Sunday, March 21, 2010

SMS - Double Crust Apple Pie Epic Fail

For me, failing at pie is like forgetting how to brush my teeth--it just can't happen. Wake me at 3 AM, and I could make a slammin' apple pie without a recipe.

This fail is no reflection on the recipe because plenty of other bakers got beautiful pies. I've gone over and over it in my head and I think I followed the recipe exactly but obviously not when you look at this:


No, something obviously went very wrong. First, the pie crust. I have a tried and true all butter pie crust I've been making for 20 years. This wasn't it. I must have measured the flour wrong because I know I used 2 sticks of butter. It was impossible to work, with little pebbles of butter spread throughout that didn't have enough flour to hold them together. Then there was the filling. I mistakenly thought the caramel was served on top of the pie after it baked. I read the recipe repeatedly and never saw the part where you combine the caramel with the apples. My Granny Smith apples were huge so I only used 6, and the filling of the pie towered over the pan. I almost added cinnamon (apple pie without cinnamon just seems wrong to me) but didn't. After 10 minutes in the oven, the pie crust was dripping butter and the crimped edge fell off in places. But I still baked my pie for the full amount of time (1 hour and 45 minutes) that the recipe called for. It wasn't until after this epic fail that I reread the P&Q and saw that one hour was sufficient. Really, 45 minutes less would not have changed the outcome because at one hour, there was a layer of butter on the sheet pan and the pie still looked awful, just less brown. Perhaps the inside wouldn't have been mush:


Where did the enormous mound of apples go? Obviously, I was making applesauce pie.

One of my favorite bloggers, Susan of Baking with Susan picked this week's recipe. I'm working so much that I probably should have skipped it but I wanted to make her pick. Sorry, Susan, for mangling your pick!

Make sure you visit Susan and see her pie. She'll also have the recipe. And check out the other Sweet Melissa Sundays bakers...you can find them here.

19 comments:

Susan said...

Awww, thank you so much for finding the time to bake with me. I know how hard it is to work all the time (two jobs now) and still find time to do other things.

Sorry your pie didn't work out. I might try this one again, with cinnamon and a jar of caramel sauce. :)

Thanks for the posting tip! I sat up till 11:15, falling asleep in front of the computer, trying to make it to midnight before posting and just couldn't do it.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Leslie,

Sorry to read of your mishaps in the kitchen this go round. It happens to the best of us.

And...Thank you...Thank you...Thank you for the tidbit about posting on a different date.

Suggestion: Could you maybe add this to the SMS Blog for all the other bakers to see? They will LOVE YOU for it. I know I do!

Have a great day Leslie!

Carmen

Nina said...

oh no! But it tasted good right? At least a litle bit?

Even though you didnt have a great time with the pie, at least you tried!

Hanaâ said...

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. I hope it tasted good... Kudos for making it though, given your busy schedule.

Julie said...

You get double blogging points for making it despite the busy schedule. It looks wonderful!!!

Unknown said...

Good for you giving it a shot in spite of your busy schedule Leslie. I bet it was really tasty, even if it didn't turn out exactly as you wanted. The caramel sauce gave me some trouble on this one (lots of crystallization) but I still enjoyed it. I liked the crust so much I'm trying it again today - we'll see if it works as well the second time around :)

Tessa said...

A for effort even though it didn't turn out!

Future Grown-Up said...

I forgot to put eggs in a cake recipe last week so I understand completely what you're going through.

And apple pie without cinnamon doesn't seem right to me either.

Diana's Cocina said...

Great effort!

Katrina said...

I hate it when that happens! Sigh.

Mimi said...

This just makes all your successes that much better.
Mimi

margot said...

Oh, dear, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I've also had a couple weeks where I probably should have just skipped. I hope things slow done for you soon!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

It is disappointing but you did it. If you are like me, you will wake up in the middle of the night, with the solution.

k.a.r.e.n said...

What a mess! Sorry it didnt work out for you but kudos for fitting it in with everything else you have going on.

Andrea at Nummy Kitchen said...

Oh no Leslie, sorry you had such a rough time with this one! I didn't like the pie crust either and wish I went with my old tried and true all butter recipe. We missed the cinnamon as well.

Thinking of someone waking me up at 3:00am to make an apple pie really made me smile though, so thanks for that :)

Unknown said...

Hi Leslie, I'm sorry this didn't turn out as great as you expected. There's always a next time to try! I like the idea of caramel sauce in the pie, but it can still taste just as well poured on top =)
-Ruby

Cakelaw said...

Oh no! At least you had a shot, and never have to make it again. We all have days like this.

Mara Campbell said...

Oh no, sorry this was a rough one for you!! I also missed the cinammon and next time i'll buy some caramel to drizzle over the top right before I eat it. :-)

Kayte said...

You know, don't you, that this looks pretty good from here...it looks very nice and tasty! Sometimes things can be a little off, doesn't mean they are a fail...I would eat this one! And I can guarantee the guys in this house would have no trouble helping you out with making this disappear.