16-47: Orange-Almond Pie

It’s feeling a bit unbalanced around here–we need more from the back of the book. Here’s one from a brand new group: Pies & Cakes. Just in time for the cooler weather, we have 16-47: Orange-Almond Pie. 

16-47 Orange-Almond Pie

This came out really well: it tasted great, and you can make it in a toaster oven!


16-47 Orange-Almond Pie1

No notes, but they’re not joking about the richness of the pie–it’s almost like a crème brûlée, but more orangey, almond-y, and also a pie.


IMG_1105

Ingredients. Subbed half-and-half for milk, but everything else is pretty square. I only had whole almonds on hand, so I ground them up in my spice/coffee grinder. The orange marmalade is from my CSA service, and you can find it at Happy Girl Kitchen Company.


IMG_1106

I like to cut my butter up if I’m going to cream it, especially if it’s still a bit cold from the fridge. If it’s room temperature, it’s okay to just throw it in there, unless the recipe CALLS for it to be cold (some do!).


IMG_1108

Creamed butter and sugar.


IMG_1109

Dough for the crust. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and threw it in the fridge for 30 minutes (remembering to set a timer). Making the filling took me about the whole 30 minutes, so if you forget, just take it out when you’re done making the filling.


IMG_1113

My marmalade was a bit chunky, but that worked out well for this pie–a nice extra burst of orange every so often throughout the pie.


IMG_1115

Filling mixture. Should be a lot less viscous than your crust dough mixture.


IMG_1117

Grinding my almonds in my spice/coffee grinder. I could have used the food processor too, but it seemed like a lot of machine and mess for just 2/3 cup of ground almonds.


IMG_1119

The grinder got about 95% of the almonds down to dust–I was able to just pick out the last few chunks that it missed.


IMG_1120

Grating my orange. I failed to take advantage of the tip that the card mentions about soaking the orange–my orange was already a bit old and I didn’t want to make it squishier. I didn’t feel like I got a TON of orange zest, but with the chunks from the marmalade, it all worked out.


IMG_1121

It’s not explicitly stated in the recipe, but it’s a good idea to use a pin and a floured surface to roll out your dough for your pie. Seems like common sense, but I just thought I’d throw it out there.


IMG_1123

One of my favorite shots from this whole project so far. I stretched the crust over the edges of the pan, folded it back so that there was some extra thickness, and then pressed the tip of a butter knife into it while rotating the pan. It’s an easy way to flute the crust if you don’t have any other methods.


IMG_1125

Ready for the oven, with the fully pressed crust. DON’T FORGET TO EGG WASH THE EDGES. I forgot, and didn’t remember until it had been in the oven for 10 minutes. I got it, and it worked out, but it would have been that much better if I would have done it before it went in.

I used my toaster oven for this pie (which was too dirty to publish pictures of on the internet), and it actually resulted in it cooking about 10 minutes faster than listed on the card.


IMG_1131

The pie after it came out of the toaster oven. The top had a nice crunch to it, like a crème brûlée (which I mentioned earlier), while the inside and crust were soft and fluffy.


IMG_1145

A slice-–another benefit: it comes out of the pan BEAUTIFULLY. Like buttah. And it is delicious. If you have the ingredients, go make yourself one of these pies. Just freeze whatever you don’t want to devour. 🙂

Grade: A