Thursday, August 11, 2005

Sugar High Friday #11 Coffee




I’ve become addicted to Sugar High Fridays. Which says a lot because I’m usually more interested in snacking on cold chicken late at night than something sugary. This time around Love Sicily is hosting and the theme is coffee. I love coffee and usually like to start my day with a strong cup brewed at home from freshly ground beans – something strong yet smooth. Starbucks had a really excellent blend for a short time – Casi Cielo (probably spelled wrong) but Sulawesi is also delicious. A favorite summer drink of mine is iced coffee, but I figured that almost as many people would write about some cool version of the drink as there would be tiramisu recipes. Still, thinking about what I usually do with coffee, I could only come up with visits to Hollywood Gelato for their superb cappuccino gelato. Not really an option for this event either.

So I wracked my brain and remembered an Irish Coffee pie I used to make in the ‘70’s and, it still is a hit at parties. Normally I like to make things from scratch and wouldn’t dream of using a ready made mix. Although I do occasionally add things like eggplant pesto from La Bella Cucina Artful Food to my hummus – but I digress dramatically!!! What I meant to say was, that I do use a whipped dessert mix in the filling. Why reinvent the wheel - especially when things are delicious as is. Now while some of us like the added kick of whiskey, it tastes really great without it (better for the kids in all of us).

Here's the recipe, hope you like it.
Irish Coffee Pie

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total chill time: 4 hours
Serves 8

Ingredients:

Crust
1 box of chocolate wafers
1 cup finely ground hazelnuts
12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 (3.5 oz) package. instant vanilla whipped dessert mix NOT PUDDING!
2 tsp instant coffee powder
½ cup cold milk
⅓cup water
3 tbsp Irish whiskey
½ cup heavy cream

Pie Crust:
You will need an 8" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom
1. Break up the wafers and crush them in a food processor until they are the consistency of coarse flour. Add the ground nuts and pulse until they are well blended.
2. Pour the melted butter into the mixture and toss until all the butter has been evenly absorbed.
3. Press the mixture into the tart pan, pressing it firmly up the sides so that it will hold its shape when you remove the tart pan.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before filling.

Filling:
1. In a small bowl, combine mix and coffee powder. Add milk and beat at high speed for one minute.
2. Blend in water and whiskey at high speed for two minutes and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whip cream until it forms stiff peaks (about 3 minutes or so) and then fold into filling mixture.
4. Pour into cooled pie shell and chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
5. Top with additional whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Tips & Variations
** You can purchase a frozen pie shell and bake it or make your own instead of the crust above.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Joycelyn said...

hi ruth, if it ain't broke ;)...that irish coffee pie looks incredibly delectable. yearning for a taste! thanks for the recipe...cheers,j

Ruth Daniels said...

It is fun to share recipe ideas. The original Irish Coffee Pie actually has a traditional crust, but I couldn't resist this non-cook version.

Anonymous said...

Oh yum! You had me at hazelnuts. :-)

celia kusinera said...

Hi Ruth, I love tarts but in most North American recipes it uses chocolate wafers (like yours). I can't seem to find them anywhere here in UK. What can I substitute for that?
BTW, thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Ruth Daniels said...

Celia,
I understand your frustration. It's easy to READ about delicious food from other parts of the world, but not so easy to find ingredients. Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Delicious Magazine are among my favourites. It took me forever just to find out what rocket was (closest here is arugula).

If you can't find chocolate wafers, look for vanilla ones and just add 2 tbsp of good cocoa powder.

Jennifer, thanks for stopping by and, as I said - I'm addicted to SHF!!! Not the best thing for my waistline - but what the hey!!!

Kelly said...

Hi Ruth, this tart looks absolutely divine. It's a great photo! Thanks for stopping by my blog too :)

boo_licious said...

Irish Coffee Pie sounds right my alley since it has all the yummy ingredients I love. Fantastic stuff, Ruth.

Lori said...

Gotta love that crust!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ruth - I didn't know that using chocolate wafers for pie crust was common in the States. What's the texture of the finished crust like? Does that get soggy if you leave too long? It looks delicious though!

Ruth Daniels said...

Kelly, Boo_Licious, Lori and Jennifer, thanks for the kind words.

Keiko, the most common crust in North America is the traditional flaky pie crust followed by a shortbread type of crust. This one is similar but no baking involved. It doesn't get any soggier than the others. I guess the butter acts as a sealant.

Anyway, it is delicious. My husband loves it best without any filling - sort of like a giant cookie.

Thanks for dropping by.

Ana said...

This sounds like a very good pie. On the topic of the whipped dessert I have a recipe for pistachio ambrosia that uses Jello instant pistacchio pudding powder and Dream Whip. I don't care if it is not "all natural" it is just plain good.

Ruth Daniels said...

Ana, sounds good. You might want to share that recipe on you blog. I'll be waiting.