product like butter and lard, the shelf time is limited immensely. They must be refrigerated. The taste and texture is flaky and salty, providing the perfect stage for the filling.
Lard and butter included in the recipe make for the best piecrust. My preferred is a butter crust at the top of the list. The butter crusts often make use of shortening, but it isn’t so much it destroys the flavor and makes it greasy sand or weird dough leather. Lard is a good ingredient and ranks second for me. In a meat pie, lard would be top. It is what it is. Pairings matter.
The crust can make or break a this sweet treat, just like a crappy icing can destroy a good cake. Nothing is worse than ordering butter cream and it’s just whipped shortening. Look, we can tell. So stop it. I don’t care it’s what you grew up with. There is better. When feeding others, always do better. And now, I’m reminded of terrible chocolate chip cookies from coworkers, all dry and weird. Or fast food versions that cheapen the recipe with shortening. Argh, shortening…I know you didn’t use butter. Why am I wasting my slim amount of calories on this? (Vegans and those with allergies exempt.)
Moving right along…
My preferred pie is fruit pies. I absolutely adore these. From cherry to mince. Then, you can slip me a pecan pie. But, I also like meat pies. When the crust is banging, I’m smitten. When I was young, I’d love a slice of frozen premade apple pie from this one maker. The recipe has changed over the years, and I still will get one for nostalgia sake now and then. That said, if I’m buying, I gotta go to Jockey Street in Ballston Spa, New York, and get the farm Pie by the Smiths. I know they’re not skimping. (However, I prefer my donuts from Fo’Castle Farms on the completely other side of our area). I will drive all day for these.
That said, I am game for pie anytime, anywhere. While it can carry as much calories and the same sugar load as a cake, it is often fruit sugars from the filling in a pie, and those are better for you than straight up crystalized cane sugars. Not to mention, I don’t have to add as much sugar to my fruit pie. For apple, I don’t add any. The apples are chosen for their flavor and sweetness. Thus, my diabetic friends are able to have a piece, and I remain on target for my needs, too.
Regardless, I love a good fruit pie. Sometimes, a little vanilla ice cream (à la mode) on the side is the perfect dessert. Traditional cake and ice cream is too much sugar, too much blandness. A great cake doesn’t need a scoop. That said, it was a nice addition with the pear upside-down cake. So obviously, it depends! Flavors can enhance and take away. Add and omit accordingly. Caramel and vanilla pop, especially with a little spice. Chocolate gets muted. (Have a coffee with chocolate cake, tea with spice or fruit sweets.)
Does this choice find it’s way into my writing? Ask Claire about her preferences. Food is big in Blue Honor, like anchors to normalcy and well-being, notes of wealth and health. I don’t focus too much on food in Trailokya, although it shows up from time to time as segues and markers of change.
After all that, where does Boston Creme Pie fall? Click on the links in the scroll box below to see how the other authors answer this fun question. The hop will arrive in your inbox without having to search for us, making it super easy to follow. See you next time. Let me know if you have pie or cake for your birthday or what other item you prefer, in the comments below. A brownie sundae can be a nice alternative from the traditional!
Now that is a proper culinary post. My stomach is rumbling and I need something sweet.
I recommend the pear upside down cake. 🙂
I’ve never tried making a true meat pie, but shepherd’s pies are easier.
I have a bridies recipe I just love!
That pear pie looks wonderful, but like you I have to watch how much sugar I eat. My mum used to make a peach flan, which instead of pastry had a sponge base and orange quick-gel to hold the peach slices together.
that’s the pineapple upside-down cake. It is so good! perfect with a cuppa.