Nesselrode Pie

Shopping list:

    48 oz pitted sour cherries

    8 oz chestnuts (shiny, firm, heavy)

    3 packets or 21 g gelatin

    quart cream

    quart whole milk

    1 C butter

    1 C dark rum

    9 eggs

    cake flour

    AP flour

    sugar

    powdered sugar

    non-instant clearjel

    salt

    vanilla

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Schedule:

    Day 1: make pie crust dough, candied cherries

    Day 2: roll and freeze crust, make chestnut purée

    Day 3: bake crust, line with chocolate, fill with chiboust

    Day 4: decorate with ganache & whipped cream, serve

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113 g cake flour
113 g AP flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 C cold butter
4 oz or 115 g ice cold water

6 oz dark chocolate

48 oz pitted sour cherries
400 g sugar
1/4 C dark rum

3 T powdered sugar

1 T clearjel

12 oz chestnuts

Alternatively, 6 oz roasted, peeled chestnuts

75 g sugar

1/4 C dark rum

100 g sugar

2 packets gelatin

1/2 t salt

6 egg yolks (whites used below)

1 1/2 C cream

2 1/2 C whole milk

1/4 C dark rum

135 g sugar

6 egg whites

1 t vanilla

2 oz bittersweet chocolate

3 T cream

1/8 t vanilla

1 1/2 C cream

1/2 t vanilla or almond extract

1/16 t salt

40 g powdered sugar

Prepare 2 pie crusts: (4 hours)

Combine flours, sugar, and salt.

Cut in cold butter.

Knead in ice water just until crumbs are no longer dry.

While still cool and crumbly, book fold dough.

Cut in two, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Shape dough in pie pans and freeze at least 30 mins.

Fill with foil and baking beans.

Blind bake on lowest oven rack at 375° for about 50 mins.

Let cool a few mins and transfer to a clean pie dish.

(Discarding excess butter for cold pies gives a cleaner cut).

Coat interior with melted chocolate.

Prepare the macerated cherries: (3 hours)

In a large saucepan, combine cherries, sugar, and rum.

Cook over med-low heat, stirring every 5 mins.

If the mixture starts to boil, turn down the heat.

Cherries are ready when dark red syrup is clear; about 15 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200°.

Strain cherries and save syrup (about 2 C) for cocktails.

In a mixing bowl, cover cherries with powdered sugar and clearjel.

Spread cherries out on a baking sheet and bake 2 hours.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Syrup will keep in the fridge for up to one month.

Prepare chestnut purée: (3 hours)

People roast, boil, and steam chestnuts.

I believe that roasting dries them out for purée.

I also like a post-cook steam, so I just steam them twice.

Phara says:

    "Crack them like they're your enemy,

    peel them like you're a brain surgeon."

Cut an "x" in each chestnut.

(I do have a gadget for this and recommend it!)

If shells crack too easily, chestnut may be moldy!

Fill a rice steamer with 16 oz water.

Elevate chestnuts over water and steam 25 mins.

Leave chestnuts to stay warm in steamer when not peeling.

One at a time, peel away shells and membranes.

Place peeled chestnuts in a sieve.

Refill water and steam shelled chestnuts 15 mins.

Food process steamed chestnuts with sugar.

Add rum and continue to process.

This need not be perfectly smooth; it will be blended later.

Prepare stabilized chestnut crème anglaise: (2 hours)

Place a medium mixing bowl in an ice bath.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, gelatin, and salt.

Off heat, whisk in yolks and chestnut purée.

Off heat, whisk in cream and then milk.

Cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping constantly.

Use whisk and immersion blender.

Cook until crème anglaise reaches 180°.

Mixture will have thickened.

Pour into cold bowl in ice bath and add rum.

Continue immersion blending every 5 mins or so.

Crème anglaise is ready once chilled and thickened, about 25 mins.

This cannot be made in advance, because if it gets too cold, it will set.

Prepare Italian meringue: (half hour)

In a small pot, drizzle about 3 T water over outer edges of sugar.

Do not stir; turn off heat once syrup bubbles and reaches 230.

Meanwhile, in a stand mixer bowl, beat whites until soft peaks form.

Slowly pour hot syrup into beating whites.

Beat in vanilla.

Do not overbeat, or it will be difficult to fold.

Meringue should be medium stiff and silky.

Prepare stabilized chestnut chiboust: (half hour)

(Chiboust is traditionally made with crème pat instead of anglaise)

Set aside 3/4 Italian meringue.

Pour chestnut anglaise into stand mixer bowl with 1/4 meringue.

Mix slowly until smooth.

Fold together with remaining meringue.

Assemble pies: (4 hours)

Set aside decorating macerated cherries.

Layer chiboust into each of two pie crusts.

Sprinkle in remaining macerated cherries along the way.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Prepare chocolate ganache and whipped cream: (1 hour)

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in small bowl.

Heat cream until edges bubble.

Pour cream over chocolate and cover for 5 mins.

Add vanilla and whisk well.

Let cool to thicken before piping.

Because there's so little ganache, use a bag; piping tip 4.

In a cold stand mixer bowl, combine cream, extracts, and salt.

Sift in powdered sugar.

Beat until voluminous but still very smooth.

Decorate pies: (half hour)

Transfer ganache to pastry bag.

Decorate both pies with a crisscross pattern.

Transfer whipped cream to pastry bag.

Pipe decorative mounds along outer edges.

Top with remaining cherries.

Best if eaten within two days.

Adapted from "Pie for Everyone," courtesy of Petra Paredez