| Cooking Hints from Food Network Kitchens: Great Ganache and Pie Crust Fixes |
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By Lynn Kearney
Food Network Kitchens Question: How can I keep chocolate from ceasing up when mixed with warm whipping cream? And is it called chocolate "granash"? -- Maryann Answer: Ganache is the word you are looking for (pronounced gahn-AHSH). Traditionally, ganache is equal parts chocolate to heavy cream, so if you have a pound (16 ounces) of chocolate, then measure 16 ounces (2 cups) of heavy cream. The reason your chocolate is ceasing is probably because the chocolate is hotter than the cream -- and even if the cream is warm, it might not be warm enough. While I am sure there are many ways to make a ganache, here's what I believe to be one of the easiest ways. It ensures that you will not burn the chocolate and the chocolate will not cease. First, be sure that both your cream and chocolate are measured out correctly. If the chocolate is in a block, you will want to chop it up into small pieces. Even if you are using chocolate chips, try and chop them up into smaller bits. This will make it melt quicker and easier. In a pinch, chocolate chips do work, but I'll just put a quick caveat here that somewhat goes without saying - the better the quality of the chocolate, the better your ganache will be. At your local overpriced food boutique (every town seems to have one) you know you can find a lovely block of pricey chocolate. The process is simple after that. Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan. After it reaches a boil, remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to sit in the hot cream for a minute or two without stirring. Then use a whisk to mix and you'll see that once it's fully combined, the result is a smooth velvety chocolate sauce that's perfect for dipping fruit into or pouring over any type of cake for extra richness. Question: The bottom crust on my pumpkin or apple pie always seems to be underdone lately. I've started using glass or ceramic pie pans and I wonder if this may be part of the problem. Even when I leave the pie in longer than I think it needs, the bottom remains underdone. Via e-mail Answer: The reason the bottom of your crust is soggy has less to do with what kind of pan you are using and more to do with how you are baking your pie. Glass pie pans are excellent conductors of heat, as are metal ones. So, if the pan is not causing your trouble, then what is? Crusts cook best at higher temperatures. A delicate filling, like a pumpkin custard, needs to be cooked at a relatively low temperature. The solution is to blind-bake your crust before adding the filling. Blind-baking will also prevent a wet filling from making the bottom crust soggy. To blind-bake a filling, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cover surface and sides of the crust with parchment paper, waxed paper or a large coffee filter. Fill the parchment with dried beans. You can also purchase pie weights, which are small metal beads. Filling the crust with "weights" will prevent the crust from puffing up and getting air pockets while being blind-baked. Place the crust in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. If your edges are getting too brown, cover them with foil. Remove the crust from the oven and let cool before filling. Once cool, fill as you normally would and bake. For extra protection, you can also coat the surface of the crust after it has been blind-baked with egg white. Simply brush some egg white on the bottom of the crust after you remove it from the oven the second time. Return it to the oven for another 5 minutes. The egg white will seal the surface of the crust and prevent a moist filling from making your crust soggy. (Got a question for the culinary experts at Food Network? Send inquiries to Ask Food Network Kitchens via e-mail at askfn@foodtv.com or by writing Food Network P.O. BOX 1180, Radio City Station, New York, N.Y. 10101-1180. Due to the volume of inquiries, questions will only be answered in columns. For more information, visit www.foodtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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