Angel pie

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Angel pie is a class of pies in American cuisine made with a meringue pie shell. There are many different fillings that can be used to make angel pie.

Contents

Preparation

Angel pie is made with a meringue shell. Cream of tartar is used to add stability and volume to the egg whites. The meringue can be sprinkled with chopped nuts before baking. [1] It is cooked in the oven at a low temperature for several hours. This method dries the crust without browning. [2]

Types

According to James Beard, angel pies were one of the most frequently published pie recipes in the early to mid-20th century. [3]

There are many fillings that can be used for an angel pie. Chocolate mousse filling is made by melting chocolate in a double boiler and gently folding it into whipped cream. [1] [4] Other ingredients like espresso powder and Kahlua can be added to the chocolate. [2]

Lemon angel pie is made with lemon curd filling topped with whipped cream. [5] [6] Fresh strawberries or raspberries are optional. [2] A coconut cream filling can be made with shredded coconut. [7] Grape angel pie can be made with a simple filling of homemade grape gelatin made with grape juice. [8] Pineapple filling for angel pie is made by folding beaten egg whites, whipped cream, glacé cherries and crushed pineapple into gelatin. [9]

The Pavlova is a type of angel pie made with fresh mixed berries and whipped cream. [2]

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A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings. Being made with vegetable oil, instead of a traditional solid fat such as butter or shortening, it is easier to beat air into the batter. As a result, chiffon cakes achieve a fluffy texture by having egg whites beaten separately until stiff and then folded into the cake batter before baking. Its aeration properties rely on both the quality of the meringue and the chemical leaveners.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon tart</span> Pastry dessert dish with lemon flavored filling

A lemon tart is a dessert dish, a variety of tart. It has a pastry shell with a lemon flavored filling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sponge cake</span> Type of cake

Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first of the non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the English poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognized today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in millions of flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.

Pie in American cuisine has roots in English cuisine and has evolved over centuries to adapt to American cultural tastes and ingredients. The creation of flaky pie crust shortened with lard is credited to American innovation.

Icebox pies are no-bake pies including ice cream pies, chiffon pies, and classic cream pies like key lime pie, lemon ice box pie, chocolate pudding pie, grasshopper pie and banana cream pie. The crust can be a crumb crust or blind baked pastry. They are associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States.

References

  1. 1 2 "With its long-lost recipe resurrected, chocolate angel pie is a birthday star". Evansville Courier & Press. April 22, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Easier-Than-Pie Meringue". The Wall Street Journal. April 3, 2011.
  3. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. 2013.
  4. "Chocolate Angel Pie". The Washington Post. April 12, 2000.
  5. "Highlighting meringues". The Anniston Star (Anniston, Alabama). June 14, 1964.
  6. "Angel meringue pie". The Minneapolis Star. October 13, 1941.
  7. "Coconut Cream Angel Pie". Taste of Home.
  8. "Concords are great for pies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 30, 1965.
  9. "Pineapple angel pie". The Austin American. December 20, 1964.