There was an online challenge to make a spring animal inspired pie. As I thought about if I were to take the challenge what design I would want to make, the classic bunny came to mind. But that idea is so overuse and it’s something that doesn’t reflects my personality. So, I thought about any animals that I love in recent shows that I’ve been watching, and I realized that Carrot, from One Piece, is the perfect candidate for this. I love to make One Piece related food and Carrot is a character that I love very much. Plus her name dictate the pie’s flavor.
Until I thought of making that carrot pie, I had never heard of carrot pie before. A quick search told me that some people have done it already. The most challenging part for me was the quantity of milk to add in the filling. I was torn about that one cup of milk, but it worked out fine.
We’re gonna go all Surlong on this pie!!
Ingredients:
Pie filling:
3 eggs
3 carrots
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/4 of freshly ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of milk (I am using plant-based milk)
Pinch of salt
Pie crust:
1 1/2 cup of flour
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter – 1 stick of butter (I am using vegan butter)
1/8 cup of cold water
Spiced shortbread cookies:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of butter – 1 stick of butter (I am using vegan butter)
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
Fondant
red gel food color
yellow gel food color
black gel food color
let’s get started!!
First thing first, let’s get the two different dough ready. For each dough, if you are using coarse salt like me, dissolve it in a liquid; if it’s fine salt simply add it to the flour. For the pie crust, dice the cold butter into the flour and mix it in until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Add the water and knead it into a dough for about one minute. Cover with the dough and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
For the cookie dough, melt the butter and dissolve the salt in there. Mix the flour with the sugar and spices. Nutmeg has a better taste when it’s freshly grated. Pour the butter into the flour mixture and knead it into a dough for about one minute. Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
Once both dough has rested enough, take them out and knead them for about 5 minutes. For the pie dough, although I pressed it into a greased pie pan, you can roll it out and fit it into the pan. For the cookie dough, cut out all the shapes needed. I cut out 11 flowers and the head shape of Carrot. Freeze both the pie dough and the cookies before baking.
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and the pie dough for 20 minutes. After baking, let them cool completely. In the meantime, get on with the other steps.
For the pie filling, grate the carrots finely. No need to cook them prior to that. In a different bowl, cream the eggs with the sugar and salt. Beat them together until the eggs becomes light in color, for about five minutes. After that, add the milk and spices to the egg mixture, and mix them well. And then stir in the grated carrots. Pour the carrot mixture into the cooled pie shell, spread out the carrots to make sure that they are not all staying in the middle of the pan. Put the pie in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes at 375 degrees F. If an inserted knife in the middle of the pie comes out clean, then it is ready, you can turn off the oven.
Let the pie cool off while you get on to decorating the cookies. Knead the fondant. If it’s sticking to your fingers or the working surface, sprinkle some powdered sugar or cornstarch. Color the fondant with the colors your design need. I am using red, yellow and black. No color needed for the white since the fondant is already white. Cut out each shape needed to come together for Carrot’s face. I made the flowers for extra decoration. Arrange the cookies on top of the pie and your Carrot-chan pie is ready.
Enjoy
Thank you for your time!!
