Florentine Multi Layered Pie Recipes

FOUR-FLAVOR SHEET PAN PIE

Steps:

• For the crusts: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll 3 of the pie crusts on a lightly floured work surface. Stack them on top of each other. Roll out the thick, layered dough to a 15-by-21-inch rectangle. Press into a rimmed baking sheet so that the crust comes up the sides and hangs over slightly. This will be the bottom crust. Chill until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
• Use the remaining crust for the top of the pie. Unroll it on a lightly floured work surface and roll it to a 14-by-18-inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half so you have two 7-by-9-inch pieces. One half will be the top crust for the apple portion of the pie. Cut the other half into 1-inch diagonal strips to use for the lattice on the cherry pie. Place the rectangle and strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until ready to use.
• For the apple pie: Toss the apples in a medium bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and cook until thickened, about 1 minute more. Cool completely.
• For the sour cherry pie: Place the cherries in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup cherry juice with the cornstarch in a small saucepan until completely smooth. Add the remaining cherry juice and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 30 seconds. Pour the sauce over the cherries and gently fold to combine. Cool completely.
• For the pumpkin pie: Whisk together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and the egg and in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• For the pecan pie: Whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, eggs and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fold in the pecans and set aside.
• Once all fillings are made, begin assembling the pie. Remove both baking sheets with dough from the refrigerator.
• Visualize the sheet pan is divided in half lengthwise and then crosswise so you have 4 equal quadrants. Each quadrant will hold a different pie filling. Prick the bottom crust all over with a fork.
• Add the pie fillings in this order: Add the apple pie filling to the upper left quadrant of the crust; spread it to cover a 7-by-9-inch rectangle. Moving counter clockwise, pour the pumpkin filling right under the apple pie filling and spread it the same size as the apple filling. Spread out the cherry filling next to the pumpkin filling. Fill the top right empty space with the pecan filling.
• Cover the apple pie quadrant with the reserved rectangle of dough. Lay the pie strips out diagonally over the cherry pie quadrant. Press any remaining strips of dough around the edge of the pie to thicken the rim. Crimp the edge of the pie, making sure to incorporate and crimp together the dough from the apple quadrant. Brush the edges and the dough on top of the pie with egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut decorative slits in the apple pie crust.
• Bake until all pies are set and the crust on the apple pie and cherry pie is golden brown and crisp, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes.

FLORENTINE MULTI-LAYERED PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F In large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add spinach, cover and cook just until spinach wilts. Drain very well and set side.
• Whisk together 3 eggs and 1 egg white. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Layer half the meat, red pepper, cheese and spinach; cover with half the beaten egg mixture. Repeat layers, pouring remaining egg mixture over top.
• Cover with pastry; seal and crimp the edges. Brush top with remaining egg yolk blended with a bit of water; slit surface. Bake pie on cookie sheet 30- 35 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or cool.

FLORENTINE SQUARES

Steps:

• Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-x-15 1/2-x-1/2-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each short end.
• Batter: Pour the cream, corn syrup, and sugar into a 1 1/2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine, then add the butter. Stir over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Then raise the heat to medium, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon--especially toward the end of cooking--to prevent scorching. Cook until the mixture reaches 238 degrees F, the soft-ball stage, on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes; the mixture will appear between ivory- and straw-colored. Remove from heat, and stir in almonds.
• Pour the mixture onto the center of the foil-lined baking sheet, and spread it in as thin a layer as possible. A pool about 8 inches in diameter is fine. Bake for 3 minutes; then spread the more liquid mixture evenly over the baking sheet. If the mixture still does not completely cover the baking sheet, bake another minute, then tilt the baking sheet to allow the mixture to spread evenly. Bake for about 5 to 6 minutes total, or until golden but not dark brown. Though the mixture bubbles while baking, the bubbles form more slowly toward the end of baking time than at the beginning.
• Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes. While the mixture is still warm but no longer liquid, cut 1 1/2-inch squares using a ruler and a pastry wheel. If the mixture is too warm, it will not cut cleanly. If it is too cool, it will splinter or not cut; in that case return it to the oven for a few seconds to soften it a bit.
• Decoration: When the squares are completely cool, place the chocolate in a bowl over water at about 120 degrees F. When about two-thirds of the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the water. With a dry rubber spatula, stir until the liquid chocolate melts the soft or unmelted chocolate that remains. Fill a small handmade paper cone with the chocolate and snip off the tip. Pipe thin lines of chocolate back and forth over the squares' surface. Refrigerate the squares briefly, just to set the chocolate. Remove from the refrigerator and set aside in a cool, dry place.
• To store, remove squares from the foil and place them in layers, separated by strips of aluminum, in an airtight metal or plastic container in a cool place up to 1 week.

CREPES FLORENTINE

Steps:

• For crepes, in a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter. Combine flour and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. , Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., For filling, in a large saucepan, melt 5 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low; stir in the cream and 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat., In a skillet, saute mushrooms and shallot in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and egg until smooth. Beat in mushroom mixture. Add enough cheese sauce to achieve a spreadable consistency. In a large bowl, combine the spinach and 1/2 cup cheese sauce until blended. Add additional sauce if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency., To assemble, on two greased 9-in. ovenproof pie or tart pans, layer a crepe, spinach mixture, another crepe, then mushroom mixture. Repeat five more times. Pour remaining sauce over the stacks. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. Dot with remaining butter. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before baking. Bake at 350°; for 55-60 minutes or until bubbly and golden and a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into wedges.

FREE-FORM FLORENTINE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, then drain and thoroughly squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Mix with the ricotta, nutmeg and plenty of seasoning.
• Lay the pastry on a baking sheet and pinch up the edges to form a lip all round. Prick the base all over with a fork, so the pastry doesn't puff up too much. Bake for 15 mins or until the pastry is light brown.
• Remove from oven and press the pastry down if it has puffed up. Pile in the spinach mix, leaving four clear areas for the eggs to go into. Carefully crack an egg into each space. Season and pop back in the oven for a further 10-15 mins until the white is set and yolk is still a little runny, or to your taste.

LAYERED LEMON PIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in half of the pie filling. Fold in the whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Spread remaining pie filling over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.